syrian opposition fighters. that will be a significant development. isis holds firm that will support their propaganda aims and will continue to draw support from around the world. >> thank you for being with us on "newsmakers." >> tonight on "q&a," michael ramirez on his career and recent book of satirical cartoons. i have this figure that is a conglomeration of extremist early settlers. palestinian the year is on a prayer rug but has his shoes on. both of these figures are utilizing a false religion for political purpose.

it proves that once again i am an equal opportunity offender. "q&a."ay night on >> tomorrow, former president bill clinton makes his first campaign trip for hillary clinton in 2016. he will be in new hampshire organizing meetings and will talk about how hillary clinton will make a difference with families. live coverage on c-span. >> c-span has your best access to congress in 2016. house and senate will reconvene to mark the second session of the 114th congress. on tuesday, the house is back from -- for legislative work.

then the senate returns on january 11. be sure to follow craig kaplan on twitter for daily congressional updates. live coverage on the radio, on tv, and online at c-span.org. >> three days after the san bernardino shootings, the muslim public affairs council had its annual convention in long beach california. the panel talked about coverage of muslims in the media and how american muslims can add their voices to the conversation. this is an hour and 20 minutes. >> good afternoon, everyone. i am proud to have served with the muslim public affairs council for over a decade.

we are so proud to have you with us today to kick off our final 15 session.n we come here to culminate with this session before we have our banquet in a few hours. before we begin this session, i would like to introduce the co-founder and president who will kickoff the and convention. andickoff the un-convention banquet for the day. >> in the name of god most gracious and most merciful, peace be unto you. thank you for joining us. i hope you plan on staying with us for the banquet tonight. it is our 15th annual. it seems like we started these events so shortly ago. we are growing.

you will see tonight, hopefully, become a national voice on so many issues. tonight this convention has the theme of celebrating our shared humanity. what a timely topic. it is our shared humanity that will help us overcome the ideology of hate. whether that hate is manifest in the form of international terrorism or in the form of xenophobia and hate crimes domestically. we need to have a united front. people have been asking us since in bernadino, first they asked what is it in your religion that causes people to do things like what happened in san bernardino? our answer is our religion is telling us to do exactly the opposite. our religion is about mercy and compassion and justice.

our religion is about -- if you save life, it is as if you saved all of humanity, if you kill a life, it is as if you are killing all of humanity. apparently they are not reading the same text that we are reading. or it is not being processed. they -- we are a religion, they are a cult. we're actually the nemesis to terrorism. the antidote to terrorism. the more we can empower mainstream communities to the more we can overcome and prevail the ideology. so then they say why are you speaking out? it is obvious that we cannot make this problem disappear with press releases alone.

what is required is civic engagement so those who work with us as partners help amplify the message. we demonstrate our work to the american public. so they see us as the example or the standardbearer of a religion and the fringe exactly like that. they are the fringe operation like every religious group has. and more importantly, that they see that we are the answer to the problems of peoples insecurities and fears -- fears in america. that means we will work on the aspect ofl and social the problem and they will work on the criminal aspect. we work hand-in-hand in partnership. that partnership will help us overcome these challenges today. we're probably up with us today the chief from the lapd.

we just wrote a joint op-ed in the washington post with him about partnership. i see other people from the l.a. sheriff's department. the department of homeland security is here with us. they are here to say to american society that this is the home for all people. muslim, christian, jew, people of all faith. they are here to protect us. to protect us from anyone trying to harm us. the way to overcome the problems of xenophobia is to not be intimidated into shoes the -- intimidated by them, to show strength in numbers. we will not be intimidated. the day we can stand together, all americans, and tell groups like isis and al qaeda, you cannot terrorize us will be the terror -- turning point in defeating that radical ideology. they want to influence audiences by terrorizing people. when we say we have the stamina

and the you will not terrorize perseverance and strength and resolve to say that will be the to say, you will not terrorize us, that will either turning point. finally they ask us aren't you frustrated all the time? we were just commenting on terrorism of backlash over and over again. the answer to that is yes and no. yes there is friction. there is a heavy weight on us. but at the same time, this is our plight. this is our narrative. here -- that america will recognize our vital contributions of the american muslim. when we achieve that vision, then we feel we have succeeded

in our goals. the terrorism that is emanating from the disintegration of the middle east, we cannot control. we can control the environment here. that is why this panel is important. how do we control our own narrative? with that, i thank you. ina.nd this back over to ed we are so glad to have her. she has been on radio and television doing a wonderful job. let's give her around of applause. >> we are gathered here today as a culmination of a series of events we have had all around for the past couple of months. when we took a step back as the

mpac team to take stock of where we have been for the entire year and to think about the possibilities ahead, one of the things that came first and foremost into our minds was the changing nature of our communities. 15 years ago, annual convention halls were the norm. it was the places muslims came together to discuss ideas, to go shopping in bazaars, to meet old friends and make new ones. today you do not have to go to convention centers to interact with the movers and shakers in society who are shaping some of the very issues impacting our daily lives. you can go a lot of places. what we decided to do was to turn it on its head so we would

instead go out to communities. that we would bridge the gap so we could listen to communities the voiceso them they may not be hearing in the local area. the voices of change, leading the changes we would all like to policy and image making through hollywood. new and innovative projects both online and in person. may be seeing pictures on fivecreen of some of the unconvention sections we have had. the first one took place in the .an gabriel valley had was atsession we the islamic center of southern california where we looked at the issue of homelessness.

eric garcetti declared a war on homelessness this year and declared we will end homelessness here in los angeles. it is a regional priority and one that hits close to home for muslims because it is one of our core values to take care of people who need the extra help. in third session was held camejo valley. we brought together diverse panelists, a counselor, academics and attorneys and young leaders to talk about the taboo issues that do not get discussed in our community very often. that was with an audience full of muslim young people as well as mormon young people who had a great deal in common. conversationastic about everything from relationships in dating to scriptures to how we make moral

description -- decisions and a host of other things. everyone to orange county and asked about muslims on screen and asked, is it getting better? that is what we are talking about today. we have up-and-coming muslims, some very well established, to give us a firsthand account of where things are getting better and where the opportunities for change are. then we wrapped up things last week at the him on cultural center where we talked about -- centerimam's cultural where we talked about marginalization. catholic,the mormon, and jewish communities. the lessons we gained their are more valuable than ever. era,session is called new new media.

opportunities for change. the could not be a more appropriate time to consider the meaning of this. when we came up with it, the new era was not just one we came up with today. as americans are facing a new era in our country because of what took place. with all the new media, old media, virtual media and others i have not heard of, are changing the very landscape of what it means to be an active citizen and active participant. communityf the muslim is changing. social media has changed so much of how we operate as a community, but so too is new media challenging old media whether it is print, newspapers, or television networks. today i am please to introduce you to a fantastic panel that i

have that will share their personal insights from their are atreers where they the leading edge of some of these very questions. you have these bios in the program but i want to introduce the panelists and jump into our conversation. to my immediate right, we have senior viceh who is president of entertainment diversity and communications. she has been a long-standing partner with us and he if you have heard about our young leaders hollywood summit where we encourage platforms for young people to pursue them in this a regulary have been stop and an amazing place for we have good conversations. we are really happy to have megan garvey who is the deputy managing editor with the los certainlymes and

could not be a busier newsday so we are grateful that she peeled herself a way to be with us today. then we have the only male on the panel which is a nice change. he's no stranger to this community and grew up here in southern california. inhas been a trailblazer leading with new media since before social media existed. theas the founder of internet startups in the.com era that started to really put islamic organizing online in a really unexpected way. since then he went to serve with the state department as a senior advisor and he helped create a program called generation change that supported young social for north around the world in muslim countries to lead change within

their societies. he has since come back and started something which is a startup incubator exclusively for muslim social entrepreneurs. we will hear more about that later today. to thank you for coming all the way to washington, d.c. to be with us. before i ask our panelists to start with opening comments i want to ask two things. we had a hope that we would have with us to executive producers from a series with us they had a scheduling conflict at the last minute. you will notice there information in the program. that we are pleased to have an inch -- intimate conversation with the brief time that we have. i also want to mention the session is being recorded by c-span and it will air later this month on c-span. so please keep an eye out for that. we are being joined by viewers online through

periscope. so we will beginning questions from our viewers online and we also ask that you share questions throughout the discussion. i would start off the conversation i hope to at least alternate between your questions and my own. buts will be coming around this is 2015's we will also ask you to tweet in question so all you have to do is use the hash tagged and submit your questions that way. we do old-school and new school and so please this conversation is yours. i am just here to kick it off. with that i turn to our panelists. >> with all that's going on. we talked with this intersection between old and new media. newn and media both sit in media. where the largest print news publications in the dead states if not the world.

and you have been a pioneer at looking at new media. what i like to start out with this a few minutes from each of you about your broad observations about how the landscape has changed during your own career. what is changing, how is new media falling into this and is it real change we are seeing? is it more noise than substance? >> let's start there. >> as opposed to old i love the word season. we are in seasoned media. or conditional -- traditional. i have been with cbs for 17 years now so? -- so has it changed? absolutely. anyone and everyone, i looked into the crowd and i see a lot of for heads because everyone is on a device.

it is almost an extension of our hands. it is changed where everything is so immediate and fast. before, you would issue press releases. it would take a little while. seasoned typewriters. but now everything i would say now is much more immediate and, regardless if it is factually accurate. we have to keep up with it will it. -- up with it is no longer like the 6:00 news or 11:00 news, it is immediate. it's the first thing you look at. the first thing you check. you cannot even watch a film without seeing the screen. i want to tweet about it and tell everyone.

that is the other thing that has really changed remarkably since i started in the business i am in. >> certainly the speed is something that -- i was talking to my colleagues saying that you used to have to call the library . it's like, what did i do all day? the way you would hear for her -- from her interact with readers. when i was at the washington post a long time ago they still piece ofges on a paper. where i think the new

landscape can be exciting is you can talk to people more directly. you can also find out more about people but speed is an issue. you have to make sure your accurate. it is good to be first if you are accurate but i think that sorting through what is true and not true what is responsible, sensitivity to the repercussions of making a mistake or overstating or understating information is a challenge. as is some of the action you get -- interaction you get asked from readers that may not be pleasant. every story we wrote about the san bernardino case we had to make sure was moderated as we knew the comments we would get. there is a difference between a constructive conversation and questions about an issue. and hate speech. so trying to figure out where it's valuable to have that

conversation about people's questions and misunderstandings and where that veers into something that pollutes what you're trying to report responsibly. i remember finding myself in silicon valley in the 90's surrounded by the revolution. and i remember those people that were involved in this idea of this new medium being the one that replaces the old medium, they were driven by the saying that the media is the message and the use that as a battering ram against traditional media. i think those people did not writingwhat they were on. it wasn't just one revolution. it started with multimedia and then it went to the internet blogs and social media and revolution after revolution. allhe time we have come

this way, we are still trying to grapple with what that means because if you look at the system we are in now. if you put all of your faith in social media, there are multiple paradoxes. much easier it is to put out sensational list, violent or agitating themes than peaceful ones. the internet favors extreme speech and that is something it's not a level playing field. when people talk about extremist speech versus moderate speech they have a lake up. the second thing is that attention spans have been driven by tweet length. so how do you encapsulate big ideas into small information. we used to call that poetry. attention spans of got so small and like longform journalism it's harder to do that.

what you are finding is what our people tweaking and posting to a facebook? doing journalism. they are pushing the traditional stuff they used to bash. over the last 10 to 15 years they have devalued it to nothing. they don't want to pay for it but it constitutes the content that drives billion dollar valuations to companies. it emerged to trash traditional journalism but it is completely based on it now. the dust settles, as people try to figure out how to manage this medium you are finding solid journalism coming back. people are starting to do much more traditional longform journalism again and i feel like we have come full circle. but we are still in the middle of that revolution and is still not shaken out yet. people think we have encountered

all of the turbulence. people 10 years ago or saying that and i guarantee you that is not the case. it's what we to go is back to basics. thee the medium is not message. maybe the message is the message. maybe we have to go back to storytelling and back to what is moving people. and now it is democratized where people can tell stories in a tweet. muslims have embraced the medium to tell stories to influence the media and things like that. we just started down this journey and as a society a don't know where it will end up, but i hope it will end in a place where we truly understand each other and know each other better. right now it's hard because there is hostility. it's a horrible place to be if you are a woman, or someone people are not familiar with. it's very difficult if you are a

muslim, but i think these things will pass as we mature and as we figure out how to balance it out . realizeajority of us the abilities we have like the first adopters did. >> i would like to say that a lot of times when we talk about negative comments or that negativity wins. i feel like people feel they are 10 feet tall behind a device. a computer or a phone that you can say whatever you want because you do not physically have to deal with the ramifications of talking face-to-face. when we talked about how negativity sometimes wins, when you ask someone how are you doing? and they say i am doing great. no one ever asks how great. but you say ok what else.

