EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

DATE: 3 p.m. Feb. 20, 2017

EVENT: “Leaks, Whistleblowers and Big Data: Collaborative Journalism across Borders”

Wallace House presents the investigative journalists behind the Panama Papers and Luxembourg Leaks at the inaugural Eisendrath Symposium at the University of Michigan.

A panel of Knight-Wallace Fellows and the deputy director for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists will share the stories behind the biggest data leaks in history, the establishment of global networks for investigative reporters and the seismic impact of collaborative journalism.

The Eisendrath Symposium honors Charles Eisendrath, former director of Wallace House, and his lifelong commitment to international journalism. It is produced with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and is free and open to the public.

Will Potter, a 2016 Knight-Wallace Fellow and Marsh Professor of Journalism at U-M, will moderate the discussion.

Panelists include:

• Bastian Obermayer, a 2017 Knight-Wallace Fellow and deputy head of the investigative unit for Süddeutsche Zeitung, the largest national daily newspaper in Germany. He is the reporter initially contacted by the anonymous source of the Panama Papers. Obermayer is also the author of several books, the most recent of which is the story of the Panama Papers.
• Marina Walker Guevara, deputy director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. A native of Argentina, she has reported from a half dozen countries and her investigations have won more than 25 national and international awards. Walker Guevara managed some of journalism’s most consequential investigations on global corruption, including the Panama Papers, which involved more than 370 reporters from 107 media organizations in 76 countries. Other investigations include Swiss Leaks, Luxembourg Leaks and Offshore Leaks.
• Laurent Richard, a 2017 Knight-Wallace Fellow, investigative journalist and editor-in-chief of Premières Lignes, a television production and news agency based in Paris. He oversaw Premières Lignes Télévision’s coverage of Luxembourg Leaks in 2014. Richard is currently developing a collaborative journalism network devoted to publishing the work of reporters who are threatened, jailed or killed.
• Edouard Perrin, a 2016 Knight-Wallace Fellow and is a documentary investigative reporter for Premières Lignes Télévision in Paris. He is the reporter who revealed Luxembourg’s secret tax deals with major international corporations in 2012, the story that morphed into Luxembourg Leaks. He produced two documentaries on the topic, earning him several awards and a criminal indictment in Luxembourg. Acquitted in June 2016, Luxembourg appealed the initial decision and retried Perrin in December 2016. A new verdict is expected March 15, 2017.

PLACE: Rackham Amphitheater, 915 Washington St., Ann Arbor

INFORMATION: Wallace House, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation