Deputy general counsel for The New York Times to give the 41st McGill Lecture

The New York Times top newsroom lawyer, David McCraw, will address fake news at the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication’s 41^st McGill Lecture.

McCraw will deliver “Fake, Fake News: The Press, The President and the Future of the First Amendment,” Nov. 13, 2019, at 4 p.m. in room 150 of the Miller Learning Center. The event is open to the public.

Earlier in the day, McCraw will take part in the McGill Symposium which brings together students, faculty and leading journalists to consider what journalistic courage means and how it is exemplified by reporters and editors.

Professionals joining for the Symposium include Samira Jafari (ABJ ‘02), executive editor, CNN;  Sonya Ross, managing partner and editor-in-chief, Black Women Unmuted; McCraw; and Andrea Bruce, photojournalist.

Since 2002, McCraw has advised The New York Times while it was breaking stories about WikiLeaks, Harvey Weinstein, President Donald Trump’s tax returns and more. In addition, he is known for his work bringing Freedom of Information Act lawsuits against the federal government.

McCraw’s book, “Truth in Our Times: Inside the Fight for Press Freedom in the Age of Alternative Facts,” was released earlier this year and focuses on the legal hurdles he and The Times have overcome while reporting on President Trump’s administration.

McCraw received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois and went on to receive his master’s degree from Cornell University. Before starting at Albany Law School, McCraw worked as a copywriter and a journalism professor at Marist College.

The McGill Lecture and Symposium are part of Grady College’s McGill program, which honors the memory of Ralph McGill and his courage as editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in the 1950s and 60s.

For more information about the McGill Program for Journalistic Courage, visit Grady College’s website.