it's one of those things were if you say how are you doing -- my toe hurts, i am sick -- we can talk about that over and over again similar to what happened online with that discussion -- discussion defeats itself. you can find that misery loves company very easily. >> one of the things it has certainly changed is the meaning of time. the urgency of now particularly in breaking news situations like the one we're living in right now has certainly impacted decision making. i want to start first with you megan to see how it is changed from the days when it was just a daily newspaper or maybe the afternoon edition and know we have around-the-clock news cycle. particularly where new information is being contributed online through social media and citizen analysts. and how that is impacting decision-making at the los angeles times and perhaps even

about what constitutes a good source. it may >> i can talk about a little bit on what happened wednesday morning. interestingly enough, the first sign that something was really a mess in san bernardino was a tweet that the san bernardino fire department sent out, saying they were responding to a shooting that had up to 20 victims. the way it works in most newsrooms now, we have people who are monitoring constantly, for news on social media. which can be often the very first time you hear something. you might hear something incorrectly follow up on it. weiland, night, scott this don't double pilot singer was found dead. the first indication of that was a tweet. you hear it and then you have to investigate it. at i thought immediately of that first, the number be right? i was in my office, and i got up and i walked to the floor and we

started sending people out. we confirmed with the fire department that that was the information they had. and we started listening to the police scanner. they sometimes speculate on there. again, just like social media, more of a tip sheet rather than some you would report directly off of. probably three reporters immediately and then another five within 15 minutes of that heading out to san bernardino from downtown los angeles. while they are heading there we're trying to work on sources and social media, and other news reports to figure out what we thought we knew. --hink that what happens this is really a good example, the l.a. times like many "legacy" news organizations -- out,y are trying to figure how do you operate in this era?

i will ask the room, how many of you -- i hope you still get a print newspaper -- how many of you are waiting for your newspaper in the morning to find out what happened in the world? a couple. ok. i'm amazed. good for you. good for me. most people are not waiting even if they get a newspaper for the news. particularly in a huge breaking news event like this, the broader implications were not clear. in this country, we go through these mass shootings at a stunning regularity right now. i remember this was something that was pretty unusual at one point in my career and now does not feel unusual of all. we fired up a live blog for paris. we have reporting from colorado springs. it is sadly routine. i think especially in a major new situation, i think

as a respected news source, we bear responsibility for separating fact from fiction or speculation. i think you feel that responsibility that, i will take scott weiland. we were the first organization to speak to his wife. and we were very careful in sanford idea to major the everything we were recording we need to be true. we waited on some things. we did not even connect the chase and the firefight with police officers immediately. it seems pretty clear it was probably related to what had happened. we did not connect them until it was connected. i was at a conference a couple of years ago, called the future of storytelling, and one of the men at the conference to

actually works in the music business was talking about how when music became available online and people to post to youtube and various other sources, a lot of people thought it has been democratized. taste makers won't matter as much because people will set with a light and he said that an interesting thing happened. djs became suddenly more because -- important than they had been in years because it is difficult to sort through everything out there. you're still looking for some and to help you curate and understand the news. just like you are looking for some and to help guide you to the kind of music that you might like. >> this is exactly why is someone who is in the rear -- the ringer journalism model rear it scares me. i think there's a need for professionals to be a part of the conversation. i'm not saying they should dominate or control, but to be a part of the conversation where citizen journalism has a conversation with them. that is the ideal. turn tony, i want to

you, because a situation like san bernardino, the line between news media and hollywood media, someone argue is getting more blurred with info-payment. i'm curious about how the events in san bernardino or similar ones whether it is paris or others, impacted decision-making at the network around sensitive storylines are other things that are going on? >> people look to television to define social norms. obviously yes it's for entertainment. however sometimes a lot of dramas will feature storylines that might be received as insensitive. we looked at those before, look at our storylines, look at the content, are there too many guns being used? we look at those and we make sure we are being sensitive to the climate as well as her audience. we deftly do that. even on supergirl, something

where we make sure that we switch the particular episode. that is always top of mind. >> thank you. with the race for eyeballs. any screen you are looking at. everyone is walking across the skin with her eyes glued to their screens. it is the new way to be. how did that impact decision-making for you, tiffany, and the network? we had hoped to have the hulu executive producers here because they are behind the first all latino cast show on television, broadly speaking, including hulu. mediare is about how new and the changes that you are saying and spaces like netflix and hulu are impacting the kinds of decisions and the future of a place like cbs television? is really that we feel that television roles, obviously. being the number one, most network, absolutely, it feels that television is still very

much significant. of thethat utilizing all platforms with a watch that traditionally in your living room, kitchen, bedroom, wherever that might be, or on your television, it is still the same in that sense. it has also brought in so much. 15-16 years ago, there were only three networks. now you cannot even go through all of these cable stations and an hour. i think that anyone also that has a phone can be a content creator. everyone has that voice. i think that that is important also when we are talking about images, representation, all of that really truly matters. and so you want to make sure that that is how it goes, as well. >> let me ask a follow-up question. you focus on diversity. watch on that we television need to reflect the faces that we see when we are out on the street. >> we try hard. >> an uphill battle. >> i'm fighting the good fight. impacts itnow that

