Put The Public In Publicity: World Congress of the News Media, 2026

The year 2026 will mark the 96th conference of the World Congress of The News Media, an international conference focused on the current and future development of public and news media. Representatives from nearly every country gather to discuss, debate, and dissolve pressing global issues emerging in the field of journalism and media serving the people. International representatives benefit from unique insights of each other as well as share critical information regarding national policy surrounding public media, attempting to set aside their difference for the common goal: to put the public back in political publicity. It is not only a matter of delivering transparent and accurate information to public citizens for the preservation of democracy, but also concerns extremely complex issues that are the fulcrum of modern cybersecurity. 

This year’s assembly is perhaps the most challenging of them all. In 2024, even trusted news sources such as The Hill were exposed to be staging photographs in order to support inflammatory articles that exacerbated the already dichotomous political situation in the United States. The public media of China is still subject to heavy control and regulation of the Chinese government. Misinformation has been on the rise, utilized by nearly all countries to fulfill the political agendas of their leaders and to fuel the fury of wars, as seen in the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Moreover, the future of news media is under serious perils with the lightning development of AI, whether that be deep-fakes indistinguishable from real footage or the privatization of media by large tech companies. If not handled with extreme care and decisive action, AI has the ability to disrupt the dissemination of free and impartial news for the greater good. Are you ready to embark on a mission to preserve press freedom?

Note: This committee will be run as a Double-Delegate General-Assembly

 

Co-Chair:
Priyasha Chakravati

Priyasha Chakravarti is a member of the class of 2025 studying Government and Journalism. She is beyond excited to bring her passion for MUN, global affairs, and journalism together with this fantastic committee! She especially looks forward to working with Jack Kealey, who she has worked with in several MUN capacities before and calls a good friend. Priyasha has staffed NCSC since her first year at Georgetown, previously serving as the Director of Philanthropy for NCSC 50, and a non-traditionals crisis committee chair for NCSC LI. She has also dedicated a lot of time to Georgetown’s high school conference, NAIMUN, previously serving as the Under-Secretary General of ECOSOCs for NAIMUN LX and most recently, the Chief of Staff for NAIMUN LXI. Outside of Georgetown, Priyasha served as a philanthropy intern at the S M Sehgal Foundation in summer 2023, a newsgathering intern for the BBC News D.C. bureau in spring 2023, and will serve as a political affairs intern for the US-Asia Institute this summer. Priyasha loves journalism and storytelling, going on Boba runs, visiting home and family, and finding cute cafés and study spots in D.C. Priyasha hopes that delegates enjoy this committee and work towards defending the right to unbiased and impartial news in an increasingly polarized world. 

Co-Chair:
Jack Kealey

Jack Kealey is a member of the Class of 2025 at Georgetown University, majoring in Government and minoring in Journalism and Disability Studies. Jack is originally from New Haven, Connecticut and participated in his high school’s Model UN Team, becoming President in his senior year. This is Jack’s third NCSC, having served as Crisis Manager of the Moscow Music Peace Festival last year alongside Priyasha. Jack was also one of the USGs of ECOSOCs at NAIMUN LX last year, also with Priyasha! Outside of Model UN, Jack has served as a Congressional Intern and has worked on several political campaigns as Campaign Manager and Data Director. He also enjoys performing and has been in Georgetown’s productions of Rent and Into The Woods. He enjoys playing tennis, listening to Fleetwood Mac, and going to music festivals!

 

USG: Wisteria Hu

This committee is in the Assemblies & Summits Organ, and your Under-Secretary General is Wisteria Hu. Committees in this organ are General Assembly-style committees, with 50-160 delegates.


If you have any questions about your committee, please reach out to w.hu@modelun.org.