The Washington Post’s media reporter Paul Farhi will partake in free public lecture and discussion over Zoom as he presents the annual Oweida Lecture in Journalism Ethics on March 3.

Penn State University’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications coordinates the event with the Don W. Davis Professor in Ethics, Patrick Plaisance, serving as the moderator.

“My stories attempt to explain how the news media functions and then to assess and analyze whether this was an effective and credible way to report or discuss the news,” Farhi said.

“In an era of widespread public skepticism and outright distrust of the news media, it is critically important to ‘watch the watchers.’ I consider myself a reporter first and foremost; no critical assessment with any integrity can be made without a thorough grounding in the facts.” Since 1988, Farhi has worked at the Post where he served as the financial reporter, political reporter, and reporter for the style section. In 2010, Farhi took on the role of becoming the media reporter for the newspaper.

After an unidentified reporter tested positive for the coronavirus, several media members covering Vice President Kamala Harris were sent home. Testing reporters, as is anyone who enters The White House, is done at a site off of Lafayette Square.

“As soon as we were notified, we disbanded the Vice President’s pool and sent them home. They will be tested again tomorrow,” The White House statement said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we made arrangements for the briefing room to be cleaned. We have also begun the process of contact tracing​. This individual did not have any contact with the Vice President or White House staff​.”

Typically, reporters scheduled to be in the White House on a given day undergo a test before entering. Upon getting a negative result, they receive a wristband permitting them to come and go throughout the day. Every day, the print representatives are responsible for writing public notes about events. On this day, the president’s press pool gathered to cover Harris’ day, including a 2 p.m. meeting Biden and the vice president have to discuss supply chain issues with House and Senate members.

Changes will be coming to The New York Times after the publication unveiled a diversity report and plan, which will help transform the newspaper’s culture that makes it an “unwelcoming place for many people.”

The 7,000-word report reveals a “difficult environment” at the Times, primarily experienced by “people of color, many of whom described unsettling and sometimes painful day-to-day workplace experiences.”

When it comes to the Asian-American women working at the newspaper, the report states that they feel “invisible and unseen” and frequently referred to using the name of other Asian women.

Nonetheless, Black and Latino employees bear the brunt of the toxic work environment at The Times, the report states. They are underrepresented in leadership positions compared to other races inside the company. Furthermore, in a survey last year, Black employees, especially women, gave the newspaper the worst marks for fairness and inclusion.

The Times has listed four goals as they plan to improve its toxic working environment.

First, the newspaper wants to transform its culture “to create an environment where we all can do our best work. We will be explicit about how diversity, equity, and inclusion tie to our mission and values.”

Second, The Times wants to improve their leadership as they try and fix how they lead and manage. The newspaper seeks to bring people aboard with “clear expectations for leaders who manage people and for how they will be assessed.”

As a result of this goal, the company wants to increase Black and Latinos in management positions by 50 percent by 2025. The Times seeks to ensure that its news coverage benefits from diversity and inclusion in its newsroom.

“We will make our newsroom more diverse, our editorial practices more inclusive, and our news report one that provides a truer, richer and more textured portrayal of the world,” The Times wrote.