After attending Freedom of Expression in a Multicultural World at the National Endowment of Democracy (NED) hosted by NED's Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) and the Media and Diversity Institute (MDI) in early June I felt it was imperative to have a follow-up conversation on diversity in the media.

The media is a powerful tool for both informing and shaping the opinions of the public. We often follow the media's lead as we develop opinions about groups of people and issue areas. This makes having a diverse representation of demographics and point of views key to the fair, accurate and appropriate portrayal of individuals, communities and events.

As societies become more culturally diverse the notion of freedom of expression takes on a new level of complexity. For journalist whose profession depends on this freedom, understanding the world's increasing multicultural landscape is critical and can even be a life or death matter.