Arts Lecture 2019

On Tuesday September 3, Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal will give the Arts Lecture to mark the opening of the academic year 2019-2020 at the University of Groningen, Faculty of Arts. The title of his lecture is 'Truth in a time of truthiness. How journalism can overcome challenges like fake news, autocracy and polarization'.

Date and time

The Arts Lecture is open to the general public and admission is free.

• Time: Tuesday 3 September 2019 at 4 p.m.
• Location: Aula, Academy Building, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Truth in a time of truthiness

Journalism is being challenged as never before. Attacks on our profession come from all sides: elected world leaders dismissing factual reporting as 'fake'; budget cuts resulting in lay-offs and newspaper closures; threats and sometimes violence against journalists, here and abroad. However, not all challenges are bad: the rise of the citizen journalist - as opposed to the professional one - forces us to rethink our own strengths and weaknesses. In his talk, Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal will expand on the role journalism should play in today’s political climate, in order to properly fulfill its role in a democratic society.

Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal

Eelco Bosch van Rosenthal obtained his Master’s degree in American Studies at the University of Groningen. As a child, he wanted to become a film director, but this changed during his first internship with Charles Groenhuijsen in Washington. Then his career with NOS began. To the public, he became best known as a correspondent in the United States, where between 2007 and 2012 he brought many news events of global interest directly into the Dutch living room. In the meantime, Eelco has been a reporter and presenter for a program called Nieuwsuur and he is a regular America expert on the talk show 'De Wereld Draait Door'. In addition, Eelco has also made other programs, including the TV series The Kingdom and the eight-part documentary series Droomland Amerika in 2016.

About the Arts Lecture

For over 25 years, the Faculty of Arts has opened its academic year with an Arts Lecture. In this lecture, a famous Dutch person expresses their opinion about the im­portance of the arts (languages, literature, media, art, history, archaeology, communi­cation and international relations) for society. Previous speakers have included Stine Jensen, Anna Enquist, Femke Halsema, Hans Goedkoop, Ronald Giphart, Henk van Os, Jan Blokker, Abram de Swaan, Elsbeth Etty, Marcel Möring and Winnie Sorgdrager.