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Tony Snow is the White House Press Secretary for the George W. Bush administration. He succeeded Scott McClellan, becoming the third individual to serve in that position under President Bush. It is the second Presidential administration to which Snow has been employed, having worked for President George H. W. Bush as chief speechwriter and Deputy Assistant of Media Affairs. Between his two White House stints, Snow was a broadcaster and newspaper columnist. After years of regular guest-hosting for The Rush Limbaugh Show and providing news commentary for National Public Radio, he launched his own talk radio program, The Tony Snow Show, which went on to become nationally syndicated. He was also a regular personality on Fox News Channel since 1996, hosting Fox News Sunday, Weekend Live, and often substituting as host of The O'Reilly Factor.
The Dolans Financial planning experts, Ken and Daria Dolan host a daily national personal finance radio call-in show on the WOR Radio Network and are contributors to the national morning television show "CBS This Morning" and "CBS Saturday Morning." They are the co-authors of Straight Talk: Ken and Daria Dolan's Guide to Family Money Management.
R.W. Apple, Jr. For 30 years, R. W. Apple, Jr. has roamed the United States and the world, traveling close to a quarter of a million miles a year as an eyewitness to history during the most eventful periods in the modern era. The Chief Correspondent for The New York Times, R.W. Apple, Jr. has known and interviewed every President since Lyndon B. Johnson, plus Senators, Governors and world leaders on five continents. Few journalists of our time have seen as many great events; for that reason he is a sought-after commentator on television in the United States and abroad. He participates regularly in major international forums discussing diplomatic, economic and military questions.
Bill Hemmer is a journalist who spent ten years at CNN before moving to the Fox News Channel in August 2005. Before Hemmer left CNN in June 2005, he and Soledad O'Brien were the anchors on American Morning, CNN's flagship morning news program. Hemmer started with this program in 2002. While at CNN, Hemmer also anchored CNN Tonight, CNN Early Edition as well as CNN Morning News/CNN Live Today. Hemmer was scheduled to debut on Fox News on Monday, August 29, 2005, but started a day early to assist with the cable network's coverage of Hurricane Katrina. He is currently hosting the 12:00 p.m. ET edition of Fox News Live weekdays.
The Spy Who Knew Too Much Award-winning, investigative reporter and political journalist, Elliot Goldenberg is the author of The Spy Who Knew Too Much: The Government Plot to Silence Jonathan Pollard; and The Hunting Horse: The truth Behind the Jonathan Pollard Spy Case, a controversial new book about the United States Government's plot to silence Jonathan Pollard. This book tells the story of Jonathan Pollard, a former civilian Navy Intelligence analyst who passed classified United States military secrets to the State of Israel, and in so doing, unwittingly uncovered a secret United States polity, allegedly overseen by former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, that was designed to weaken Israel and strengthen the hand of her enemies in the Arab world. As a result, Pollard's greatest crime may not have been what he did for Israel - his greatest crime may have been that he got too close to the truth.
Yue-Sai Kan Entrepreneur, Author, Journalist and Humanitarian Yue-Sai Kan is perhaps the most famous woman in China today. A unique combination of entrepreneur, best-selling author, television journalist, and humanitarian, Kan has been honored in Monaco as a "Leading Woman Entrepreneur of the World" and in Fortune magazine as one of the five most influential women in China. She is also the only living American to have a Chinese postage stamp bear her likeness. Kan is the founder of the first major beauty products company in ChinaŃYue-Sai Kan CosmeticsŃwhich she later sold to L'Oreal. Always an innovator, Kan also produced and hosted the first television documentaries to promote East/West relations, including the Emmy Award-winning China Walls and Bridges. She now hosts Yue-Sai's World, a series that brings the latest international lifestyle trends to over one billion Chinese viewers. An ardent supporter of education for the underprivileged, Kan has established a fund to build schools in China and provide scholarships to gifted female students.
Sasha Frere Jones Sasha Frere-Jones is a musician and the pop-music critic of The New Yorker. He is a former member of the band Ui. He maintains a blog.
Georgie Ann Geyer Syndicated newspaper columnist, foreign correspondent and a regular panelist on "Washington Week In Review" and "Meet the Press".
Rudi Bakhtiar Rudi Bakhtiar is an Iranian-American journalist, working for the Fox News Channel. Although born in California, Bakhtiar was raised in Iran until the Iranian Revolution when her family moved to the United States. She attended University of California, Los Angeles, where she received a B.S. in biology, planning to be a dentist. Prior to Fox News, Bakhtiar had worked for CNN. Joining CNN in 1996, she became a co-anchor of CNN Student News, the 30-minute commercial free news and features program designed specifically for use in the classroom. She provided multiple reports while on assignment from numerous countries, including South Africa, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Mali. She was on the air live on CNN Headline News on September 11, 2001 when the terrorist attacks of that day began. In 2002, Bakhtiar received the Iranian American Republican Council Achievement Award. In 2005, after moving from CNN Headline News to CNN/U.S. to be a correspondent on the program Anderson Cooper 360, Bakhtiar left CNN to pursue other career interests and deal with family health issues. On January 11, 2006, Fox News announced that Bakhtiar would be joining the network as a general correspondent. She first appeared on the channel on January 22, 2006. Rumors of Fox's interest in Bakhtiar were around as early as December, 2004.
Dave Barry Well known Humorist, author and Pulitzer Prize winning syndicated columnist.
Peter Bergen Peter Bergen is a Schwartz senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington D.C; an Adjunct Professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University; CNN's terrorism analyst and author of Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Bin Laden. (Free Press, 2001). Holy War, Inc. was a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into eighteen languages. A documentary based on Holy War, Inc., which aired on National Geographic television, was nominated for an Emmy in the research category. His most recent book is The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader (Free Press, 2006). The book is being translated into French, Spanish, Arabic and Polish, and CNN is shooting a two hour documentary based on the book that will air around the fifth anniversary of 9/11. Former White House counterterrorism coordinator, Richard Clarke, reviewing the book in the Washington Post wrote What made Bin Laden into historys most successful terrorist? Peter L. Bergen has written what will long be a goto resource for those seeking answers to such questions. The result is a detailed, wellresearched narrative that persuasively answers dozens of questions that are still painfully relevant fine volume. Foreign Affairs reviewer named it one of the best books of the past year about the Middle East. Bergen has written about al Qaeda and terrorism for a variety of publications including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post The Atlantic Rolling Stone TIME, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. He is on the editorial board of Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, the leading scholarly journal in the field. In 1997, as a producer for CNN, Bergen produced bin Ladens first television interview. He was the recipient of the Leonard Silk Journalism Fellowship 2000 for Holy War Inc, and in 1994 he won the Overseas Press Club Edward R. Murrow award for best foreign affairs documentary for the CNN program Kingdom of Cocaine. From mid 1998 to late 1999 Bergen worked as a correspondent-producer for CNN. He was program editor for "CNN Impact," a co-production of CNN and TIME, from 1997 to 1998. Previously he worked for CNN as a producer on a wide variety of international and U.S. national stories. From 1985 to 1990 he worked for ABC News in New York.
