You’re invited to the forum
featuring Jelani Cobb!
january 29, 2026 at MINT MUSEUM UPTOWN
The Future of Journalism
Join us on January 29 as The Charlotte Center hosts the Forum featuring Jelani Cobb, Dean of Columbia Journalism School and a gifted staff writer at The New Yorker, for a vital conversation on the evolving landscape of journalism and its role in shaping our democracy. With a rare mix of historical depth, cultural insight, and storytelling, Cobb guides us through the challenges and possibilities journalists face in an era of rapid change.
In this discussion, Cobb will reflect on the state of journalism today—its power, its ethical dilemmas, and the pressures it endures. Drawing from his experience as a Peabody Award–winning correspondent for PBS Frontline, his role as Dean at Columbia Journalism School, and his richly historical and political writing for The New Yorker, he explores how we might renew journalism’s foundational commitment to truth, justice, and public service in a fractured media environment.
Join us as we gather to hear an inspiring and thoughtful perspective on the future of journalism—its impact on democracy, accountability, and culture—and leave with renewed belief in the critical importance of a free and ethical press.
About Jelani Cobb
Jelani Cobb is the Dean of Columbia Journalism School and a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he covers history, justice, politics, and democracy. He is the author of Three or More Is a Riot (2025), a collection of his frontline reporting and essays, and co-editor of The Matter of Black Lives, among other books. A Peabody Award–winning journalist and esteemed public intellectual, Cobb brings historical rigor, moral clarity, and literary flair to every conversation.
Connect. Consider. Ignite. The program runs from 6:30PM to 8:00 PM including time for conversation, connections, and Q&A.
The Forum has a three-part structure:
• First third: Participants connect and build relationships in small break-out groups prompted by a question;
• Middle third: Participants consider a presentation that ends with the speaker posing a community-facing question;
• Final third: Participants discuss the question, igniting new ideas and interactions.
THE HUMANITIES | Languages | Literature | History | Philosophy | Religion | And More!
Participate in the important questions of our time. The Forum is a conversation and speaker series that brings people together to explore challenges and opportunities that affect human flourishing through the lens of the humanities and civic imagination.
