A Blow for Freedom-Fighters: Inspiring Journalist, Teacher, Middle East Expert Died At Age 46

I never actually met Matt J. Duffy, but he definitely made a difference in my life. During a very hopeful time for democracy in the Middle East, while I was living and teaching in Turkey, 2010-11 and he was teaching in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Dr. Duffy and I exchanged emails over encouraging developments in freedom of expression throughout the region. I was amazed by what he was able to accomplish in teaching freedom of the press at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi during the Arab Spring, as chronicled on his blog (no longer online) and his Twitter account https://twitter.com/mattjduffy.  They were full of journalistic idealism, insights into teaching media, open-source intelligence about the Middle East. And as of the summer of 2019, he was still receiving inspiring comments from his network, though he died in early 2018.