Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/07/2026
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Freedom Forum Conference Center, Carroll Hall 305
This event is hosted by the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media.
How free is a free press in the era of AI and algorithms? This panel will explore how artificial intelligence and algorithmic systems are reshaping journalism, influencing public trust and affecting the ability of a free press to reach and serve communities. Marisa Porto, director of the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media and Knight Chair in Local Media, will moderate the conversation.
Panel Participants:
Dr. Tori Smith Ekstrand is a professor at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, where she teaches and conducts research on media law, artificial intelligence governance, free expression, academic freedom and technology policy in the United States and Europe. A recipient of a 2026 Fulbright-Schuman Award and UNC’s Faculty Award for Global Excellence, she has been deeply involved in UNC’s partnership with the University of Tübingen and in transatlantic research and teaching on constitutional culture, institutional governance and emerging technologies. She is the former co-director of the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy, an affiliate of the UNC Center for Information, Technology and Public Life and vice president of AAUP North Carolina, where she has led efforts to establish an academic freedom legal hotline for faculty. She is also the lead editor of a widely used media law textbook, with its ninth edition forthcoming in 2027, and a recipient of the Hussman School’s Edward Vick Prize for Innovation in Teaching.
Lisa Macklin is the former associate vice provost and university librarian at Emory University, where she served for more than 20 years before retiring in April 2026. During her tenure, she held several leadership positions, including associate dean of research, engagement and scholarly communications and interim dean of libraries. A graduate of Georgia State University College of Law, Macklin is recognized nationally for her expertise in copyright, open access and scholarly communication. She served as principal investigator for the Mellon-funded Model Publishing Contract for Digital Scholarship, an open-access book contract used by university presses. Her work at Emory also advanced research-data support, digital collections, student services and collaboration across the university.
Rebecca “Becky” Troyer is editor-in-chief of the Triangle Business Journal, where she leads the newsroom’s strategy and operations. She first joined the publication as managing editor in 2013 and later served as editor in American City Business Journals newsrooms in Greensboro and Denver. She subsequently held corporate leadership roles with ACBJ as director of newsletter operations and regional editor before returning to the Triangle Business Journal. Before entering journalism, Troyer practiced as a transactional business attorney in Indiana. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music and a law degree from Indiana University.
It is part of UNC’s First Amendment Day and is free and open to the public. Students can earn Campus Life Experience (CLE) credit.
Tagged: 1ad2026
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