NABJ President Errin Haines to Speak at Loyola University on Media and Representation

Errin Haines, president of the National Association of Black Journalists and editor-at-large of The 19th, will headline "Culture Lens 2026: Media, Identity & the Stories We Tell," a two-day event at Loyola University exploring how media narratives shape public understanding of race, identity and democracy.

The event will take place March 19 and March 20 at Nunemaker Auditorium on Loyola's campus, and is free and open to the public. Haines will deliver the keynote address on March 19 at 4:30 p.m.

Haines, who became president of the National Association of Black Journalists in August, is editor-at-large and founding mother of The 19th, the nonprofit, nonpartisan, national newsroom dedicated to reporting on women, politics and policy. She is also a political contributor for MSNBC and host of The Amendment podcast.

Haines is widely recognized for her reporting and commentary on the intersection of race, gender and politics. Her keynote address, "Why Representation Still Matters in 2026: Reframing the Narrative," will examine how race and identity continue to shape political coverage, media strategy and public trust.

"Errin Haines is one of the most important voices in journalism today," said Gregory Lee Jr., the Marion M. and John S. Stokes Jr. Visiting Professor in Race and Culture in Media at Loyola and the organizer of Culture Lens 2026. "Her work sits at the intersection of media, representation and democracy, and her perspective is especially relevant as the country grapples with issues of trust, access and equity in the press."

The conversation comes at a moment of heightened national debate over press access, equity in newsrooms and the role of journalists in safeguarding democratic accountability.

Haines has joined leaders within the National Association of Black Journalists in publicly advocating for stronger protections for journalists through the "Not Under Our Watch" initiative, which calls for accountability and press freedom safeguards. She cited the recent arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort while lawfully covering an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church as direct threats to the freedom of the press.