Lecture series spotlights leading journalists, media professionals

The senior media correspondent for CNN, an award-winning White House correspondent, NPR's media critic and a documentary photographer from National Geographic will headline a speaker series this fall at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter, Bloomberg News White House correspondent Margaret Talev, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans and National Geographic documentary photographer Chris Rainier are part of the fall “Must See Mondays” lecture series, which has featured more than 130 lecturers and panelists since 2008.

The schedule kicks off Sept. 8 with a panel discussion featuring Cronkite alumni working at Phoenix-area television stations, and concludes Dec. 1 with a lecture from New York Times Phoenix Bureau Chief Fernanda Santos.

“‘Must See Mondays’ offers ASU students and Arizonans the rare opportunity to learn from some of our profession’s top journalists and communicators,” said Christopher Callahan, Cronkite School dean and university vice provost. “Since its inception, ‘Must See Mondays’ has invigorated community discourse in Arizona and beyond.”

The free public lectures start at 7 p.m. in the First Amendment Forum of the Cronkite School on the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus. 

Fall 2014 “Must See Mondays” schedule

Sept. 8: Lauren Gilger, investigative reporter, ABC15; William Pitts, reporter, 12 News; Lindsey Reiser, multimedia journalist, CBS 5; and Syleste Rodriguez, anchor and reporter, FOX 10, will take part in the “Alumni on Camera” panel discussion.

Sept. 15: Eric Deggans, TV critic at NPR, will present “Decoding the Race-baiting of Modern Media.”

Sept. 22: Bill Dedman, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and reporter at NBC News, will discuss “From Reporter to Author.”

Sept. 29: Margaret Talev, White House correspondent at Bloomberg News, will talk about “Covering the President.”

Oct. 20: Frederick Young, former senior vice president of news at the Hearst Corporation, will present “Creating TV News.”

Oct. 27: Brian Stelter, senior media correspondent at CNN, will examine “The News Media Beat.”

Nov. 3: The winner of the Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability will take part in a discussion on disability journalism.

Nov. 10: Michael G. Riley, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Chronicle of Higher Education, will present “Digital, Discovery, Disruption, Dollars.”

Nov. 17: James B. Steele, part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporting duo Barlett & Steele, will discuss business reporting with the winners of the 2014 Barlett & Steele Awards.

Nov. 24: Chris Rainier, documentary photographer at National Geographic, will explore “Cultures on the Edge: The Democratization of Storytelling Around the Globe.”

Dec. 1: Fernanda Santos, Phoenix bureau chief of The New York Times, will present “Immigrants, Firefighters and Other Untold Stories.”