UNL’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications announced the inaugural season of the Hearst Speaker Series. The 2015-16 lecture series will focus on “Diversity and Modern Media.”
“The Hearst Speaker Series on ‘Diversity and Modern Media’ is designed to explore issues relating to all forms of diversity in contemporary media,” ? Maria Marron, dean of the college, said. “Race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, weight, height, ability, socio-economic background and faith affiliation are among the many topics that will be addressed. Racial minorities, for example, are underrepresented in newsrooms and in news coverage, TV sitcoms and film.”
A diverse newsroom better reflects the population, which enables fairer, more accurate reporting. To have success in covering diverse issues, a clear strategy must be credited to preserve fairness and accuracy. The Hearst Series on “Diversity and Modern Media” is a platform to further explore these issues.
The Hearst speakers will include:
At 7 p.m. Sept. 17 – Bob Ray Sanders, vice president, associate editor and Metro columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Sanders has been a professional newspaper, television and radio journalist for 40 years. He worked many years at the Dallas/Fort Worth PBS affiliate, where he served as reporter, producer, station manager and vice president.
At 7 p.m. Oct. 13 – Osama Siblani. Siblani is the publisher of The Arab American News, the largest and most widely circulated Arab American publication in the United States. He was inducted in to the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame April 21, 2013. He is also a recipient of the “Spirit of Diversity in Journalism Award” from Wayne State University.
At 7 p.m. during the Spring semester – Hank Klibanoff. Klibanoff grew up in Alabama witnessing the evolution of race relations there. Those experiences, along with his 35 years as a newspaper reporter and editor, not to mention his years as a newspaper delivery boy, were key influences as he co-wrote “The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle and the Awakening of a Nation.” The book won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for history.
At 7 p.m. Feb. 2 – Sheryl WuDunn. WuDunn is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author who will present “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.” The lecture is an E.N. Thompson Forum event sponsored by the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, the UNL Women’s Center, the Center for Civic Engagement and the UNL Study of the U.S. Institute on Civic Engagement.
The first three lectures will be held in the Nebraska Union Auditorium and the last lecture will be held in the Lied Center for Performing Arts. There will be no charge for attendance.
More information is available on the Hearst Series website at http://journalism.unl.edu/diversity-series.
The inaugural season of The Hearst Series will enhance media creators and consumers’ awareness of issues in a multifaceted diverse society and encourage dialogue to improve access to and fairness in the media. The series is provided by an endowment from the Hearst Foundation.
