Hard hits, hidden truths: How investigative journalism tackled the NFL’s concussion problem
Register nowThis free webinar open to educators, students and interested members of the public features a discussion with investigative journalist Jeanne Marie Laskas about her reporting on concussions in the NFL. It also covers the watchdog role of a free press.
Thurday, Feb. 6, 2025
1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT
Today, most of us know that a professional football player can sustain potentially devastating brain injuries after years of repeated high-impact collisions with other players. That awareness is due in large part to the reporting of investigative journalist Jeanne Marie Laskas, whose 2009 GQ magazine article Game Brain profiled scientists who had made a stunning discovery: Concussions in pro football players could lead to dementia. It was a story the NFL didn’t want made public. But Laskas took on one of the most powerful corporations in the country to tell the story of those affected.
During this one-hour webinar, hosted by the News Literacy Project as part of National News Literacy Week, we will:
- Learn how Laskas conducted her reporting, despite resistance from the NFL.
- Learn about the watchdog role investigative journalists play in a democracy by documenting abuses by individuals, corporations and government entities.
- Explore free classroom resources for teaching about the watchdog role of a free press, including the “Democracy’s Watchdog” lesson on NLP’s Checkology® virtual classroom.
🎁 All attendees will be automatically entered into a drawing to win a care package of NLP goodies.
Educators are welcome to join with or without their students. There will be time for questions at the end of the webinar. This event is presented as a virtual Newsroom to Classroom visit.
This event will be hosted by NLP’s Senior Manager of District Partnerships Brittney Smith, and will feature Laskas, the author of the New York Times bestseller Concussion, the basis for the 2015 Golden Globe-nominated film of the same name. Laskas is the author of eight books and a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine, a correspondent at GQ and a two-time National Magazine Award finalist in feature writing. She serves as a Distinguished Professor of English and founding director of the Center for Creativity at the University of Pittsburgh.
