Tribune's Gerould Kern to Kick Off Popular Crain Lecture Series

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Chicago Tribune senior vice president and executive editor Gerould Kern will kick off the 2009-10 season of Northwestern University's popular Crain Lecture Series about news, newsmakers and the news industry Thursday, Oct. 8.

Kern's lecture, titled "Turning Point: One Day, Two Stories and How the Chicago Tribune Rediscovered its Mission," will take place at 4 p.m. in the McCormick Tribune Center Forum, 1870 Campus Drive, Evanston campus. It is free and open to the public.

Kern, who began in editorial in 1991, joined the corporate office in 2000. He has directed a number of strategic initiatives involving news coverage and content development across the Tribune publishing group. At the Chicago Tribune, he has expanded local, investigative and digital staffing and resources and, as a result, increased its commitment to watchdog journalism in print and online.

Kern also helped oversee the launch of the Tribune's tabloid-sized newsstand edition. It is the only major American daily published in both broadsheet and tabloid formats.

The popular, admission-free Crain Lecture Series is named in honor of magazine publishers Gertrude and G.D. Crain Jr. and presented by Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.

For further information about the upcoming lecture, call (847) 491-5401 or visit http://www.medill.northwestern.edu.