for sure. i'm cares about how, whether a none" or soaster of many others that are out there, in starring roles of people of color, whether that is helping your job at the network to diversify the shows on-screen? >> absolutely, of course. you cannot say the word empire without everyone and every network saying that they want empire on their schedule. of course. i think that any of those shows, but again, a lot of times, when i say people have to create their own, where it is. sometimes they do and a less traditional space, but also that is why it is important for myself and the people that are in these rules, making sure that we give a voice to the voiceless. making sure we assess questions where we look at a casting list. does this really look like our america? does this really a flat --

reflect what some would particularly say. is this accurate? i know we are not the street channel and this does not have to be actually, that we have to make sure that we are actually casting the widest net. what are these images showing. a lot of times there a tremendous amount of unconscious eyes. as well as conscious pies. let me tell you. but unconscious in the sense of we have seen it this way and this is what looks normal to us. . there was a role for a firefighter. when they came in, there were 30 men. and i would say 29 were white men. and i said what about what if we did an asian-american female. the casting director said what is she talking about? they are white guys. we are not thinking that way. the captain of the fire department san francisco was a nation american female. if we saw more of those images it becomes normal.

if we saw more muslims in particular roles where it was not so scary typical, it becomes normal. that is why master of none helps , it helps tremendously. i've been sending e-mails, look at the great press that the l.a. times issuing about the show or whatever it is, so it definitely helps, the more that we can see that this is the new normal. >> thank you. >> megan i want to turn back to you. msnbc go into and the apartment of the suspects in san bernardino. there are all kinds of ethical questions involved there. i noticed that this morning on the front page of the l.a. times that photos from the inside of the apartment were splashed across the cover. how did that kind of decision-making happen and in what degree is it influenced by eyeballs versus new value, and to what degree do you feel that there is a media responsibility toward allowing the

investigation to take place. had to grapple with that? >> i'll clarify a couple of things. this is something we took sometime yesterday. we did have reporters who were in the apartment. we did not immediately use that material because we wanted to ss sort of what had happened. -- that sceneion had actually been cleared by law enforcement, said they were not going into an active scene. it was boarded up because the windows had been shattered in the course of the search of the home. the landlord later came out and said, this has been cleared. in their purview, as the property owner to allow people into the property, and so ultimately, we decided to show images from inside the apartment because i think there was a new site to try and understand, was a normalcy in these people's lives? what we did not do, which i think the network said it didn't already apologize for, is go in

there with a live feed and do things like holdup the mother's drivers license, which had a lot of information about her on it. and photos of other people who may have had no connection to anything other than their photo was in the house. problem thatit's a in life situations, tv has had to grapple with for years. which is, you are in that moment, and you are not taking time to sort of ss the value of it. some of the anchors sort of say, hold on, don't get in that close. hold on a minute. i do think it was sort of a moment. i think probably a lot of journalists -- journalism organizations are considering, how is the teaching moment? to think about, just because you can do it, should you? and what is the new sign of something? not innny because we are the exact situation is be live on air and talking, because our

vehicle for being life is actually written and visual in a way that archives. i think if you went back and newsed most like broadcasts in a huge new situations, all kinds of errors get made in all kinds of things are said that in that moment seem true. they were three shooters. no their work. lots of speculation. on theu are writing internet, it is still there. it does not go away unless you are erasing things you make mistakes on. i think the act of having to write it down makes our organization maybe a little more cautious because you realize it is going to stay out there. >> thank you for that. i want to connected to this question in the sense that when we see media or politicians or thats who make decisions we agree with or disagree with, in this case, yesterday in response to this, i cannot member what the #campaign was, but it is something like my muslim apartment or something along those lines that was

basically a sendup or a caricature station -- characterization of what was taking place. how is social media platform and a way to hold all kinds of media or even public officials accountable? and i know that you have been a force behind some social -- #campaign for good. can you add to this? >> this is one of the examples of true empowerment. we have been trying to figure out how to use these tools to empower average people to move the needle on media. the #campaign has become one of those ways. everything from black lives matter on. lot of muslims on social media, who had been making points on social media, but they had not been moving the needle very much, realize that there was a lot of traction and #campaign. why is that? because they elevate the discourse to a much more

cultural level. it was not just about pointing out inconsistencies or the facts or things like that, it was about telling a story in a #. so when you do #my muslim apartment, what you are doing is telling the story of ordinary lives, your neighbors, we have cats and dogs like you do. we have sporting equipment. it was a very humanizing thing. it was driven by that need to seem human in a social media sphere where everybody was focusing on this aspect. and nobody was focusing on the outer circle. the brother that is a navy veteran. the people in the community who had grown up in that community and worked in that same center. all of these different things. it was a very intelligent way to go about that. id,id this with #muslim with donald trump, and we were all putting out, here is i

served in the armed forces forces. i put up on with my diplomatic passport. i represent this country overseas, here is my muslim id. are trying to model by example here, creative ways to respond that are not grievance driven. they are not depressing. there actually uplifting and inspirational. the more that we can respond in that way, it is not just about engaging with the media, but also the public. the thing about social media is you cannot segment your audience in ways that other traditional media can. every audience is looking at you at exactly the same time, sue have to tailor in a way that everybody gets the intended message and nobody gets misdirected. >> thank you. i want to start with our first audience question. and again i want to go back and forth. lisa may your questions. we will incorporate them into the conversation. for viewers on the link, please do the same. the first question we have is, it seems the world we live in favors and immediacy and shock value, what can be done to

change the way that we communicate the messages of peace and respect, press releases are great, but flash mobs might reach a greater audience just as an example? >> this is the great dilemma of the time that we are in. to be able to react quickly and to get something out there, it is not a skill that everybody has. people have to learn how to be nuanced quickly. people always ask me, how do get good on twitter? you just practice. you practice tweeting and you practice figuring out what gains traction with people. it just tastes rectus. i do encourage everyone, i encourage people to get on twitter. not just because you want to get followers and things like that, but because it is a great way to convince your thoughts. if you're on the stage, if you can speak and we, people will then take it and send it out. it is more than 100 people. it is thousands of people. people should just embrace this as a training mechanism. this is how you convey ideas.

