Historically, journalists and other members of the media have played an important role in uncovering and airing miscarriages of justice through published investigations, documentaries and other media forms. Since 1999, The Medill Justice Project has investigated potentially wrongful murder convictions in the United States, uncovering revelatory information that has impacted people’s lives and the criminal justice system. Wrongful convictions aren’t exclusive to the United States; they occur in every country. Recognizing a need for an international community of people and organizations focused on uncovering injustices in the criminal justice system, The Medill Justice Project has built the Journalism Justice Network to foster connections among those who examine law enforcement, the courts and correctional institutions. The Journalism Justice Network embraces the multitude of ideas and approaches the network’s members discuss as each tackles its own investigation related to the universal issues involving miscarriages of justice.

Alec Klein is an award-winning investigative journalist, bestselling author and professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. Klein is also the director of The Medill Justice Project and the founder of the Journalism Justice Network.

Klein was named director of the Medill Innocence Project in Spring 2011, revamping its operations across the board. Under Klein’s leadership, the Medill Innocence Project, now called The Medill Justice Project, has uncovered revelatory information, influenced legal proceedings and successfully challenged government agencies to abide by the First Amendment. With Klein’s guidance, The Medill Justice Project has won several journalism honors.

At The Medill Justice Project, Klein also has won Freedom of Information Act appeals and access to records in federal court. Klein created The Medill Justice Project’s first board of advisers, its first series of publications, including an innovative safety manual for student journalists, as well as its first fellowship, internship and visiting scholar programs.

Prof. Klein was a Keynote Speaker and Featured Panelist at the IAFOR Asian Conference on Media and Mass Communication 2014 (MediAsia2014) in Osaka, Japan. In his Keynote Speech Prof. Klein discusses the role the Medill Justice Project has played in the investigation of wrong convictions and the promotion and expansion of the Journalism Justice Network around the world.

You can find a video of this podcast below: