Frank Sesno gives opening lecture in
student-organized symposium, 'Selling the News'
MIDDLEBURY, Vt.—Frank Sesno, Middlebury College alumnus and former senior vice president at CNN, will give the opening lecture in "Selling the News," a student-organized symposium that takes place Oct. 31-Nov. 3. Sesno, a member of the class of 1977 at Middlebury and now a professor at George Mason University in Virginia, will give a talk titled "The Modern Media: Changes and Challenges" on Oct. 31 at 4:30 p.m. in Dana Auditorium.
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| Frank Sesno '77 |
The symposium, organized by students Daphne Lasky '07, Stella Nordhagen '06 and Ben Salkowe '07, will examine how the need to sell news as a product affects the quality of news coverage Americans receive. According to Lasky, the organizers of the symposium are particularly interested in how the media changes tone and content to appeal to a college-aged audience.
Also on the schedule is a panel discussion Nov. 1 at 7 on "Making News Profit," including Middlebury alums and news industry insiders Bret Marcus and Catherine Herrick, and David Moats, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writer for the Rutland, Vt., Herald who lives in Middlebury. In addition, Chris Schroeder, the CEO of Choice Media and a former VP at the Washington Post, will give a talk on November 3 on the news media of tomorrow.
Lasky says the idea for the symposium began percolating last fall during the run-up to the 2004 presidential election. "We realized that we didn't know who was telling us the truth," Lasky says. "There were a bunch of talking heads, but how do you know that the information you're getting is what you need to get?" The students credit Sue Halpern, a scholar-in-residence with the English department, for helping them to focus their discussions and narrow down the topics that were important to them.
"Selling the News" is being sponsored by several Middlebury College organizations: the Student Government Association, the Middlebury College Activities Board, the departments of political science, film & media culture, history, and American literature & civilization, and by all five Middlebury commons. A list of the symposium events follows.
SELLING THE NEWS:
Behind the Scenes of the American Media
Monday, October 31
4:30 p.m., Dana Auditorium
The Modern Media: Changes and Challenges, by Frank Sesno
Currently a professor of public policy and communication at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Frank Sesno is a former CNN senior vice president and Washington bureau chief, and a 1977 graduate of Middlebury College.
Tuesday, November 1
7 p.m., Robert A. Jones '59 House Conference Room, Hillcrest Road off College Street (Route 125)
Making News Profit: A Panel Discussion, featuring:
Bret Marcus, former executive producer for special projects at NBC News and a 1972 graduate of Middlebury College.
David Moats, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writer, The Rutland Herald.
Catherine Herrick, associate producer at CBS News' "60 Minutes" and 1997 graduate of Middlebury College.
Wednesday, November 2
7 p.m., McCardell Bicentennial Hall, Room 220
Politics—Just "Hollywood for Ugly People"?
Screening: "Wag the Dog"
Thursday, Nov. 3
7 p.m., McCardell Bicentennial Hall, Room 220
The New News, by Chris Schroeder
Schroeder is a former Washington Post vice president for strategy and currently CEO of Choice Media. Closing the seminar, he will consider, creatively and imaginatively, the questions: How will we get our news in the future? And, how will news media of tomorrow balance commercial and institutional pressures, all while engaging the interest of a younger generation?