Speaker Series Brings Leading Journalists to Cronkite

Correspondents for The New York Times and National Public Radio, a former Wall Street reporter for CNN, the founder of ProPublica and the editor of The Seattle Times are among those headlining a speaker's series at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

Students gather most Mondays throughout the semester at 7 p.m. to hear from such prominent media professionals as part of the Cronkite School's "Must See Mondays" speaker series.

Brian Storm, founder and executive producer of MediaStorm, will kick off the series on Jan. 31.

Following him will be speakers including Marcia Parker, West Coast editorial director at AOL/Patch Media; Susan Lisovicz, former Wall Street reporter for CNN; Paul Steiger, CEO and president of ProPublica; Marc Lacey, Phoenix bureau chief for the New York Times; and Caesar Andrews, Edith Kinney Gaylord the Cronkite School's visiting professor in journalism ethics.

The speakers will touch on issues including visual storytelling, hyperlocal news, covering the border, ethics in the digital age and producing investigative journalism as a nonprofit newsroom.

The talks take place 7-8 p.m. each Monday of the semester in the school's First Amendment Forum on the downtown Phoenix campus of ASU. They are free, and the public is welcome to attend. Past speaker events can still be viewed online at http://cronkite.asu.edu/node/866.

"The speaker series has always been strong, but this year's lineup is exceptional," said Cronkite Associate Dean Kristin Gilger. "The speakers include some of the nation's leading journalists who have some very interesting things to share with students, professionals and the public."

In addition to the Monday speaker series, the school hosts Cronkite Night at the Movies most Wednesday evenings throughout the semester.

Journalism-related movies, including "Cronkite: Legend and Legacy" and "Download: The True Story of the Internet, Part 2: Search," will be shown on the school's 16-by-9-foot high-definition big screen in the First Amendment Forum. Cronkite professors with expertise in the areas of journalism depicted in the movies introduce the films and lead a discussion afterward.

In addition, after each event, the school's blog site, Cronkite Conversations, provides a forum where students and the public can discuss their impressions.

The spring “Must See Mondays” events are:

Jan. 31
“Visual Storytelling: The Cinematic Narrative”
Brian Storm, founder and executive producer of MediaStorm

Feb. 7
“Student Innovations”
Cronkite students from the New Media Innovation Lab and the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship discuss their work.

Feb. 14
“Hyperlocal Content for the Digital World”
Marcia Parker, West Coast editorial director at AOL/Patch Media

Feb. 21
“Covering Financial Shockwaves”
Susan Lisovicz, CNN Wall Street reporter and Reynolds Visiting Professor in Business Journalism at Cronkite

Feb. 28
“Covering Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico Border”
Marc Lacey, Phoenix bureau chief, The New York Times

March 7
“Communities in Crisis: Ethical Considerations for Journalists”
Victor Merina, senior correspondent and special projects editor, Reznet, and
Laura Sullivan, investigative correspondent, NPR News
Co-sponsored by the Valley of the Sun Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

March 21
“Investigations that Win Pulitzers”
David Boardman, executive editor and senior vice president of The Seattle Times

March 28
“The Big Picture: Photojournalism”
Kenny Irby, visual journalism group leader and diversity director, The Poynter Institute

April 4
“ProPublica: Investigative Journalism in a Non-profit Newsroom”
Paul Steiger, editor-in-chief, CEO and president of ProPublica

April 11
“Ethics and Diversity in the Digital Age”
Caesar Andrews, former executive editor of the Detroit Free Press and Edith Kinney Gaylord Visiting Professor in Journalism Ethics at Cronkite

April 18
“Mediactive”
Dan Gillmor, director, Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Cronkite

April 25
“Tortured Logic: A Verbatim Critique of the George W. Bush Presidency”
Joseph Russomanno, Cronkite associate professor and author

The spring “Cronkite Night at the Movies” events are:

January 26
“Cronkite: Legend and Legacy”
Introduced by Melanie Alvarez
Executive Producer, Cronkite NewsWatch

February 23
“A Mighty Heart”
Introduced by B. William Silcock
Director of Cronkite Global Initiatives, Humphrey Program Curator and Associate Professor with Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows from Pakistan

March 30
“Download: The True Story of the Internet”
Introduced by Retha Hill
Director, New Media Innovation Lab and Professor of Practice

April 27
Student Showcase
Introduced by Mark Lodato
Assistant Dean and News Director

For a full schedule of events, visit Cronkite Events.