this is how you tell your stories. and then that multiplies. faster than you could ever imagine. >> thank you. the next question from the audience as i think for all of you. as decision-makers who drive, curate, and disseminate content for mass consumption, what would you recommend to the american muslim community by way in getting involved in shaping the message and buy it -- alan seemed inevitable bias that exists in today's world? >> for me, at cbs, one of the most -- i think that when we work together mostly is with our youth. internships. i cannot tell you how may times -- once we hire someone, nine times out of 10, it is someone that we have been more familiar with. i would say for anyone that is within their college career, apply for internships. that accessibility, being able to become more familiar with --

i have my current in turn right now, who is sick. -- with a sikh. and from the sikh community. i think it is been so wonderful not only from -- for him himself, who once told to milley be a director, but also all of the employees on my hallway who see him every day and they are exposed to someone different. i would really say that how do we change the narrative, or how can we become more a part of the conversation or have a seat at that table. for me, personally, it would be internships. getting into the system, getting into the door and making sure that your voice is heard. that is the one thing that we can all utilize, whether it is on twitter or in print journalism, but it is making sure that you do have a voice and have people really get to know you and not assume that they know you because of what we can see out here. >> i would say along the same

fieldsbeing active in and careers that have the influence to shape storylines is important. and it's not about -- i think the fact that like in our newsroom we have a number of people who are muslim practicing, that influences your daily experience. also, as a resource and something happens, to talk to them. one of our photographers lives in san bernardino and arizona -- and has been in that committee for years, and when this happens, he was already out there. and also some you can just talk to. you can say, how's the community feeling about this? what can you tell us about this family? what details about being a muslim in this zone at? that's all really important to contextualize and understand what happens beyond just dropping in from the city of los

angeles and trying to sort it out. >> i do want people to take a step back and think about the way things were with respect to the muslim community in the days after 9/11 compared to today. back then, i would hear people talking about us as if we were -- in a very anthropological way. like we were animals in a zoo. the nobody could interact with us. now today when i can on the tv, i see familiar faces. i see talented people who are -- there are people in this room resting on tv. for muslims were part of the conversation. i get contacted by reporters who are muslims themselves. i see op-ed's been written by people who started out as bloggers and became pundits. that, muslimso are increasingly active in hollywood. also in the industry of -- great industries. we have come a long, long way. it has moved the needle and tremendous ways.

even when you look at the new media space. look at the rising youtube stars. look at people who are out there part of this conversations. we're there. we have the mechanism to keep it moving. we have just started. >> thank you. i want to shift back to television. we had a huge advance this year at the emmys when regina king won an emmy for portraying a muslim character. who was herself a key job wearing character. in a positive role. that i think was a huge shock. for many of us within our community, to see that kind of role exist out there, and then this father also shows like "quantico", that feature muslim characters and more and more roles. what do you think is -- where are the possibilities for better portrayal on television and in film of muslim characters, because this is one of the places, the most common grievances, if you will, or

criticisms of hollywood is the way that we are reduced to such a caricature? >> the possibilities i definitely think they are endless right now. because there are so many more people that are writing. it can be after active, someone has to write it. that's i when i was talking to internships and informational interviews, it is so important to make sure that that voice ,here those craters are created that can be seen as four dimensional people, as human beings. that half-life. that am cats and dogs. that eat pizza. i think that the more were able to see that, the possibilities are absolutely endless. one of the things that we did this year, that i'm externally proud of, is that we had a event with all of our casting directors and we had a real talk about when does diversity come into play?

and you cannot make whatever makes them an diverse supersede their character. you understand? of, not i need someone who is going to be the doctor or the victim or whatever it might be, don't let, i think i need somebody to fill in just for racial purposes. one of the things that i say so often, that i cannot -- i will say this until the day i die. diversity does not mean black. that is one thing that -- we will be in a room a lot and you will say we can cast a black eye or the black girl, i think were done. were done for the week. were good. we did it. our job is done. diversity, in its true sense, means more than one. let's make sure that we are really looking for, what does this look like? how can this role be? we are doctors, lawyers, teachers, firefighters. there is so much more. again, we gave this book called "the hidden brain", which i

consider my bible. we gave it to every casting director. casting directors, there is no casting director school. it is not the doctrine you go to medical school and hopefully know how to operate. casting directors, you are taking your environment, particular you are a raise, and you're taking all of those things and they definitely play a role in how you see television characters. and so i think that one of the things i've been so proud of his after they read the book, it was like oh, ok. i see that anyone can play this role. i think the possibilities absolutely are endless. regina king when he that ma, we all celebrated that day. because we want to see her of that. not saying that we always have to be good. we all know. but, when do we reach parity? we have been this, a long downtime. in terms of diversity, it is

not just diversity for diversity sake. it is what the public wants, and if anyone does not believe that, take the top 30 used to start -- top 30 youtube stars and look at how diverse they are compared to what you would generally expect. >> belief behind a mercy for diversity sake either. it will say, does the most qualified -- >> that's a people want. >> look at the numbers people -- numbers. it is a smart business imperative. people are living so much money on the table it is ridiculous. it's not just those, let's there and we are done. check the box and we are good. it is not that. as someone in my role, do i want the best actor to get the role? we always hear that one. we did see diverse clients, but we had to go with the best actor. wel, are we making sure that are really wide enough, did you really look hard? look harder. do better and be smarter. so, let me ask a follow-up

question related to hollywood and television. #campaigns like the takedown campaign of tyrants. you name the hollywood project with the stereotypes in it. to help humanize undiversified kind of roles that are out there. there are some who say, that we should try to get the shows off of the air before they could even start. others say we should engage to make them better. from your perspective, when communities raise issues particularly on social media and other platforms, with their concerns about whether it shows information or shows that are on the air, what is effective, what is not? what do you hear and how does that work and how can we be affected consumers? >> being able to properly and effectively communicate. that's the first thing. whenever there's been a

particular storyline that i am not very comfortable with, i'm going to make sure that i reach out to impact or the naacp or that particular community that i might feel there might be some sensitivity and have a conversation. then you go back to writers, directors, producers and really express what is being sold -- told, excuse me on social media. why is there a concern? what is the issue? nine times out of 10 when you actually talk to someone and effectively communicate, you can get the message clear. where does is just like, are we doing this for sensationalism? to perpetuate the stereotype that we have seen over and over and over again? and the audience does not want that. that is the other thing, they will smell authenticity very quickly. >> do you want to weigh in on this in terms of how social media campaign can impact portrayals or how community members can leverage or utilize those outlets to make their voices heard in an effective way? >> there are effective and ineffective ones. when you are trying to create a conversation where you are

