Cronkite Speaker Series Features International Media Professionals

The president of Al Jazeera America, a top anchor at CNN en Español and the CEO of an international public relations agency are among the journalists and communicators taking part in a lecture series at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. The Cronkite School hosts its weekly “Must See Mondays” speaker series beginning Feb. 2 with CNN en Español anchor Glenda Umaña. Subsequent Monday nights will feature speakers ranging from Havas PR North America CEO Marian Salzman and USA Today media columnist Rem Rieder as well as Cronkite faculty members such as former Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. and former Forbes Magazine Publisher Jeff Cunningham. The spring 2015 semester marks the 14th season of the lecture series, which started in 2008. “Must See Mondays” has featured more than 135 lecturers and panelists, including Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters and photojournalists, national television and radio correspondents, editors of major metropolitan newspapers, journalism entrepreneurs and innovators and public relations experts. “We are excited to welcome this semester’s professionally diverse group of speakers,” Cronkite School Dean Christopher Callahan said. “They are going to tackle a variety of important topics involving the news industry, business journalism, public relations, photojournalism and more.” The lectures are open to the public and begin at 7 p.m. in the First Amendment Forum of the Cronkite School on the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus. They also are videotaped and collected on the Web at https://cronkite.asu.edu/eventvideos. Spring 2015 “Must See Mondays” Schedule Feb. 2: Glenda Umaña, anchor of CNN en Español, will present “The News en Español.” Feb. 9: Kate O’Brian, president of Al Jazeera America, will discuss “America’s Newest News Network.” Feb. 16: Roy Peter Clark, vice president and senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, will share “Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer.” Feb. 23: Rem Rieder, editor at large and media columnist at USA Today, will discuss “Watching the Watchdogs: The News Media Beat.” March 2: Christina Leonard, director of the Reynolds Business Bureau at Cronkite; Susan Lisovicz, Donald W. Reynolds Visiting Professor of Business Journalism; and Micheline Maynard, director of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, will explore “Better Business Coverage” with moderator Andrew Leckey, president of the Reynolds Center and Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism. March 16: A panel discussion featuring student entrepreneurs from the New Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab will present “Creating the Future: The New News Entrepreneurs” with moderator Retha Hill, director of the school’s New Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab. March 23: Former Forbes Magazine Publisher Jeff Cunningham, a professor of practice at the Cronkite School and the W. P. Carey School of Business, will examine “The Good News about Disruption in Media.” March 30: Bill Putnam, combat photographer, will present “Conflict Zone: Images from the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.” April 6: Leonard Downie Jr., Weil Family Professor of Journalism and former Washington Post executive editor, and Carnegie-Knight News21 students will discuss their project “Gun Wars: A News21 Investigation of Rights and Regulations in America” with moderator Jacquee Petchel, Carnegie-Knight News21 executive editor. April 13: Marian Salzman, CEO of Havas PR North America, will share “Trend Spotting as News Creation.” April 20: Cronkite depth reporting students will present “Mexico and Nicaragua: Reporting Abroad” with moderator Rick Rodriguez, Southwest Borderlands Initiative Professor.