Journalism, Political Power, and Public Trust

CNN Senior Political Correspondent and Anchor of Inside Politics Sunday, Abby Phillip joins Assistant Professor Danielle Brown in conversation about the role journalism plays in enhancing or eroding public trust. Audience members will have a chance to submit questions in the second half of the conversation.

About the speakers: 

Abby Phillip is CNN's senior political correspondent and anchor of Inside Politics Sunday, an hour-long in-depth conversation on the week's most important political storylines, with a diverse set of analysts and news-making interviews. She joined the network in 2017 to cover the Trump Administration and served as White House Correspondent through 2019. In January 2020, she moderated CNN's Democratic Presidential Debate in Iowa. She also anchored special coverage of Election Night in America surrounding the 2020 election, which lasted several days until CNN was the first news outlet to project Joe Biden as the winner. In January 2021, she anchored the CNN Special Report: Kamala Harris: Making History about the Vice President's barrier-breaking career and the childhood experiences that helped shape her.

Phillip joined CNN from The Washington Post where she most recently served as a national political reporter, covering the White House. While at The Washington Post, Phillip wrote on a wide range of subjects related to the Trump White House, including efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the president's overseas trip to Poland and Germany for his first G-20. As a campaign reporter during the 2016 election Phillip extensively covered Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Phillip was also a general assignment reporter for the Washington Post, where she covered domestic an international news including the tragic Charleston, S.C. and San Bernardino massacres. Before joining the Washington Post, Phillip was a digital reporter for politics at ABC News. She has also covered the Obama White House for POLITICO as well as campaign finance and lobbying.

Phillip is working on her first book, THE DREAM DEFERRED: Jesse Jackson, Black Political Power, and the Year that Changed America, which will be released in 2022 and serve as the first major contemporary book on the life and political legacy of Jackson, focusing on his groundbreaking run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988. Phillip was raised in Bowie, Md. and is a graduate of Harvard University with a degree in Government. She currently lives in Washington with her husband.

Danielle Brown joined the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota as the John & Elizabeth Cowles Professor of Journalism, Diversity and Equality after beginning her career at Indiana University-Bloomington's Media School. She researches news media’s and media audiences’ contribution to uneven power dynamics and diversity issues in society. Her published work explores how the public perceives and engages with news content published online and within social media, primarily in the contexts of police brutality, government impunity and social movements against violence and racism. Prior to her research career, Brown worked as a photojournalist and public relations professional.

“It’s a research dream to get to work with world-class faculty, elite students, a diverse media market, and an engaged citizenry,” she said. “I think I’m most excited about the collaborations, projects, and programs that the future will hold. The opportunities at the University and within the Twin Cities area are endless, and I am eager to contribute to HSJMC’s unparalleled efforts to innovate in journalism research and education.”