collectively trying to make something better, i think you can achieve something. often, there are campaigns that are just confrontational. i want complete victory in the way they see it and they want to shut down from the completely. if people are trying to do a show and it has some kind of intersection with an identity that you relate with -- if you shut it down, you reduce the chances of something like that ever being done again because they will say it is not my time. but, you were with them, even if it is not perfect, and it looks like it works and gets out there, then you increase the appetite, people have to look at the long-term. not all social media campaigns -- i tend to favor the ones that are conversational, aspirational, funny and that touch people's hearts. those of the campaigns like to see go forward. i generally think that the ones that -- the harsh ones are for strong circumstances. you simply do want to get

someone to shut up. >> thank you. our next audience question is, how do we ensure accurate and honest reporting and journalism and the new era of news and media? how can the audience rely on what they see and hear? >> i think as consumers of news you have to judge your sources, in part. i think that sometimes what happens is -- this is maybe more than used to happen -- you self -identify with a community that you agree with. i think you can see this on facebook. i have people on facebook where they don't really think a lot like i do, and then i have the constant sort of decision to make about whether i still see their feeds or not, because sometimes you get really upset that someone has a different opinion from you and then part of me feels like, this is a window into a part of this country that maybe i don't always get exposed to.

it could be good for me to hear that. so, i think -- i'd say you have to be a smart consumer and decide whether you think that the source is objective. and, i think that that is where there are a lot of citizen journalists, but journalism is a professional career. i have spent a long time learning how to report. how to find sources. how to decide whether someone is being truthful or is someone who should be listened to. whether something seems suspicious to me. how to find documents that support the story that i am hearing. somebody said to me, that something is true, i don't take their word for it. i check it with someone else. that is why i think there is a real value in the legacy news organization. where you have that kind of training. use your common sense. because you want to believe

something, because it fits into your worldview does not make a it true. consider the source. be careful about what you share, because you may be sharing that information because it appeals to you. that happens on all ends of the political spectrum. it is hard. it's hard because they're used to be a few sources and now -- there used to be a few sources and now there are many. i think we have to be educated consumers of information. >> the same people who would look at you and say i don't trust that journalist, but i heard a rumor -- [laughter] >> they don't see the inconsistency of that. this is where we have a collective conversation about how to properly manage the responsibility that we all have that we can interact with the world now. that has consequences if you say something that is destabilizing. >> there is a tendency to not like the information and believe

it is untrue. not liking information or if it makes her happy one comfortable is not the same as the information being false. i think that sometimes we all make that mistake. >> thank you. to piggyback off of the point you just made, and audience question says, one of the problems with social media is that people tend to connect mainly with other like-minded individuals or groups. with that in mind, is there hope for building bridges and expanding exposure to different ideas online? how do we best do that, i guess? >> i think some of these -- black lives matter or other campaigns, i'm even thinking recently about the backlash to snl for having donald trump on. people are pointing out that he said a lot of different things that probably offend a lot of different communities, but in particular the fact that snl who is been around for 40 something years, has managed to have two or three latino cast members ever. nobody else is funny, i guess? raising ofousness

saying, you will have donald trump on, he said all of this stuff, demonstrably not true. this is an organization and a show that has been on for decades that is barely managed to diversify beyond black and white people. to me, that is a way to sort of cut across. even if you left donald trump, i thinke donald trump, i that backspace question about why snl has failed to find anyone other than white or african-american people to be on their show, is something that i think you would often think, will that is actually a pretty good question. this a country where latinos make up a significant part of the population and are incredibly influential. so, how is that? >> we will never get very far if we segment ourselves so much that we do not understand this problem. here we are, as muslims trying to tell people that they need to let us into their circles, but we will segment ourselves out. we have to make ourselves uncomfortable. i have plenty of conservative friends who are my friends on

facebook, and everything i post, my muslim friends see it and my conservative and liberal friends see it. i try to manage that conversation. just last week, i posted something that hinted at where i stand on gun control. people on my wall were having this very interesting conversation from all different sides. but, i was also trying to elevate it to another place. where can we find common ground? this is where the beauty of social media comes out, when you have those diverse conversations. but if it's just as the chamber, -- just the echo chamber, that is when conspiracy theories happen. and destabilizing stuff happens. >> thank you. >> i study communications and journalism and learned a lot about agenda setting. it used to be that traditional media, legacy media, had the greatest role in agenda setting within society. it was more of the traditional norm. with s day and age,

hashtag campaigns and social media, how much of that is changing who is setting the agenda in terms of what media covers? i think specifically about the power of hashtag campaigns this year, like the i stand with ahmed campaign about the texas teenage clockmaker. would that have been on the national media radar? would it have made this kid famous and made the situation in the mess had it not been for social media? to what degree do you each feel feel -- do you each feel in your own spheres that social media is a trickle up that may be happening from your viewers or your readers? >> i think this is no question that these, -- sometimes their y par campaigns, sometimes they are people reacting to an event.

people who misspelled san bernardino for example. i think that, to me it is interesting because i used to try to read a lot of the ethnic media. newspapers, watching bet news at night, because it was really like seeing a different america. in these sort of segmented communities, what was being covered there was very different on a nightly basis than what you would see on the national news. i think, anyway, the value of social media for mainstream journalists, a lot of that conversation, i think, is bubbling up in a way that is in front of you if you are following the right people, active people. twitter is overwhelming. i member the morning of the fee fifa arrest, i had one channel that was just fifa. i think that in the sense of exposing more people to different viewpoints, i think it is actually quite interesting

and certainly has -- part of our morning conversation -- we talk about some of the major news events overnight. our plans for the day. then, at the end, one of the things they always ask to our reader and engagement and social media team is what have we not talk about that you are seeing in the conversation locally? there's always something. it is driven by social media. it is driven by trends in social media. not every day to recover that, but a lot of times, we do look into that. we find stories that were not have been seen otherwise. -- that would not of been seen otherwise. it can be quite influential. but, i think it is most influential when it is authentic. i think when it feels canned or it feels like a campaign -- i think with the my muslim id and -- id, it felt very authentic that people were responding to what was said in a way that felt incredibly real. i think that that becomes newsworthy. >> i think it terms of -- people

say they want to launch campaigns, but unless you're paying for promoted tweets, a campaign is not going to go anywhere unless people organically attach themselves to it. it is meritocracy us in that matter. going back to the original point, i think one of the biggest challenges of our time is trying to figure out how to manage the information overload that we all get. i would love to dive into every single one of these conversations and really try to get where everyone is coming from, but we are talking about thousands of not millions of conversations and millions of points of view. i still the process that. -- still don't know how to process that. that is why the reasons that we do retreat into ourselves. it is overwhelming. this is why there is a role for professionals to help navigate that, because i think a lot of people are struggling with this. in every community, that is why our society is getting so polarized, because i think we just cannot take the overload. >> i agree with all that.

i want to get to work questions. there is a question now about what it means to be a reporter. there is a question here about what it means to be a reporter now in the sense that we have seen reporters get suspended or fired for sharing their personal opinions on world events or for sharing personal views on hot button issues. in this day and age, where is that line for reporters? whether it is specifically at the l.a. times on a broader sphere, what responsibility do they have and what rights do they have? >> that's a really fascinating question because it is something -- in my role, i run the homepage of the website at the l.a. times. but i started off as a traditional print reporter. i have learned a lot about data reporting. so, i think reporters in general have to be much more jack of all trades than they were ever.

i know quite a bit of html and all sorts of stuff that used to be written down in a notepad. if you're are good at writing, it's a bonus. i have to be in greatly careful about what i say. i don't share generally personal opinions. i think that it is important not to because even if i have a personal opinion, is strong one, -- a strong one, i feel like i could still go and cover -- i covered the presidential campaign in 2000. this is who i traveled with. i tried with george bush, al gore, i spent six months of my life with dick cheney. and i also spent right a bit of time in a van with ralph nader. i covered all of those people. i think fairly because whatever my personal feelings are about politics, i think that i could bring in objectivity to it. i think if i was out there saying, my personal feelings, then that takes away from my ability to be seen as someone

who is fair. you get called out on it. i jumped about something was on facebook and three people were like, you're an editor at the l.a. times you should not be saying that. i said i'm sorry, also in my -- i'm sorry, i have to lose my sense of humor now, too. to be fair, in my flash of anger, i thought, they have a point. everything is public. the idea that there is a private facebook channel or even if you only allowed authorized people to follow your twitter, that woman got fired for the jokes about ebola or was it ebola? she was an idiot. really. i would say nothing on social media with the expectation that it would not eventually get out. i hope the sony hack taught a lot of us that even what you say in your e-mail is potentially public. i think it is challenging. we start conversations. people have to account what they said.

you have to be a lot more careful. i think you should be and more thoughtful about how you process your personal feelings and how you portray what is happening in reality. >> thank you. >> one of the things with that, we are in section over sharing of overn a society sharing, in the sense that i'm going to share that i love this water and here's a picture of what i ate. here are my shoes. i'm going to do this. i always say, when we always say where we are, some of the go around your house. you are telling every step of your life. stop it. the over sharing is unbelievable. in that sense. i will always tell someone when they say that they are sorry for

what they said, i say no you are sorry for what you got caught. if you are in doubt and think you should tweet it or write it, tell a friend. physically, not with a microphone on. >> exactly. there you go. last question for you. considering you are the founder of the labs, tell us about what they are all about and what you hope to do with it and the audience question is a bit for that, what type of muslim focus startup diesel the market is ready for? >> the whole idea came about because i had spent 10-15 years in what is called the digital islamic economy. i saw vast markets, liberal -- global markets, 500 million muslims between the ages of 18-25 that are upwardly mobile, culturally more alike with each other than like their parents generation. they care about their identity and want to spend on it. very few people actually cater to that market. what i did was try to bring in promising startups that i thought could fit a couple of models. one is buying muslims for everybody, meaning that you create and tap into islamic heritage and values and create

products that have universal appeal. that can transmit that to the masses. i'm a founding board member of saffrpon road. 2% of their market is muslims and the vast majority is everyone else. part of that is how do you halaal in a way that is universally acceptable? we are trained to bring in companies that do that. the other thing we're trying to do is create innovation by doing hackathons by bringing people together for a couple of days from different backgrounds to solve a specific challenge. doing it in the muslim communities with muslim identity and life. we have done these around the world and we will start to do them in america. we did when all the w -- abu dhabi. we are doing when it's look on valley. we look to future ones on cultivating muslim storytellers. we want to try to see the

environment. the number one thing that we found is that it is not about skill or talent, but confidence. it is about feeling that you can do it. that is the number one barrier for most people. we realize that once again people into the situation and we live stream their result and we fund the winners, they could do amazing things. we are hoping in the next couple of years to start spinning out companies and ideas and initiatives. the first couple of apps come out early next year. those will show that there is a lot of talent in this group of people. we have a lot to give the world. i want to show that muslims are not just a source of problems, but of solutions. >> thank you. so, i want to ask a closing question for everyone. it has two prongs, the first is, considering new media now, what do you think we have to look forward to a few years from now? what is your prediction of what

will continue to impact your industry or your arena in the years to come that people should keep an eye out for? secondly, we spend a lot of time talking about the points of darkness. i hope that we can and with the end with the points of light. what is one point of light that you see that gives you hope for how this transition from legacy media to new media can be a force for good? >> what is your prediction for the future and what is a bright spot that you want to give a little attention to? >> prediction for the future. i think that there are so many innovative idea thinkers out there that we have not scratch ed the surface of what we are going to see socially. there are so many semi-people

-- so many people that are now as codingtions becomes available. we will see the next chapter the next twitter or facebook. there will be multiple generations of that. it will only enhance television viewing for us because television is not going anywhere. as much as people say tv is dead, people are watching still. i think that that is definitely going to expand its. -- expand it. i think for the light, because i work in an industry where that is all i see, one of the things that i see tremendously is that i want to continue to provide the access because before anyone can do anything, you need the access and exposure. really make it possible. we need to get to know each other more. our communities are resilient.