Carl Bernstein Few journalists in Americas history have had the impact on their era and their craft as Carl Bernstein. Bernsteis most recent book is the national bestseller A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham, acclaimed as the definitive biography of the woman who may be the next President of the United States. In the early 1970s, Bernstein and Bob Woodward broke the Watergate story for The Washington Post and set the standard for modern investigative reporting, for which they and The Post were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Together, they wrote two classic bestsellers: All the Presidents Men also a movie starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman about their coverage of the Watergate story and The Final Days about the denouement of the Nixon presidency. Since then, in books, magazine articles, commentary, television reporting, and as editor of an award winning website, Bernstein has continued to build on the theme he and Woodward first explored in the Nixon years the use and abuse of power: political power, media power, financial power, and spiritual power. In the 1990s, Bernstein turned his attention to one of the towering figures of the age, Pope John Paul II, resulting in the ground breaking papal biography John Paul II and the History of Our Time. The book, co authored with Vatican journalist Marco Politi and published in 1996, was the first to detail the Popes pivotal, and often secret, role in the fall of communism. Much of the information was unearthed from the Kremlins secret archives of the Cold War era, and from Vatican sources who also shed historic light on the Popes ecclesiastical policies and personal attitudes towards sex, priestly celibacy, women, dogma, and tensions between the American church and the Vatican. Bernstein is also author of a masterful memoir of his familys experience in the McCarthy era, Loyalties: A Son's Memoir, published by Simon and Schuster in 1986. In the political season of 1999 2001, Bernstein served as editor and executive vice president of Voter.com, a pioneering website that Forbes magazine named the best political site on the internet. The site initiated the now standard practice of amassing and consolidating content from multiple sites. Currently, he is a political analyst for CNN, a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, and a former Washington Bureau Chief and correspondent for ABC News. In addition to his political coverage and commentary, Bernstein has written and lectured extensively and critically about the role and responsibilities of the American press. Bernstein was born and raised in Washington, DC. He began his journalism career at age 16 as a copyboy for The Washington Evening Star, and became a reporter at 19. At The Washington Post, he covered virtually every aspect of the urban experience: police, the courts, city hall, the suburbs, race and civil rights, the anti war movement, Maryland and Virginia politics. He was also a part time rock critic at the paper.
Jimmy Breslin Outspoken syndicated newspaper columnist and author.
David Broder Nationally syndicated political columnist for The Washington Post.
Peter Brookes Peter Brookes writes a weekly column on foreign policy and defense for the New York Post and is penning a book on national security affairs for McGraw Hill due out early next fall. He appears regularly on national TV and radio. Prior to joining the Heritage Foundation, Brookes served in the Bush administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for Asian and Pacific Affairs in the Office of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, where he was responsible for the development, planning, guidance and oversight of U .S. security and defense policy for 38 countries and 5 bilateral defense alliances in the Asia-Pacific region. Brookes has a distinguished military background, including active duty in support of military operations in Iraq/Kuwait (Desert Storm); Haiti (Restore Democracy); and Bosnia (Joint Endeavor). He flew reconnaissance missions in East Asia and the Persian Gulf while stationed in Japan covering military matters related to the Soviet Union, North Korea, China, Vietnam, Iran and Iraq. His personal awards and decorations include: the Joint Service Commendation Medal; the Navy Commendation Medal (3 awards); the Navy Achievement Medal; several naval and joint unit awards; the Defense Language Institute’s Kellogg Award; the Joint Chiefs of Staff service badge; and Naval Aviation Observer (NAO) wings.
Patrick J. Buchanan Conservative journalist, syndication political columnist and presidential candidate.
Eric Burns Eric Burns is the host of FOX News Channel's acclaimed Fox News Watch, a weekly half-hour program that "covers the coverage," reporting not on the major stories of the day but on the way the media are covering those stories. The recipient of an Emmy Award for media criticism, Burns kicked off his career as a correspondent for NBC News. He appeared regularly on NBC Nightly News and had his own segment called "Cross Country" on the Today show. For his work with NBC, Burns was named by the Washington Journalism Review as one of the best writers in the history of broadcast journalism, joining such luminaries as Edward R. Murrow, Charles Kuralt, Eric Sevareid, Harry Reasoner and David Brinkley. A script of his also appears in the prestigious college text, Writing News for Broadcast, which refers to Burns as an "artist" with words. In addition to being a commentator for Entertainment Tonight, as well as the host of Arts & Entertainment Revue, on the A&E cable network, Burns has written four critically-saluted books: The Spirits of America: A Social History of Alcohol; Broadcast Blues: Dispatches from the Twenty-Year War Between a Television Reporter and His Medium; The Joy of Books: Confessions of a Lifelong Reader and a short work of fiction, The Autograph. Burns has also written on matters of media and popular culture for such magazines as Reader's Digest, The Weekly Standard, Spy, TV Guide and Family Circle, in addition to such newspapers as the New York Post and Los Angeles Times.
Jennifer Calderon As a writer, her cutting edge articles on hip hop culture, white privilege, and social justice have appeared in The New York Times, Self Magazine, The Source Magazine, among other traditional and new media outlets. Her fourth book, Till The White Day Is Done: White Privilege, Hip Hop, and Social Change, promises to be as provocative as her personal politics. Due in 2009, the anthology will feature contributions from Sonia Sanchez, Tim Wise, Talib Kweli, and other respected voices.
Lincoln Caplan Authority on contemporary legal issues, frequent contributing writer for The New Yorker and author of SKADDEN: Inside An American Law Firm.
Jay Carney Jay Carney has been writing about politics for TIME Magazine since 1993 as a White House, Congressional and general political correspondent. In 2001, he returned to the White House to cover George W. Bush's new administration. Previously, he covered Bush's presidential campaign, traveling extensively with the campaign and reporting on the post election showdown from the campaigns headquarters in Austin, Texas. He also contributed to TIMEs 2000 Person of the Year package on Bush. Prior to that assignment, Carney covered the House impeachment proceedings and Senate trial of former President Bill Clinton, the fall of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and, as a White House correspondent, the first three years of Clinton's presidency. From 1990 93, Carney served as a Moscow correspondent for TIME, covering the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of Russia and the other independent states in the region. He began working for TIME as its Miami bureau chief, an assignment that took him to Panama for the U.S. invasion and to Cuba for Mikhail Gorbachevs historic visit in 1989. Before joining TIME, Carney was a reporter for the Miami Herald. Carney is one of Times rotating panelists on the CNN talk show Take 5. He also appears often on The Charlie Rose Show on PBS, Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC and on other programs as a political analyst. For much of 1999 and 2000, he was a special correspondent for CNN, completing feature length television pieces for the networks newsmagazine show. A native of Virginia, Carney earned a bachelor of arts degree in Russian and Eastern European Studies from Yale University in 1987. He and his wife, Claire Shipman, the senior national correspondent for ABC News, currently reside in Washington, D.C.
Neil Cavuto Host, "Your World With Neil Cavuto" on FOX News, Cable's #1 Business Show Vice President, Anchor, and Managing Editor for Fox News, Neil Cavuto hosts the number one business news program in America, Your World With Neil Cavuto. He has been named by The Wall Street Journal as the best interviewer in business news, and cited by The Journalist and Financial Reporter as the toughest inquisitor of financial and political types. He has been voted best business TV interviewer for five years running. As vice president, anchor and managing editor at Fox, Cavuto oversees all business programming at the network, including Bulls & Bears, Cavuto on Business, Forbes on Fox, and Cashin’ In. Along with Your World, these represent the top five business news programs and Fox has them all. Before joining Fox in 1996, Cavuto anchored and hosted more than three hours of live daily programming for CNBC, and was a financial contributor on NBC’s Today Show and NBC News at Sunrise. His more than 20 years of financial reporting include stints at PBS’ Nightly Business Report, where he served as New York Bureau Chief, and Investment Age Magazine, where he was a Washington Editor. Cavuto has covered some of the most important business and general news stories of our time, including the September 11th, 2001 attacks on this country and the economic programs of every president going back to Ronald Reagan, including the 1987 stock market crash. He served as an intern in the Carter administration as well. Cavuto’s first book, More Than Money: True Stories of People Who Learned Life’s Ultimate Lesson is both a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. His second book, Your Money Or Your Life, was released in October 2005.
Linda Chavez Conservative director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights during the Reagan administration, Linda Chavez also served as Deputy Assistant to President Reagan and was the highest-ranking Hispanic in the Reagan administration. She was nominated by President George W. Bush to be Secretary of Labor. Ms. Chavez is now a nationally syndicated political columnist and a commentator on National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Systems (PBS). She is the author of Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation; and a book on multiculturalism in the United States, A Nation Divided: Multiculturalism and the Politics of Race.
Farai Chideya A modern day wordsmith and humanitarian who can go from serious journalism to free-spirited fiction, Farai Chideya has worked in print, television, online, and radio. Prior to joining NPRs News & Notes, she hosted Your Call, a daily news and cultural call-in show on San Francisco's KALW 91.7 FM. Chideya has also been a correspondent for ABC News, anchored the prime time program Pure Oxygen on the Oxygen womens channel, and contributed commentaries to CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and BET. She got her start as a researcher and reporter at Newsweek magazine. In 1997, Newsweek named her to its Century Club of 100 people to watch. In 1996, she spent the presidential election season as a CNN Political Analyst and was named to The New York Daily News "Dream Team" of political reporters and commentators. Her first novel, Kiss the Sky, will be released soon, and explores the life of a rebounding rock-star fighting for fame. Chideyas stereotype shattering book, Dont Believe the Hype:Fighting Cultural Misinformation about African Americans, is now in its eighth printing. Using statistics, she systematically undercuts the argument that African Americans are at the root of problems like crime, welfare and drugs. Her book, The Color of Our Future, was named one of the best books for teens by the New York Public Library and Trust: Reaching the 100 Million Missing Voters, shows why half of Americans are cut out of the political system and what we can do about it. Founder of PopandPolitics.com, an online journal for young Americans, Chideya provides an antidote to mainstream political and cultural reporting. PopandPolitics.com straight-up, non-partisan style blog has earned Chideya awards including a MOBE IT Innovator award, being named one of Alternets New Media Heroes, and ranking in PoliticsOnline.coms worldwide survey of "25 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics."
Connie Chung An award-winning investigative reporter and one of the most recognizable faces on American television, Connie Chung has been a powerful force in the news industry for more than 35 years. The first Asian American and only the second woman to serve as nightly news anchor on a major TV network (The CBS Evening News), Connie Chung has received innumerable accolades for her work, including three national Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, an Edward R. Murrow Award, and two commendations from American Women in Radio and Television. On the stage Connie Chung tackles issues such as: diversity in the workplace, growing up Asian American, and challenges faced by women everywhere.
Kristin Clark Taylor White House Director of Media Relations in the Bush administration and the first African American woman in American history to hold that position. A journalist, Kristin Clark Taylor helped create and launch USA Today and was a founding member of the newspaper's Editorial Board. She is the author of her autobiography, The First to Speak: A Woman of Color Inside the White House.
Pearl Cleage Pearl Cleage is a fiction writer, playwright, poet, essayist, and journalist who has lived in Atlanta for more than thirty years. In her writing, Cleage draws on her experiences as an activist for AIDS and womens rights, and she cites the rhythms of black life as her muse. Cleages first novel, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day, was an Oprah Book Club selection in 1998 and appeared on the New York Times best seller list for nine weeks. Cleage (pronounced cleg) was born on December 7, 1948, in Springfield, Massachusetts, the younger daughter of Doris Graham and Albert B. Cleage Jr. She grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where her father was a church pastor and played a prominent role in the civil rights movement. Many leaders of the movement passed through the Cleage house on their way to rallies and demonstrations in other cities in the Midwest and Northeast. After graduating from the Detroit public schools in 1966, Cleage enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she majored in playwriting and dramatic literature. In 1969 she moved to Atlanta and enrolled at Spelman College, graduating in 1971 with a bachelors degree in drama. She later joined the Spelman faculty as a writer and playwright in residence and as a creative director. Also in 1969 she married Michael Lomax, an Atlanta politician and educator and the current president of Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. They have one daughter, Deignan Njeri. The marriage ended in divorce in 1979. Cleage married Zaron W. Burnett Jr., writer and director for the Just Us Theater Company, in 1994.
Rosa Clemente Rosa Clemente Hip-Hop Activist Hip Hop journalist, activist. As a Black Puerto Rican she is dedicated to scholar-activism. It was her experiences at the University of Albany and Cornell University that led her to become a leading progressive voice for her generation. Rosa’s academic work has been dedicated to researching national liberation struggles inside the United States, with a specific focus on the Young Lords Party and the Black Liberation Army. Rosa has written for Clamor Magazine, The Ave. magazine, The Black World Today, The Final Call and numerous websites. She has been the subject of articles in the Village Voice, The New York Times, Urban Latino, and The Source magazines. She has appeared on CNN, C-Span, Democracy Now and Street Soldiers. In 2001 she was a youth representative at the United Nations World Conference against Xenophobia, Racism and Related Intolerance in South Africa and in 2002 was named by Red Eye Magazine as one of the top 50 Hip Hop Activists to look out for. In 2003 Rosa helped formed and coordinate of the National Hip Hop Political Convention that drew over 3000 activists brought together to create a national political agenda for the Hip Hop generation. Currently she is a radio host and producer with WBAI’s (99.5 FM/NYC), an organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, a Malcolm X Fellow with the Institute of the Black World, coordinator of the State of the Black world forums and the national spokesperson for the R.E.A.C.H. Hip Hop Coalition. She is a board member for the NYC based Brecht forum and is committees In 1995 she developed Know Thy Self Media Messengers, seeing a need for young people, particularly young people of color to be heard and taken seriously she began presenting workshops and lectures at colleges, universities, high schools, and prisons. In the past ten years she has presented at over 200 colleges, conferences and community centers on topics such as; African-American and Latino/a Intercultural Relations, Hip-Hop Activism, The History of the Young Lords Party, and Women, Feminism and Hip Hop. KTSP now includes an expanded college speakers bureau which has produced three major Hip Hop activism tours, Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win with M1 of dead prez and Fred Hampton Jr.; The ACLU College Freedom Tour with dead prez, DJ Kuttin Kandi, Mystic and comedian Dave Chapelle; and the Speak Truth to Power Tour a collaborative tour of award winning youth activists. Beginning August 14th 2006, she will become a contributor to Air Americas, On The Real, hosted by Chuck D and Gia Gareal.Currently she is a producer with WBAI’s (99.5 FM/NYC), an organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, spokesperson for the National Hip Hop Assembly.
Alan Colmes Alan Colmes joined FOX News Channel (FNC) in 1996. He serves as the liberal counterpart and co-host of Hannity & Colmes a one-hour debate-driven talk show focusing on controversial newsmakers and issues of the day. After a string of successful radio shows on WNBC, WABC and WMCA in New York, Colmes gained a reputation as a hard-hitting liberal known for his electric commentary on the American agenda. He has interviewed many key political figures, which include Former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Steve Forbes, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Ralph Nader and Ken Starr. Colmes hosted his own self-titled late night radio talk show on WEVD-AM. After penetrating the Boston market with a hit radio show on WZLX, Colmes went from major market success to national talk radio prominence in 1990 with his fast-paced and informative afternoon news-driven show, which aired daily on hundreds of affiliates nationwide. Most recently, he returned to radio as host of a news-driven late-night talk show The Alan Colmes Show, which is syndicated by the FOX News Channel.
Anderson Cooper Anderson Cooper is the leading voice of a new generation of journalists who are covering news stories in a fresh and meaningful way. He is the host of CNNs popular Anderson Cooper 360, an unconventional, wide-ranging news program, and the newest contributor to 60 Minutes. Since joining CNN, Anderson has anchored many of the decade's major news stories: he traveled to Sri Lanka to cover the tsunami, and was in Baghdad for the Iraqi elections. He also anchored much of CNNs live coverage of the funeral of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican City, as well as the Terri Schiavo story in Florida. For "America Votes 2004," he moderated a Democratic presidential candidates forum co-sponsored with Rock the Vote. But the reporting that made him a household name winning him the admiration of his peers and the respect of the American people was his nearly non-stop live coverage of Hurricane Katrina. Prior to joining CNN, Anderson worked for ABC News, as a contributor to World News Tonight and 20/20, and as the anchor of ABC's live, interactive, overnight news program, World News Now. His work on their coverage of Princess Diana's funeral won him an Emmy. Other awards he has received include: a Silver Plaque from the Chicago International Film Festival for his report from Sarajevo on the Bosnian civil war; a Bronze Telly for his coverage of famine in Somalia; a Bronze Award from the National Educational Film and Video Festival for a report on political Islam; and a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Journalism for his 20/20 Downtown report on gay high school athlete Corey Johnson. In May 2006, Anderson became the newest contributor to CBSs venerable news institution, 60 Minutes. That same month, he released his acclaimed memoir, Dispatches from The Edge. In it, he discusses seeing death and destruction while covering stories in far-flung corners of the world, even as he tries to find meaning in the death of his father when he was only 10, and the suicide of his brother. Inspired by his time in New Orleans during the Hurricane, he says, "I'd been sort of writing it in my head for the last 15 years." What does Anderson Cooper talk about? Today's Headlines with Anderson Cooper Anderson Cooper brings a common touch and deep cultural awareness to his work, and it is these same qualities that are on display in his speeches. He explores major political, cultural, and social issues of the day, giving audiences insights into the stories behind the headlines. From a major keynote before an audience of several thousand, to a meeting with a small group of journalism students, Anderson's appearances create a buzz and generate discussion and debate long after the event is over.
Ellis Cose Prominent journalist and contributing editor of Newsweek magazine where he writes on a broad range of subjects, including domestic policy, race and the press. Prior to that he served as editorial page editor and chairman of the editorial board at The New York Daily News. He is also on the board of contributors for USA Today and he writes essays for the newspaper. Ellis Cose is the author of five books on important social issues in America including "Color-Blind: Seeing Beyond Race In a Race-Obsessed World;" "A Man's World;" and "The Rage of a Privileged Class".Cose has appeared on The Today Show, Nightline, Dateline, ABC Evening News, Good Morning America, the PBS "Time to Choose" election special, Charlie Rose, CNN's Talk Back Live, and a variety of other nationally televised and local programs. He has also been interviewed for British, Brazilian and Canadian television. He is also a judge for the New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. Cose has received fellowships or individual grants from the Ford Foundation, The Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, and numerous journalism awards-including the University of Missouri medal for career excellence and distinguished service in journalism, four National Association of Black Journalists first place awards (for commentary and for magazine writing), and two Clarion awards (for commentary and writings on the incarceration crisis). He was also named the 2002 winner of the New York Association of Black Journalists' lifetime achievement award, winner of the 2003 award for best magazine feature from the National Association of Black Journalists as well as the winner of two New York Association of Black Journalists' first place 2003 awards for commentary and magazine features. In 2004 Cose was named the first recipient of the newly inaugurated annual Vision Award from the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.
Katie Couric The first female to solely anchor a nightly network news program and a tireless advocate for cancer prevention, Katie Couric analyzes the hard hitting and hopeful stories making news worldwide. Driven by professional integrity and the human need to connect, Katie Couric brings compassion and understanding to overwhelming and complex stories. She interviews todays newsmakers and tomorrows leaders, gaining acclaim for her in depth interviews with 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin and with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates during a trip to Afghanistan where he fired the top general waging Americas fight in this critical region. Formerly co anchor of NBCs Today for more than a decade, a contributing anchor for Dateline NBC and the recipient of two Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award, Couric offers audiences humorous, touching anecdotes and a behind the scenes look at her history making role in television news. A tireless advocate for charitable causes, Couric helped found the Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, which focuses on education, research and awareness.
Ann Crittenden Ann Crittenden is an award-winning journalist and author. She was a reporter for The New York Times from 1975 to 1983, where she authored a series on world hunger that was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. She was also a financial writer and foreign correspondent for Newsweek, a reporter for Fortune, a visiting lecturer at MIT and Yale, and executive director of the Fund for Investigative Journalism in Washington, D.C. The hardcover release of her book, The Price of Motherhood, created a national stir. Crittenden utilizes her extensive background in economics to show how the work of raising children creates enormous wealth for society, but huge economic penalties for those who do the work. Some of her findings:
Walter Cronkite Retired journalist, best known for his work as a television news anchorman. During his tenure at CBS Evening News, he was often cited in viewer opinion polls as "the most trusted man in America," because of his experience and professional demeanor.
Joyce Davis Journalist and senior editor of Upscale Magazine, Joyce Davis writes about lifestyle oriented topics that are of interest to the African-American community including such hot button social issues as gentrification, media coverage of minorities, and male-female relationships.
Frank Deford Sports commentator and journalist.
Dan Dorfman Influential financial news analyst.
Terry Eastland Respected journalist, media critic and publisher of The American Spectator. Terry Eastland is a contributor to the "Rules of Law" column in the Wall Street Journal and a correspondent for "Media Matters," the PBS show on the news media. He is the author of such books as Energy in the Executive: The Case for the Strong Presidency; Ethics, Politics, and the Independent Counsel: Executive Power, Executive Vice; Ending Affirmative Action: The Case for Colorblind Justice.
Bonnie Erbe Legal affairs correspondent for the NBC/Mutual radio network, nationally syndicated political columnist and the moderator and host of the weekly news analysis and public affairs program, “To The Contrary.”
Juliette Fairley Financial writer and former personal finance editor for Black Enterprise Magazine. Juliette Fairley is the author of Money Talks:: Black Finance Experts Talk To You About Money.
Joseph Farah Joseph Farah is the co-founder, editor and chief executive officer of WorldNetDaily.com, the world’s leading independent Internet news source. In addition, Farah writes a daily column for WND and a nationally syndicated weekly newspaper column for Creators Syndicate. He is also the founder and co-publisher of WND Books, a publishing venture that has produced several New York Times best sellers in the last five years. Joseph Farah made a name for himself with traditional daily newspapers prior to his founding of WorldNetDaily – running the Sacramento Union, directing the news operation of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner for six years and serving as editor in chief of a group of California dailies and weeklies. The former nationally syndicated daily talk-show host has written for such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Jerusalem Post, National Review, TV Guide, Reason, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Sun-Times and a host of other national, international and regional publications. He is the co-author, with U.S. Rep. Richard Pombo, of “This Land is Our Land” (1996), and in 1994 collaborated with Rush Limbaugh on the No. 1 New York Times best seller “See, I Told You So.” His newest book is “Taking America Back,” published in 2003 and in paperback in 2005. NBC television, New World Entertainment and other media giants have sought his expertise as a media consultant. Farah’s many journalism awards include honors for reporting to writing headlines to honesty and courage in journalism to editing and newspaper design. Farah speaks all over the world on topics ranging from the Middle East to the media to domestic policy issues.
Samuel G. Freedman Respected journalist and author of the highly acclaimed and controversial book, Jew vs. Jew: The Struggle For The Soul of American Jewry.
Leslie Gelb Pultizer Prize-winning foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times and now President of the Council on Foreign Relations.
George Gendron Editor-in-Chief of Inc. magazine.
Jack Germond Nationally syndicated political newspaper columnist.
Georgia Ann Geyer Syndicated newspaper columnist, foreign correspondent and a regular panelist on “Washington Week In Review” and “Meet the Press.”
Gene Gibbons White House correspondent of the Reuters International News Agency.
Elizabeth Gilbert Her editor calls her the Queen of Quirk. She has an awful lot of humor and charm, and shes one of those few writers who writes the way she talks. And talks the way she writes, with intelligence, wit and not just a shade of the performer behind her expressive and insightful presentations. Expansive and armed with a comics sense of timing, journalist, novelist and short-story writer Elizabeth Gilbert talks about her writing and her books. Her most recent is a memoir entitled, Eat, Pray, Love Viking, 2006, which chronicles the year she spent traveling around the world in search of personal restoration after a difficult divorce. Gilberts lecture themes often revolve around the subjects of travel and getting the story out there…on ranches, in bars, in scary foreign countries, in diners, in rodeos, in strip joints, on fishing boats, in factories and hospitals, she says. Gilbert prefers this kind of reallife arena, to spending a few years in a writing program comparing short stories with a few dozen other young writers trying to find their voices.” Gilberts first book, a collection of short-stories entitled Pilgrims (1998), was a New York Times Most Notable Book and won the Ploughshares prize, the “first fiction” awards from The Paris Review and The Southern Review and was a finalist for the PEN Hemingway Award. Several stories in the collection were staged at the Water Theater Company at the Tribeca Playhouse. Her first novel Stern Men (2000), a story about Maine lobster fishermen, the women who defy them and entrenched island conflicts, won the Kate Chopin Award in 2001 for creating a female character who goes “beyond the boundaries of cultural expectations to claim a life on her own terms” (Florence Shinkle, St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Hailing from an educated, ascetic rural Connecticut upbringing, Elizabeth Gilbert came to her writing career with fearless reporting skills, an abiding appreciation for working-class values with an attendant skepticism of politically correct liberalism. A clear vision of the irony and absurdity in it all informs an easy, at times wicked wit that shuns any ideological or political agendas. After graduating from New York University, she used money earned at a Philadelphia diner to travel, as she says, to create experiences to write about, gather landscapes and voices. She went West to work in diners and bars for the same reason. Her work for Spin Magazine caught the eye of the editors at Gentlemens Quarterly, which proved to be fertile ground for Gilbert, resulting in a run of colorful profiles and stories that eventually turned into books and movies. Her first article for GQ, The Muse of the Coyote Ugly Saloon, chronicled her experience as a waitress at the New York City bar of the same name, and was the basis for the 2000 motion picture Coyote Ugly. A profile of Hank Williams III in GQ, won the National Magazine Award and was anthologized in Best American Writing 2001. I think my gift, far beyond whatever gifts that I have as a writer, my gift as a human is that I can make friends with people very quickly, and not in an insincere way, she tells interviewer Frank Bures at Powells Books. Everything I learned about being a journalist I learned by being a bartender. The most exquisite lesson of all is that people will tell you anything. Want to. Theres no question you can’t ask if your intention is not hostile. And its not like entrapment; it’s more like a gorgeous revelation. People want to tell the story that they have. Nominated for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award for her nonfiction account of the back to basics woodsman, Eustace Conway, in The Last American Man (2002), Gilbert effectively draws on a long standing intrigue with a luxury free, pioneer lifestyle. Taking from intellectualism and pop culture, from seriousness and ribald humor, Elizabeth Gilbert strikes an engagingly subtle, thoughtful and comic balance. A Pushcart Prize winner and National Magazine Award nominated journalist, she works as writer at-large for GQ and makes her home in New Jersey. Gilberts journalism has been published in Harpers Bazaar, Spin and The New York Times Magazine. Her stories have appeared in Esquire, Story, The Paris Review, Ploughshares and The Mississippi Review.
Dorothy Butler Gilliam Highly respected columnist for The Washington Post, Dorothy Gilliam was the only black woman journalist covering the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960's. She was the president of the 2400 member National Association of Black Journalists and has served as chair of the Institute for Journalism Education, a national organization which promotes opportunities for minority students in journalism. A frequent panelist on the political talk show, "To The Contrary," Ms. Gilliam appears nationwide on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).
Jeffrey Goldberg Journalist and author, Jeffrey Goldberg is the Middle East editor of the New Yorker. He is currently writing a non-fiction book about the Middle East. He previously was a writer for The New York Times magazine.
Ellen Goodman An Associate Editor at The Boston Globe, Ellen Goodman writes a syndicated column that appears in more than 400 newspapers. She is the author of several books, including Turning Points and Close to Home. She is co-author with novelist Patricia O'Brien of a new book, I Know Just What You Mean: The Power of Friendship in Women's Lives. In their lecture, Ellen and Pat present a thoughtful, deeply personal look at the enduring bonds of friendship between women.
