National media veterans headline speaker series

The president of the world’s largest public relations agency, the former president of NBC News and the host of ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” are part of the spring “Must See Mondays” lecture series at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Edelman president Mark Hass, former NBC News president Steve Capus and ESPN journalist Karl Ravech are among the speakers participating in the free public lecture series, which brings local and national media professionals to the campus to talk about their work and careers. The series kicks off Feb. 3 with a discussion on entrepreneurial journalism, and concludes April 21 with an in-depth talk on specialty journalism.

The spring 2014 semester marks the 12th “Must See Mondays” season. The series has featured more than 125 lecturers and panelists since its inception in 2008 at the instigation of Cronkite Career Services director Mike Wong. Guests have included Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters and photojournalists, national television and radio correspondents, editors of major metropolitan newspapers, journalism entrepreneurs and innovators, and public relations experts.

“‘Must See Mondays’ has become an important part of the comprehensive learning environment of the Cronkite School," said Cronkite dean Christopher Callahan. "It's not unusual to have more than 100 students in our First Amendment Forum hearing about critical issues in journalism and strategic communications. And ‘Must See Mondays’ also has added richly to the community, as members of the public are invited to join us and learn from these marvelous speakers."

Lectures begin at 7 p.m. in the First Amendment Forum of the Cronkite School on the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus. They are also videotaped and collected on the Web at http://cronkite.asu.edu/node/866.

Spring 2014 “Must See Mondays” Schedule

Feb. 3: Neetu Rao, venture manager, the Edson Initiative; Arielle Hurst, marketing coordinator, Axosoft; Brandon Quester, executive director, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting; and Daniel Zayas, founder, Downtown Phoenix Housing Guide, will discuss “Embracing Entrepreneurship.”

Feb. 10: Steve Capus, the former president of NBC News, will present “Covering the Big Story.”

Feb. 17: Members of The Arizona Republic’s mobile team – Samantha Bush, mobile/digital news reporter; Bill Guthrie, senior Web developer; Gary Nakanelua, digital product development manager; and Penny Walker, editor, AZ tablet magazine – will explore “The Mobile Revolution.”

Feb. 24: Karl Ravech, commentator and host of ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight,” will present “Inside Sports Journalism.”

March 3: Ed Finn, director, ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination, will discuss “News from the Future.”

March 17: Mark Hass, president of Edelman USA, will explore “The Digital Context, Storytelling and Implications for PR and Journalism.”

March 24: Giovanna Dell’Orto, assistant professor of international mass communication history at the University of Minnesota, will be interviewed by Daniel Gonzalez, immigration reporter at The Arizona Republic, on “The Immigration Beat.”

March 31: Matt DeLorenzo, managing editor of Kelley Blue Book and former editor of Road & Track; Larry Edsall, editorial director of ClassicCars.com; and Tom Kowaleski, former vice president of corporate communications for BMW North America, will discuss “Need for Speed: The Ethics of Automotive Journalism.”

April 7: MaryAnn Guerra, CEO of BioAccel; Sharon Lechter, founder and CEO of Pay Your Family First; Alan Lobock, co-founder of SkyMall and Worthworm; and Scarlett Spring, president of VisionGate, will present “Positioned for Growth: Women Entrepreneurs.”

April 14: Lou Ferrara, vice president and managing editor at The Associated Press, will examine “News: An Industry of Nonstop Changes.”

April 21: Jeff Selingo, author of “College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students,” will present “Specialty Journalism.”

The Cronkite School also hosts “Cronkite Night at the Movies,” a journalism-themed film series, on select Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the First Amendment Forum. Cronkite faculty and staff introduce the movies and lead discussions following the showings.

Spring 2014 “Cronkite Night at the Movies” Schedule

Feb. 5: “Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times,” introduction by Micheline Maynard, Donald W. Reynolds Visiting Professor of Business Journalism at the Cronkite School

Feb. 19: "Jobs,” introduction by Gregg Zachary, professor of practice at the Cronkite School and the Consortium for Science Policy & Outcomes

March 19: “Good Night, and Good Luck,” introduction by John Craft, professor and curator of the Cronkite Gallery

April 16: “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” introduction by Leonard Downie Jr., Weil Family Professor of Journalism