Join the Investigative Reporters and Editors and The Wall Street Journal for a special event in honor of the detained journalist Evan Gershkovich. 

In March 2023, while on a reporting trip in Russia, WSJ reporter Evan was arrested and accused of espionage — the first American journalist detained in Russia on such charges since the Cold War. The Journal, the U.S. government and Evan all deny the allegations. President Biden and news outlets around the world, as well as IRE, have called for Evan’s immediate release.

Evan, the American son of Soviet-born Jewish exiles, grew up in New Jersey. He graduated from Bowdoin College, a liberal arts school in Maine, in 2014.

This event will bring together journalists to learn about Evan. An hourlong panel, moderated by Journal reporter Caitlin Ostroff, will feature some of Evan’s longtime friends. Attendees will also be able to write a letter to Evan at the end of the event.

The panel: 

• Mike Van Itallie has spent the better part of his life counting Evan as a friend, from playing youth soccer together, to attending both Princeton High School and Bowdoin College together, to living together in Brooklyn.
• Jeremy Berke attended Bowdoin College with Evan and Mike and lived in a fourth-floor walkup with them in Brooklyn after school.
• Jake Golden has known Evan (and Mike) since their days coached in under-8 soccer by Evan’s dad. He counts Evan as the only Arsenal fan he tolerates.
• Caitlin Ostroff, moderator, worked with Evan in The Journal’s London office from when Evan was hired in early 2022 through when Russia wrongfully detained him.

The panel will begin at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, Aug. 30. Please arrive early to go through security.

IRE, which regularly organizes local meetups in the New York area, encourages attendees to continue the conversation after the panel. It has reserved space at Sean’s Bar & Kitchen, across from the Journal offices, starting at 7:30 p.m.

You don’t need to be an IRE Member to attend these events, but you must RSVP for security purposes. Capacity is limited, so please RSVP on this page as soon as you can.

If we reach that capacity, we’ll be streaming via Zoom. You can sign up for the livestream here: https://dowjones.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_S0R57F8YTjOkOxAZnPLPiw 

Learn about how to become an IRE Member here.