Emory Report

March 23, 1998

 Volume 50, No. 25

Emory hosts April symposium
on Southern journalism

Some of the most renowned journalists and newspaper executives in the Southeast will convene at Emory April 3-4 for the "Journalist of the South" symposium.

The symposium attempts to convey some of the complexity of journalists in the South by focusing on them as storytellers and humorists, newspaper owners and opinion writers, and reporters of change and resistance to change. Highlights include talks by Hodding Carter III, an award-winning journalist and president and chief executive officer of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, on Friday, April 3; and Eugene Roberts, professor of journalism at the University of Maryland and chairman of the International Press Institute and the Committee to Protect Journalists, on Saturday, April 4.

Carter formerly held the Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of Maryland, where he focused on public affairs reporting, and is the recipient of four Emmy Awards and the Edward R. Murrow Award for his public affairs television documentaries for the "Inside Story" media criticism series.

Roberts was executive editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer during a 20-year period in which the paper won 17 Pulitzer Prizes. During his long career as a journalist Roberts worked for The New York Times, The Detroit Free Press, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) and the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot in Virginia. He became managing editor of The New York Times in 1994, a position he held until his retirement last fall.

Some other featured speakers and panelists will be Celestine Sibley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist; author Tina McElroy Ansa, one of the first African- American newswomen at the AJC; Claude Sitton, former Pulitzer-winning editor of The Raleigh News & Observer and Oxford professor emeritus; Cynthia Tucker, AJC opinions editor; Alexis Scott Reeves, publisher of The Atlanta Daily World, one of the oldest African-American newspapers in the South; and James Cox Kennedy, chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises.

All events are free and open to the public except the April 3 dinner with Carter (tickets $35) and the April 4 luncheon with Roberts ($25). For more symposium information or to make reservations, call 404-727-4221.

-Deb Hammacher


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