September 17, 2009

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

TICKETS:
Sandra Perez
202-994-6463; sperez7@gwmail.gwu.edu

"INK ON THE BRINK: THE FUTURE OF PRINT JOURNALISM" LAUNCHES 2009 - 2010 SEASON OF THE KALB REPORT OCTOBER 5

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Atlanta Journal-Constitution Columnist Cynthia Tucker, Washington Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli, USA Today President and Publisher David Hunke and International Herald Tribune Senior Editor Anne Bagamery join Marvin Kalb to explore future of print journalism.

WASHINGTON - The highly acclaimed Kalb Report series launches its 16th season at the National Press Club on Oct. 5, 2009, with "Ink on the Brink: The Future of Print Journalism." Moderator Marvin Kalb will probe panelists representing four areas of leadership within the challenged print industry about the future of newspapers and preparations for the uncertain years ahead. Pulitzer Prize-Winning Atlanta Journal-Constitution Columnist Cynthia Tucker, Washington Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli, USA Today President and Publisher David Hunke, and International Herald Tribune Senior Editor Anne Bagamery will join Kalb on Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, at   8 p.m. in the main ballroom of the National Press Club (529 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C., 20045).

"The future of print journalism suggests optimistically that there will be a future," said Kalb. "But what will it look like? Will there really be newspapers? Or will everything be online? I want to believe there will be newspapers, the kind we read at breakfast, and I am looking to our distinguished panel to confirm my faith."

The Kalb Report is produced by The George Washington University Global Media Institute, Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center, and the National Press Club. For the seventh consecutive season, the series is underwritten by a grant from Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. Since its debut in 1994, the partnership has produced 64 Kalb Report forums on issues at the intersection of press, politics and public policy. Guests have included Walter Cronkite, Christiane Amanpour, Roger Ailes, Ken Burns, Thomas Friedman, Bill O'Reilly, Hillary Clinton, Katie Couric and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel. The series is distributed by Oklahoma Educational Television Authority and American Public Television, and is seen on some 200 local public television stations across the country with additional airings on New England Cable News. The series also airs nationally on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio and locally in Washington, D.C., on Federal News Radio (1500-AM). All forums offer open media coverage.
 
"The ongoing support of Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation makes it possible for The Kalb Report to help lead the public dialogue on the evolving role of the press in our society," said Executive Producer Michael Freedman. "We are deeply appreciative and extremely proud of this unique partnership, led by the incomparable Marvin Kalb that brings together our students, professionals and national audiences to explore the issues at the center of democracy and the press."

Moderator Marvin Kalb is a James Clark Welling Presidential Fellow at The George Washington University and Edward R. Murrow Professor Emeritus at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Over the course of his distinguished 30-year career in broadcast journalism, Kalb served as chief diplomatic correspondent for both CBS News and NBC News, and moderator of Meet the Press. He went on to serve as the founding director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Among his many honors are two Peabody Awards, the DuPont Prize from Columbia University, the 2006 Fourth Estate Award from the National Press Club and more than a half-dozen Overseas Press Club awards.

Cynthia Tucker is a Washington-based political columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Tucker served as the Journal-Constitution's editorial page editor for nearly two decades before moving to the nation's capital this summer. In 2007, she was honored with a Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Tucker is a graduate of Auburn University.

David Hunke is president and publisher of USA Today, the nation's top-selling newspaper. Hunke also oversees USA Today's online, television and magazine platforms. Previously, Hunke was CEO of Detroit Media Partnership which ran the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News and 14 suburban newspapers. Under Hunke's leadership, his publications have been recognized with a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting and the first Emmy ever awarded to a newspaper for groundbreaking broadband documentary coverage. Hunke earned a B.S. in journalism from the University of Kansas.

Marcus Brauchli, executive editor of The Washington Post, oversees the paper's print and digital news operations. Prior to joining The Post in 2008, Brauchli served as managing editor of The Wall Street Journal. Brauchli was national editor for the Journal during the September 11 terrorist attacks, for which the paper's coverage won a Pulitzer Prize. He is also the recipient of two Overseas Press Club awards. Brauchli earned his B.A. from Columbia University.   

Anne Bagamery is a senior editor at the International Herald Tribune, the global edition of The New York Times, based in Paris. Bagamery's principal area of responsibility is in business news for the paper's print and online editions. Before taking her career abroad, Bagamery worked as a reporter for Forbes and local newspapers in Norfolk, Va. and Syracuse, NY. Bagamery is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

Executive Producer Michael Freedman is a professor in the GW School of Media and Public Affairs and executive director of the university's Global Media Institute. A 30-year broadcast journalist, network executive, university administrator and professor, Freedman served as general manager of CBS Radio Network News, managing editor for the broadcast division of United Press International, and vice president for communications at The George Washington University. Freedman is the recipient of more than 85 honors for journalistic excellence including 14 Radio-Television News Directors Association Edward R. Murrow Awards. Most recently, the GW Global Media Institute was honored with a 2009 Gold World Medal in the New York Festivals International Radio Awards competition for its centennial tribute to Edward R. Murrow.

Producer Heather Date serves as associate director of GW's Global Media Institute. Date is a former CNN producer and a graduate of The George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs.

The Kalb Report series is directed by Robert Vitarelli, a 39-year CBS News veteran and a Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

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 public dialogue on the transformation of journalism in the 21st Century. The Institute also produces the weekly network radio programs This Just In!, in partnership with the Newseum, and GW Presents American Jazz in partnership with Tony Bennett's Exploring the Arts Foundation.

Free tickets for the Oct. 5, 2009, Kalb Report are available through GW TicketMaster on the Ground Floor of the Marvin Center (800 21st St. NW) or online at kalb.gwu.edu.
Media covering the event may contact Nick Massella at 202-994-3087 or massella@gwu.edu.

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