Ed Gordon Ed Gordon, award-winning anchor, managing editor of BET News With Ed Gordon, and host of Conversation With Ed Gordon, is one of broadcasting's most versatile journalists. Gordon's return to BET, after a three-year stint with NBC, was marked by what he is best known for... the exclusive one-on-one interview. Gordon's years at NBC were no less impressive. There he scored, for Dateline NBC, the only interview with Autumn Jackson, a young woman who made headlines by accusing entertainer Bill Cosby of being her father. While at NBC and its cable network MSNBC, Gordon was anchor and host of the talk show Internight. Periodically, Gordon hosts BET News special broadcasts, such as President Clinton Face to Face: A White House Special, where Gordon interviewed President Clinton and then moderated a discussion with the President and citizens from across the country. Murder Madness, looked at solutions to the growing problem of violence in America. Other specials include BET Town Hall Meetings, broadcast live from various cities across the country. These Town Hall meetings explore issues from AIDS to affirmative action. From 1989-91 Gordon hosted the critically acclaimed interview series Personal Diary. Guests included 60 Minutes co-host Ed Bradley, poet Maya Angelou, and tennis great, the late Arthur Ashe. Over the years Gordon has become a newsmaker in his own right. He has been featured in many publications including USA Today, Washington Post, Essence, Entertainment Weekly,, and was even chosen as one of People magazine's 50 most beautiful people. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Award of Excellence and the organization's Outstanding Journalistic Endeavor award. Other awards include an Emmy and the Communication Excellence to Black Audiences (CEBA) awards for Merit, Distinction, and Excellence. Gordon has also been nominated for an ACE award, cable television's highest honor. From 1985-1988 Gordon served as host of Detroit Black Journal, the nation's longest running locally produced public affairs program. He also co-hosted No Crime Day with Detroit Piston basketball star Isaiah Thomas. The program encouraged youth to stay away from crime.
Nancy Grace Nancy Grace hosts Headline News' legal analysis program, Nancy Grace, on Headline Prime. She is based in CNN's New York bureau. One of television's most respected legal analysts, Grace comes to Headline News from Court TV, where she hosts the live daily trial coverage program, Closing Arguments. She also has appeared as a legal commentator on CNN's Larry King Live, ABC's The View, The Oprah Winfrey Show and numerous other cable and network programs. Her book, Objection!, was published by Hyperion in April 2005 and was an instant New York Times bestseller. Nancy Grace joined Court TV from the Atlanta Fulton County District Attorney's Office where she served for a decade as special prosecutor of felony cases involving serial murder, rape, child molestation and arson. Grace gave up career plans to become an English professor after the murder of her fiancé. She enrolled in law school, eventually becoming a prosecutor and an outspoken victims' rights advocate. Grace helped staff the hotline at an Atlanta battered women’s center for 10 years. She has written articles for the American Bar Association Journal and other law reviews. She was also a litigation instructor at Georgia State University's School of Law and a business law instructor at the university's school of business. Previously, Grace clerked with a federal court judge and practiced antitrust and consumer protection law with the Federal Trade Commission. Grace is the recipient of several American Women in Radio & Television Gracie Awards for her Nancy Grace Investigates primetime report on Court TV and for "Individual Achievement for Best Program Host." She has also been recognized for her ongoing support and advocacy of victims' rights by various groups, including the Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation, Crime Victims United of California and The Retreat.
Bob Greene Syndicated newspaper columnist and best-selling author.
Monique Greenwood Monique Greenwood Former Editor-in-Chief of Essence magazine & Author of Having What Matters: The Black Woman's Guide to Creating the Life You Really Want Program Title - Having What Matters... Monique Greenwood knows that having it all isn’t where it’s at—it’s having what matters. The former editor-in-chief of Essence magazine and author of *Having What Matters: The Black Woman’s Guide to Creating the Life You Really Want* has achieved enormous professional success which she measures not in dollars, but in personal satisfaction and fulfillment. For three years, Greenwood served as editor-in-chief of Essence magazine, the nation’s leading publication for African American women. She is co-founder and national president of the Go On Girl! Book Club, the largest African American book club in the country. She is an owner of two acclaimed bed-and-breakfast inns, entrepreneur, community activist, wife and mother. Greenwood graduated magna cum laude graduate from Howard University and is an alumna of the Program for Developing Managers at Simmons Graduate School of Business. An inspirational speaker, Greenwood’s varied experiences provide a fascinating backdrop for actionable advice on how to achieve a balanced life. Her lecture topics include making time for “me,” building community for “the new urban entrepreneur, bursting through boundaries and not being limited by the limited imaginations of others and how to make your dreams come true
David Gregory As Chief White House Correspondent, David Gregory has begun his sixth year leading the network's coverage of the Bush presidency, reporting regularly on "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," "Today," for NBC News' 24-hour cable network MSNBC and on MSNBC.com. In addition, Gregory often appears on "Hardball with Chris Matthews." In the fall of 2005, Gregory began substituting regularly for Matt Lauer on “Today.” He has served as substitute moderator on “Meet the Press,” and has been a substitute anchor for the weekend editions of “Nightly News” and “Today.” As a political commentator, Gregory is a frequent contributor on “Meet the Press” and the syndicated “Chris Matthews” show. Gregory is also well known for his appearances on MSNBC’s “Imus in the Morning” and has been tapped by the shock jock to guest host.
Mel Gussow Drama and film critic for The New York Times.
Sean Hannity Co-Host of “Hannity & Colmes” (Fox News), host of "The Sean Hannity Show" (ABC Radio) Sean Hannity joined the FOX News Channel in September, 1996 as co-host of "Hannity & Colmes." He serves as the program's conservative counterpart to liberal Alan Colmes, and the show has now become the highest-viewed debate show on cable television. He also hosts "The Sean Hannity Show" three hours daily from his studios at ABC Radio Network. Syndicated on 430 stations nationwide, Sean's voice reaches 14 million listeners daily. In October, 2003 Sean received the Marconi Award (NAB) for "Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year." Four months later he was named "National Talk Host of the Year" at the Annual Radio & Records Talk Radio Seminar in Washington, D.C. Talkers Magazine has also named Sean "Talk Show Host of the Year" and one of the "Top 100 Talk Hosts in America." His most recent book, "Deliver Us From Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism," was released in February, 2004 and debuted at the #1 spot on New York Times bestseller list and maintained that position for five weeks. Sean is also the author of New York Times bestseller "Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty Over Liberalism," published in 2002.
Carl Hiaasen Carl Hiaasen, a New York Times best-selling author, Miami Herald columnist and three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, will present “Funny, Real Stories from the Sunshine State”. Hiaasen is the author of the best-selling novels, “Skinny Dip,” “Basket Case,” “Sick Puppy,” “Lucky You,” “Stormy Weather,” “Strip Tease,” “Native Tongue,” “Skin Tight,” “Double Whammy,” “Tourist Season,” and the Newbery Award-winning “HOOT” for young readers.
Michael Hirschorn Journalist Michael Hirschorn is the senior VP of news and production at VH1. He is the former Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Inside.com, which reports on entertainment/industry news, encompassing the world of books, music and television. Hirschorn is also the former editor-in-chief of Spin magazine, executive editor of New York and associate editor of Esquire. His experience is substantial in the fields of print and online journalism. Journalist Michael Hirschorn is the senior VP of news and production at the cable network VH1. The move to cable television has caused Hirschorn to really branch out, since he has spent his career in print and online journalism. At VH1, he is responsible for overseeing the development and creation of VH1 News specials and documentaries, as well as the channel's daily newsgathering operations. He is also in charge of the network's video hours and a portion of the network's regular nonfiction programming. In addition, Hirschorn works closely with VH1.com to create a convergent news and programming strategy for the brand.
John Hockenberry Three-time Peabody Award winner, four-time Emmy award winner and Dateline NBC correspondent, John Hockenberry has broad experience as a journalist and commentator for more than two decades. He has reported from all over the world, in virtually every medium, having anchored programs for network, cable and radio. Hockenberry was responsible for two of the most innovative programs to air on MSNBC. The program “Hockenberry’ was a smart provocative news interview program which broadcast live from the war in Kosovo in 1999, while “Edgewise” was a unique blend of raw documentary filmaking and interviews with newsmakers passionate about politics and culture. Hockenberry joined NBC as a correspondent for Dateline NBC in January 1996 after a fifteen-year career in broadcast news at both National Public Radio and ABC News. Hockenberry's reporting for Dateline NBC earned him three Emmys, an Edward R Murrow award and a Casey Medal. His most prominent Dateline NBC reports include an hour-long documentary on the often-fatal tragedy of the medically uninsured, an emotionally gripping portrait of a young schizophrenic trying to live on his own, and extensive reporting in the aftermath of September 11th. His programs have illuminated issues and events from corporate downsizing and the new face of homelessness to the mysterious world of Saudi Arabia post 9/11. Hockenberry obtained the first television interview with a family member of two of the terrorist hijackers in Saudi Arabia. His investigative work has scrutinized pharmaceutical industry scandals and discrimination against people with disabilities in employment and housing.
Arianna Huffington Arianna Huffington is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, a nationally syndicated columnist, and author of eleven books."Arianna Huffington is also co-host of "Left, Right & Center," public radio's popular political roundtable program. In May 2005, Arianna Huffington launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that has quickly become one of the most widely-read, linked to, and frequently-cited media brands on the Internet. In 2006, Arianna Huffington was named to the Time 100, Time Magazine's list of the world’s 100 most influential people. Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in economics. At 21, she became president of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union.
Michael Isikoff Investigative correspondent for Newsweek magazine, news analyst for MSNBC and a frequent guest on NBC's "Meet The Press" and PBS's "Charlie Rose" show.
Roy Johnson Roy S. Johnson, an Assistant Managing Editor for Sports Illustrated, pens the weekly "Pass the Word" column for SI.com. This is his third stint at the magazine. Johnson began his journalism career at SI as a reporter from 1978-81. From 1982-89, Johnson worked at the New York Times, before returning to SI as a senior editor in 1989. During that tenure, Johnson co-authored the magazine's exclusive, first-person account of Magic Johnson's sudden retirement from the NBA due to the HIV virus. Johnson has also spent time at Savoy and Fortune. He has co-authored two books: Magic's Touch (Addison Wesley) with Earvin Johnson and Outrageous (Simon & Schuster) with Charles Barkley. In addition to his professional credentials, Johnson is a longstanding member of the National Association of Black Journalists; a board member of the International Amateur Athletic Foundation; and helps oversee the Bill Spiller/Homeboy Golf Classic. He created the Roy S. Johnson Foundation, which provides financial assistance to minority youth from his hometown (Tulsa, Okla.) who are interested in pursuing an education at prestigious Holland Hall Preparatory School, Johnson's alma mater.
Dr. Timothy Johnson Dr. G. Timothy Johnson is one of the nation's leading medical communicators of health care information. As Medical Editor for ABC News, Johnson provides on-air medical analysis for "World News Tonight," "Nightline" and "20/20." He has provided commentary on medical problems and answers for viewers of ABC News' "Good Morning America" since the program's debut in 1975. Johnson's programs and feature reports have won several awards, including a National Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as well as two Emmy Awards from the Boston/New England Chapter of the same organization. He earned a Gabriel Award in 1999 in the best news story category for the two-part piece, "Alzheimer's: A Faded Memory." Johnson was selected as the recipient of the 1998 Bradford Washburn Award presented by the Museum of Science, Boston — an honor also bestowed upon Jacques Cousteau, Walter Cronkite, Dr. Jane Goodall and Alan Alda, among others. In 1988, he received the Lewis Thomas Award for Communications from the American College of Physicians, and in 1987 and 1989, he won the Howard W. Blakeslee Award given by the American Heart Association. Johnson is the founding editor of the Harvard Medical School Health Letter and co-editor of the "Harvard Medical School Health Letter Book." He is also co-editor of the book "Your Good Health," co-author of "Let's Talk," and author of "Dr. Timothy Johnson's OnCall Guide to Men's Heath" and "Finding God in the Questions: A Personal Journey."
Stanley Karnow Historian, foreign affairs expert, journalist, and Pulitzer Prize winning author of In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines.
John Kasich John Kasich is a former U.S. Republican Representative turned television show host for FOX News Channel. He hosts Heartland with John Kasich, and also guest hosts The O'Reilly Factor, filling in for Bill O'Reilly when necessary. In 1993, he became the Ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee where he authored an alternative to President Clinton's deficit reduction plan that relied on spending reductions rather than tax increases. Later that year, the Penny-Kasich Plan failed by only six votes to cut federal spending by an additional $90 billion on top of the deficit reduction forecasted by President Clinton. After the 1994 Republicans became the majority party in Congress, Kasich became Chairman of the House Budget Committee working towards the balanced budget, and served as chair of the congressional committee on welfare reform. During the 1996 presidential campaign, Republican nominee Bob Dole seriously considered Kasich as a vice presidential running mate, but instead selected Jack Kemp, a former congressman and HUD Secretary. It is possible Kasich was dropped in response to rumors instigated by Kasich's Democratic opponent in his House race, Cynthia Ruccia, regarding Kasich's sexuality. Ruccia raised the question of the propriety of bachelor Kasich sharing a Washington townhouse with his male chief-of-staff. Kasich nonetheless won the 1996 election, and subsequently married in March of 1997. Kasich's book, Courage is Contagious, was a New York Times bestseller. Kasich is of Croatian descent. Kasich's new book Stand for Something: The Battle for America's Soul was released on May 10, 2006.
Greg Kelly FOX News White House Correspondent Greg Kelly, an Atlanta-based correspondent for the FOX News Channel (FNC), joined the network in November 2002. Most recently, he provided extensive coverage on Operation Iraqi Freedom and was embedded with the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division, 2nd Brigade. He was the first television reporter to deliver live pictures to the world of U.S. forces infiltrating Baghdad on April 5th. Two days later, Kelly captured another exclusive during the storming of Saddam's presidential palace. Prior to joining FNC, Kelly served as a reporter for New York 1 News, where he covered New York City politics. Prior to his stint there, Kelly served as an anchor for the morning news program at WIVT-TV (ABC) in Binghamton, NY. Before pursing his career in journalism, Kelly spent nine years as a fighter jet pilot in the United States Marine Corps. During his military service, Kelly amassed 158 aircraft carrier landings and flew over Iraq in Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the United Nations imposed "No-Fly Zone."
