MEDIA CONTACT: Wendy Leopold at (847) 491-4890 or w-leopold@northwestern.edu

September 30, 2003

Crain Lecture Series Fall Lineup

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A discussion at 4 p.m. with the director of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and top personnel at Nicaraguan, Chilean and Peruvian newspapers on Wednesday, Oct. 15, will kick off the Crain Lectures Series' fall season at Northwestern University.

The admission-free, public lectures bring newsmakers, news reporters and news analysts to Northwestern's Evanston campus to explore different perspectives on current events. Topics in the Medill School of Journalism’s popular lecture series will include recent Federal Communications Commission decisions on media ownership, science writing, and TV news contracts.

The complete fall lecture schedule is below. All presentations will take place in the Medill School's McCormick Tribune Center Forum, 1870 Campus Drive, Evanston.

Wednesday, Oct. 15, 4 p.m.: "Democracy and Freedom in Latin America" with Cristiana Chamorro Barrios, Nicaraguan journalist and "La Prensa" board member; Felipe Edwards, editor of Chile's "El Mercurio;" Alejo Miro Quesada, director of Peru's "El Comercio;" and Ricardo Trotti, director of the Inter American Press Association representing newspapers throughout the Americas.

Monday, Oct. 20, noon: "Television News Contracts: Why Are They Needed?" with CBS2 Chicago TV news anchor Derrick Blakley and former WLS-TV Chicago news anchor Diann Burns.

Monday, Oct. 27, 4 p.m.: "Is Science Writing Coming of Age?" with University of California Berkeley journalism professor Tim Ferris and Deborah Blum, author of “Monkey Wars” and editor of “A Field Guide for Science Writers.” Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman will moderate.

Monday, Nov. 3, 4 p.m.: "A Conversation: Writing About Human Nature" with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler, award-winning fiction writer and Sarah Lawrence faculty member Valerie Martin and Tribune Publishing Company president Jack Fuller, who earned a Pulitzer Prize in 1986 as editorial page editor of the Chicago Tribune.

Monday, Nov. 10, 4 p.m.: "The Purpose of Journalism: Reporting That Matters" with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder. Kidder's latest book titled "Mountains Beyond Mountains" was released this month by Random House and explores issues of global public health.

Monday, Nov. 17, 4 p.m.: "The Future of Content and Convergence" featuring Dennis FitzSimons, president and chief operating officer of Tribune Company, in a presentation about media today.

For further information about the Crain Lectures, call (847) 491-5401 or check the Medill School of Journalism Web site at http://www.medill.northwestern.edu.