Emily Drew
Media Director of the Martin Institute for Public Good, Assistant Director of the Beacon Program in Free Expression, and Adjunct Professor
Education
- M.A. City, University of London
- B.A. Davidson College
Background
I am the Media Director of the Martin Institute for Public Good and Assistant Director of the Beacon Program on Deliberation and Free Expression. I also teach courses related to journalism, democracy, and free expression as an Adjunct Professor and served as the visiting James K. Batten Professor of English in 2023 and 2024.
My first journalism job was at Davidson College, writing hometown newspaper articles for my fellow students. After graduating from Davidson, I worked as a journalist and television news producer for nearly twenty years at outlets including The Taipei Times, MSNBC and NBC News, and VICE News. I have three national Emmy Awards, including for coverage of the Flint water crisis with Rachel Maddow’s team, and for the George Floyd Protests and Best Overall Newscast of 2020 with my former team at VICE News. I have been nominated for four other Emmys, a GLAAD Award, and others, and have served multiple years as an Emmy judge and as a judge for the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards.
As a media and communications consultant, I have worked with the United Nations Global Compact, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the White House Fellows Association, Semafor World Economy, and the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library.
I previously served as a U.S. Speaker with the State Department, speaking on journalism, democracy, and AI around the world. I am also interested in censorship, propaganda, how algorithms influence public opinion, and the power of local news.
Teaching
- WRI 101 News as the First Draft of History
- COM 272 News Producing
- ENG 309 The Unreliable Narrator in News
In The News
- Pacific Media Network, New Zealand: Beyond-borders approach needed for diplomacy and democracy
- Islands Business: Pacific journalists’ resilience shines through at historic conference
