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News Release

Last modified: Friday, October 27, 2006

Christopher Hitchens, Michele Norris, Anna Quindlen to speak in School of Journalism lecture series

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 19 , 2006

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a National Public Radio program host and a respected foreign news correspondent will highlight a new fall lecture series being presented by the Indiana University School of Journalism.

Christopher Hitchens, a foreign correspondent and travel writer who has written from more than 60 countries, will speak at 7 p.m., Sept. 27 (Wednesday), at Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. Seventh St.

Michele Norris, co-host of NPR's program All Things Considered, will speak at 7 p.m., Oct. 9, in the IMU's Whittenberger Auditorium.

Anna Quindlen, whose column Public and Private in The New York Times won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, will speak at 7 p.m., Nov. 1, in Alumni Hall.

All the lectures are free and open to the public.

"Our goal is to bring outstanding journalists to Indiana for discussions from many different perspectives about the journalism field and coverage of national and world events," said Brad Hamm, dean of the IU School of Journalism. "One of the best aspects of the university is the ability to link our students and the larger community with current ideas by providing an opportunity to meet with key leaders and discuss issues in person."

Christopher Hitchens is one of the best known and most controversial writers in the media. He has been a columnist for Vanity Fair, The Nation and Slate. He also is a frequent contributor to the The New York Times Review of Books, London Review of Books and The Atlantic Monthly, among many publications.

He has reported from five continents and reportedly is the only writer to have written, since 2000 from Iran, Iraq and North Korea. His books include A Long Short War: The Postponed Liberation of Iraq, The Trial of Henry Kissinger and The Palestine Question.

Michele Norris, an award-winning journalist with nearly two decades of experience, has co-hosted All Things Considered, public radio's longest-running national program, since 2002. Before coming to NPR, Norris was a correspondent for ABC News from 1993 to 2002. As a contributing correspondent for Closer Look segments on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, she reported extensively on education, inner city issues, the nation's drug problem and poverty.

She also has reported for The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. She received a Livingston Award in 1990 and both an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award for her contribution to ABC News's coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Every other week millions of readers turn to the back page of Newsweek for Anna Quindlen's perspectives on events of the day and issues of family, work, education and social justice. A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author, Quindlen writes Newsweek's popular column The Last Word.

Quindlen also is the author of several books, including the national best seller, A Short Guide to a Happy Life, which sold more than one million copies. Her first novel, the critically-acclaimed Object Lessons, was followed by the best-selling One True Thing, which was made into a major motion picture starring Meryl Streep and Rene Zellweger. Black and Blue, her third novel, also was a best seller and a selection of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club.

Quindlen's newest book, Rise and Shine, was just released in August. It tells the story of two sisters, one of whom, a well known morning show cohost, loses her television career after uttering a profanity before her microphone is switched off.

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