>> i think you're going to see -- you already are, rapidly -- these long time -- whether it is the l.a. times or the washington post or the new york times, the big names in american journalism make much more substantial pay pivot to digital news in a way that is sustainable. a lot of us are grappling with these dual operations. you have what is in real time what is online which i think for a long time with you and as -- long time was seen as lesser even though it is informing more , people than really wetlands in your driveway in the morning. -- what lands in your driveway in the morning. i think that we saw this last with san bernardino, the quality of what we were producing in close to real time with equally better than what we were able to publish in this

sort of limited number of pages. i think that that is significant for american journalism because i think that professional journalism does matter and is very important. i think having these organizations make that change in a way that is sustainable is crucial, really, to continuing forward. i would just say that i think new media is so exciting. used -- you used to be able to just put something on a piece of paper and print photographs or a flat graphic. that was all that you could do. the reason why i moved into digital is because it was so exciting. you could create databases that live on. you can explore things on your own and really understand a subject matter. i think different people learn different, so video is incredibly interesting and certainly has existed for a long time outside of print. we were just talking about the video on what a lot of our means. we went and talked to people in the community. ironically, or interestingly, we

months before few everything started happening in san bernardino. we wanted to explain to people that this is not scary, what this means, how people interpret it, in a way that i think it has something like 3 million views on facebook now. that is like reaching an audience that in the printed l.a. times he never could have. or even, coverage of the syrian refugee crisis, which goes beyond just the moment it would have appeared on the front page of the paper and is still accessible to anyone looking for it. i see a lot of excitement and a lot of opportunity to really reach more communities and tell stories in ways that are so much more -- i love writing and i love to write. that are more nuanced and go beyond just that medium. >> i know this will be hard for a lot of people to believe, probably a lot of people will not believe this even the events of this week, but, given the

success that we have had since 9/11, given the immense amount of talent, muslim talent in the pipeline in every possible field, the most important of the creative field, and given the resilience that america has shown in the face of what is happening, if you ignore the ype, if you look at the real world, i would like to think that we are at that kind of past the worst of it. five years from now, we will actually be much more integrated, much more accepted, felt like neighbors and we were today. i truly believe that. it is because of the amounts of impact on the social sphere on lots of different spheres, by talented muslims expressing themselves. we have not even scratch the surface. >> thank you all. please give our panelists a round of applause.

[applause] >> president obama and his family are back at the white house. thislanded on the lawn morning following christmas vacation in hawaii. meetsow, the president with attorney general loretta lynch. he is expected to expand the background check requirements for buyers who purchase weapons from high volume gun dealers. he is also considering using of in other authority areas, but the details are not yet finalized. some of the candidates were on morning news shows today reacting to his plans to use executive action. here is vermont senator bernie sanders. using executive action. is it the right way to do it? bernie sanders: i wish we could get bipartisan action on done legislation. the american people have been

horrified by the mass shootings we have seen over the last couple of years. do, among many other things, is do away with the social called "gun show loophole," where people do not have to go through background checks. consensus, ante overwhelming majority of the american people believe we should expand the use of the instant background checks of the people who should not have guns, criminals, people with mental issues, should not own guns. that's what the president is trying to do and will be the right thing to do. >> this president is a pestilent child. the american people have rejected his agenda at by turning -- agenda by turning senate toouse and the the republicans. now, the president wants to act as if he is a king. if he wants to make changes to these laws, go to congress and

convince congress they are necessary. this is another illegal executive action which will be rejected by the court. when i become president, it will be stricken from exhibit of action. >> let's talk about a couple of the specific ideas. it seems from all the reporting that president obama is likely to propose as early as this week , expanding the number of gun sellers that have to conduct background checks. expanding the number of accused domestic abusers who are barred from buying guns. what is wrong with those specific ideas? bush: the so-called "gun show loophole," does not exist. that want to sell guns randomly, occasionally, ought to be able to do so without being impaired by the federal government. if states want to create specific rules about that behavior, find. -- fine.

let the states do it, florida did it when i was governor. but this state-based security does not create security. >> you oppose the executive order. you don't feel like back on checks should be expanded? carly fiorina: we need to enforce the laws we have. we are not doing so. ,e have people like dylann roof who never should have been gun.y gun come -- sold a we have people perpetrating violence. in the meantime, barack obama has not presented the american people with a clear plan to keep this nation safe. we learned two days ago that are n homeland security does not even know the people in this nation that have overstayed their visa. background checks happen for

normal gun purchases at a normal store. his argument is that this is a loophole, it should make it the same everywhere. donald trump: they have plenty of rules and regulations. we should look at mental health. we have sickos all over the place. the bad guysoblem, are always going to get guns. they will always have guns. on the next washington journal, a look at the 2069 agenda of the obama administration and congress -- the obamada of administration and congress. and, former indiana senator richard lugar with his work at the lugar center and his bipartisan rankings of all u.s. senators.

calls.ys, we take your washington journal, live at 7:00 a.m. on c-span. communicators," gary shapiro on the major technology issues he expects in 2016, and why the cta changed its name to the "consumer technology association." he is joined by politicos technology reporter, tony ro mm. 2.24 million in 2015 of exhibit space. more categories than ever before. it is aboutture,

water,care, clean problems that can be solved with technology. >> "the communicators" on c-span2. c-span has your best access to congress in 2016. the house and the senate will reconvene on january 4 to mark the second session of the 114th congress. theuesday, january 5, houses back from legislative work with paul ryan as speaker as the house -- speaker of the house. then on january 11, senate returns at 2:00 p.m. eastern. follow craig kaplan on twitter for daily congressional updates. coverageike congress on tv, the radio, and online at c-span.org.

>> next, q and a with michael ramirez. ♪ >> this week on q&a, editorial cartoonist michael rick -- michael ramirez. as to ramirez, talks about his book "give me liberty or give me obamacare." , have youhael ramirez ever drawn a cartoon of mohammed , and if you have not, would you? michael: i wouldn't. i probably wouldn't to be honest with you. i don't do controversial cartoons just for the sake of controversy.