Justice Matters

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates talks with Lina Chawaf, CEO of Radio Rozana and fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism. Radio Rozana was created in 2013 in the aftermath of the Arab Spring to examine the conflict in Syria with a focus on women’s voices for an audience of over 8 million listeners. Chawaf has a long career in journalism leading television and radio production companies in Syria, receiving the Freedom Press Award in 2018 from Reporters Without Border, and founding Radio Rozana in exile following threats to her life for refusing to broadcast the pro-authoritarian messaging of Bashar Al Assad’s government. On today’s episode Chawaf discusses: her background in TV and radio in Syria, her experience refusing to propagate government propaganda during the Arab Spring, the state of press freedom globally, Radio Rozana’s focus on women’s voices, how citizen journalism comes into play in high-conflict areas with authoritarian control, her perspective on the future of media freedom in the U.S., and finally, her insights into the recent changes going on in Syria following Assad’s ouster.