Justice & Journalism: The Rise of the Civic Documenter

From local meetings to major public events, smartphones and social media have turned everyday people into real-time witnesses to history. That shift is changing journalism, accountability, and how communities understand what's happening around them. 

Join NHPR and the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership, & Public Service for Justice & Journalism: The Rise of the Civic Documenter on June 18 at BNH Stage in Concord, NH

Journalism is evolving in the digital age, as smartphones and social media make it possible for anyone to document events as they happen. Increasingly, everyday people are becoming an essential part of the public information ecosystem, capturing moments from local government meetings to major public enforcement actions. These civic documenters are expanding public oversight and changing how communities understand what is happening around them. 

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Jasmine Garsd, NPR immigration reporter

The conversation will feature Jasmine Garsd of NPR, who brings firsthand reporting experience in Minneapolis covering federal immigration raids. Her work has captured the urgency and impact of those moments through the eyes of the community. Garsd started her career as the co-host of Alt.Latino, an NPR show about Latin music. Throughout her reporting career she's focused extensively on women's issues and immigrant communities in America. She's currently writing a book of stories about women she's met throughout her travels.

Also joining the discussion: 

Melanie Plenda, Director of the Granite State News Collaborative

Melanie Plenda, Director of the Granite State News Collaborative. She is an award-winning freelance journalist. Her work has appeared in a variety of regional and national publications including The Atlantic.com, The Daily Beast, and The Washington Post. Melanie is based in New Hampshire

Plenda will highlight local efforts to strengthen civic reporting in New Hampshire, including the Collaborative’s partnership with the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications, which has expanded its training program to include high school students in its Spring 2026 cohort.

Gregory Sullivan, President of the New England First Amendment Coalition.

Attorney Gregory V. Sullivan has served as counsel to numerous media organizations and teaches First Amendment Media Law at Suffolk University Law School in Boston and at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications in Manchester. He has successfully argued numerous First Amendment cases before the New Hampshire Supreme Court and serves on that Court’s Committee on the Judiciary and the Media. 

Moderated by NHPR’s Todd Bookman, the evening will explore the opportunities and challenges of this shift in journalism: the democratization of information and the ways civic documenters can supplement shrinking newsrooms, alongside the risks of uncontextualized reporting and the growing influence of AI tools that can blur the lines between fact and distortion.

Audience members will also have the opportunity to participate in a live Q&A during the recording of the NHPR broadcast. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the program begins at 7 p.m.

Get your tickets here. 

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