May 26, 2009

MEDIA CONTACT: Nick Massella
202-994-3087; massella@gwu.edu

LOS ANGELES TIMES FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT LAURA KING NAMED GW GLOBAL MEDIA INSTITUTE WELLING PRESIDENTIAL FELLOW

Award-Winning Reporter Will Offer Students Insights into War Coverage, Ethics and the Future of Journalism

WASHINGTON - Los Angeles Times Foreign Correspondent Laura King recently was named a GW James Clark Welling Presidential Fellow beginning spring 2009. Ms. King is among the most respected foreign correspondents currently in the field. Based in Istanbul, Turkey, she has spent most of the past five years covering the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the political and military turmoil in Pakistan. As a GW Welling Fellow based at the Global Media Institute, Ms. King will visit campus at least once a year for the next two years to deliver a public lecture, a colloquium for undergraduate and/or graduate students in a variety of disciplines, guest lectures in appropriate classes at any level and/or a faculty seminar or discussion.

"Laura King will add a new level of depth, substance and prestige to our offerings by bringing the real world experiences of a reporter currently in the field of battle to our students, faculty and staff," said Michael Freedman, executive director of the Global Media Institute and a professor in GW's School of Media and Public Affairs. "Through the personal stories of victims and participants, Laura's reporting has put a human face on the tragedy of war, driving home with eloquence and poignancy the pain inflicted and the resiliency of the human spirit."

Ms. King has been with Los Angeles Times since 2002 and is the former Jerusalem bureau chief for the paper covering Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In her current position, she has covered the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and undertook repeated combat embeds with NATO forces in Afghanistan. As bureau chief, she covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the death of Yasser Arafat, the incapacitation of Ariel Sharon and the 2006 Lebanon war. From 1979 to 2002, she was among the top reporters at the Associated Press with assignments in New York, Tokyo and London. She rose to the status of special correspondent, a designation held by fewer than a dozen people in the history of the wire service. Ms. King also is a former Nieman fellow at Harvard and earned a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from Vermont College, a master's degree in journalism from the University of Oregon and a bachelor of arts degree in English and communication from the University of California-Davis.

"I'm delighted to be named a Welling Presidential Fellow and look forward to playing a role in The George Washington University community. It's a great honor," commented King while on assignment in Kabul, Afghanistan.

GW James Clark Welling Presidential Fellowships are named for the president of the University from 1871 to 1894. During his tenure, the institution assumed many of the attributes of a modern research university. Fellows are nominated by members of the GW community and are approved by the Council of Deans.

The George Washington University Global Media Institute, affiliated with GW's School of Media and Public Affairs and Graduate School of Political Management, is a leader in the dialogue on the transformation of journalism in the 21st Century and the role of the press in our democracy. Freedman serves as executive director of the institute, which produces the public television series The Kalb Report, and radio and online programs including American Jazz, Beyond Category and From the Nation's Capital.

For more information regarding GW's Global Media Institute, visit www.globalmedia.gwu.edu.

For more news about The George Washington University, visit www.gwnewscenter.org.

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