NY Times editor comes to ASU to discuss double Pulitzer Prizes and the new, visual journalism spawned by Sept. 11

TEMPE, Ariz. – Valley residents will have a unique opportunity in March to look inside the workings of the nation’s premier newspaper, The New York Times. Double Pulitzer Prize-winning director of photography, Margaret O’Connor, presents an illustrated lecture about the paper’s 9/11 coverage and the war on terrorism at ASU’s Tempe campus, 7:30 p.m., March 10, in Neeb Hall.

O’Connor’s talk is presented by the ASU Art Museum and kicks off a new “Art and Society” lecture series funded by Valley residents Linda Hirshman and David Forkosh.

The program is titled “A Nation Challenged” – also the title of The New York Times’ special section that was created in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001. The section ran from September through December of that year. O’Connor will discuss the creation of this section and its use of photography for heightened visual reporting. She also will discuss the journey of a photograph from the battlefield of Afghanistan to the front page of The New York Times.

The visuals will feature the paper’s two Pulitzer prize-winning picture portfolios. The first won the 2002 Pulitzer for Breaking News Photography for the paper’s coverage of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York. The second won the 2002 Pulitzer for Feature Photography for the ongoing coverage of the extended conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

O’Connor supervises a department of 80 people and prior to her career at the Times, she worked as a designer at the Wall Street Journal and the San Francisco Examiner. She has been a speaker, panelist and lecturer for many recognized institutions and organizations. She is also a member of the board of the Associated Press Photo Managers and the Eddie Adams Workshop.

Neeb Hall is located on the west side of the intersection of Forest and Tyler Malls at ASU’s main campus in Tempe.

The Forkosh Hirshman “Art and Society” lecture series also is sponsoring a lecture brunch, Sunday, March 9, at the Grayhawk Golf Club for those unable to attend the Tempe discussion. Tickets are required for the brunch and seating is limited. For more information or tickets call (480) 965-2787.

The ASU Art Museum is a division of The Katherine K. Herberger College of Fine Arts at Arizona State University.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Pringle
480-965-8795
jennifer.pringle@asu.edu