Larry King Celebrating his 49th year in broadcasting in 2006, CNN's Larry King is the host of the network's Larry King Live, the first worldwide phone-in television talk show and the network's highest-rated program. The Emmy Award-winning King and author of multiple books has been dubbed "the most remarkable talk-show host on TV ever" by TV Guide and "master of the mike" by TIME Magazine. Larry King Live debuted on CNN in June 1985 with its now famous mix of celebrity interviews, political debates and topical discussions. Telecast each weeknight at 9 p.m. (ET), the program also features phone calls from viewers around the world. CNN's Larry King Weekend airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9 p.m. and offers in-depth profiles and career retrospectives of news and entertainment figures. In June 1994, King created the first daily radio/TV talk show by simulcasting CNN's Larry King Live on Mutual/Westwood One radio stations nationwide. King has been asking famous people questions throughout his career, having accumulated more than 40,000 interviews, including every U.S. president since the Ford administration. King's famed NAFTA debate between Al Gore and Ross Perot in 1993 broke cable industry ratings records (outside of the first night of Gulf War coverage) and obtained the highest rating in CNN history--reaching more than 16.3 million viewers. In 1995, King showcased his extraordinary skill in international diplomacy when he hosted a historic hour on the Middle East Peace process with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. King's award-winning jailhouse interviews include: convicted murderers Sante Kimes and her son, Kenneth; Karla Faye Tucker, the first woman to be executed in Texas; and Mike Tyson.
Naomi Klein Naomi Klein is an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author of the New York Times and international bestseller, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Published worldwide in September 2007, The Shock Doctrine is being translated into 20 languages to date. The six minute companion film, created by Alfonso Cuaron, director of Children of Men, was an Official Selection of the 2007 Venice Biennale and Toronto International Film Festivals and was a viral phenomenon, downloaded over a million times. Her first book No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies was also an international bestseller, translated into over 28 languages with more than a million copies in print. A collection of her work, Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate was published in 2002. Klein writes a regular column for The Nation and The Guardian that is syndicated internationally by The New York Times Syndicate. In 2004, her reporting from Iraq for Harper's Magazine won the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism. Also in 2004, she co-produced The Take with director Avi Lewis, a feature documentary about Argentina's occupied factories. The film was an Official Selection of the Venice Biennale and won the Best Documentary Jury Prize at the American Film Institute's Film Festival in Los Angeles. She is a former Miliband Fellow at the London School of Economics and holds an honorary Doctor of Civil Laws from the University of King's College, Nova
Naomi Klein Naomi Klein is an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author of the New York Times and #1 international bestseller, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Published worldwide in September 2007, The Shock Doctrine is being translated in 27 languages. It was a finalist for several prizes including the 2007 LA Times Book Award, New York Public Library Bernstein Award for Journalism, and the National Business Book Award (Canada). In 2008 it won the Canadian Booksellers Association’s Libris Award for Non-Fiction Book of the Year and is longlisted for the inaugural 2009 Warwick Prize for Writing (UK). The six minute companion film, created by Alfonso Cuaron, director of Children of Men, was an Official Selection of the 2007 Venice Biennale and Toronto International Film Festivals and was a viral phenomenon, downloaded over a million times. Her first book No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies was also an international bestseller, translated into over 28 languages with more than a million copies in print. A collection of her work, Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate was published in 2002. Naomi Klein writes a regular column for The Nation and The Guardian that is syndicated internationally by The New York Times Syndicate. In 2004, her reporting from Iraq for Harper’s Magazine won the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism. Also in 2004, she co-produced The Take with director Avi Lewis, a feature documentary about Argentina’s occupied factories. The film was an Official Selection of the Venice Biennale and won the Best Documentary Jury Prize at the American Film Institute’s Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Morton Kondracke Well known journalist who has covered Washington politics and foreign policy for nearly forty years. Mort Kondracke was a regular on "The McLaughlin Group" for sixteen years and he is now with the "FOX News" channel co-hosting a weekly television political program "The Beltway Boys." He is the author of the book Saving Milly: Love, Politics and Parkinson's Disease, about his wife's bout with the disease and his role as her caregiver.
Nicholas D. Kristof Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times since November 2001, writes op ed columns that appear twice a week. He is temporarily on leave to write a book with his wife about women in the developing world. Previously, he was associate managing editor of The Times, responsible for the Sunday Times. Kristof graduated from Harvard College, Phi Beta Kappa, and then won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, where he studied law and graduated with first class honors. He later studied Arabic in Cairo and Chinese in Taipei. After working in France, he caught the travel bug and began backpacking around Africa and Asia, writing articles to cover his expenses. Kristof has lived on four continents, reported on six, and traveled to 140 countries, plus all 50 states, every Chinese province and every main Japanese island. Hes also one of the very few Americans to be at least a two time visitor to every member of the Axis of Evil. During his travels, he has had unpleasant experiences with malaria, wars, an Indonesian mob carrying heads on pikes, and an African airplane crash. After joining The New York Times in 1984, initially covering economics, he served as a correspondent in Los Angeles and as bureau chief in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Tokyo. In 2000, he covered the presidential campaign and in particular Governor Bush, and he is the author of the chapter on Bush in the reference book The Presidents. In 1990 Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, then also a Times journalist, won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of Chinas Tiananmen Square democracy movement. They were the first married couple to win a Pulitzer for journalism. Kristof won a second Pulitzer in 2006, for commentary. He has also won other prizes including the George Polk Award, the Overseas Press Club award, the Michael Kelly award, the Online News Association award, and the American Society of Newspaper Editors award. Kristof and WuDunn are authors of China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power and Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia.
Ron Kuby Ron Kuby is a criminal defense and civil rights lawyer, radio talk show host and TV commentator. Kuby is now the co-host, with Curtis Sliwa, of the popular "Curtis and Kuby in the Morning" program which is aired on weekdays from 5 to 10 am on WABC-AM 770 in New York City. He is also a frequent pundit and fill-in anchor on Court TV. Previously he and Sliwa shared a short-lived mid-day television program on MSNBC (Kuby admits that he has "a face meant for radio.")
Bill Kurtis Acclaimed documentary host and producer, network and major market news anchor, and multimedia production company president, Bill Kurtis is celebrating his fortieth anniversary in the field of broadcasting. Over the years, Kurtis has created a body of work that is virtually unparalleled. Born in Florida and raised in Independence, Kansas, Kurtis graduated from The University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. He attended Washburn University School of Law where he was awarded a Juris Doctor degree. Kurtis began his television career at WIBW-TV (CBS) in Topeka, Kansas. In 1966, after being recognized for his 24-hour coverage of a devastating tornado, Kurtis was hired by WBBM-TV in Chicago where he was a field reporter and later anchor of The Channel Two News. Kurtis moved on to the network level at CBS where he anchored the CBS Morning News and contributed to CBS Reports. During his career as a network newsman, Kurtis covered such notable stories as the Richard Speck murders and the Charles Manson trial. He is also credited with breaking the Agent Orange story and the story of Amerasian children in Vietnam. Returning to Chicago and WBBM-TV as news anchor in 1985, Kurtis began his career as a documentarian, traveling to the far ends of the earth for the Peabody Award-winning series The New Explorers, which aired on A&E®. In 1990, he founded Kurtis Productions and began producing programs for the A&E Network, including the long-running, award-winning Investigative Reports and Cold Case Files® as well as Investigating History for The History Channel. Kurtis has also served as the host of A&E's AmericanJustice – the longest running non-fiction justice series on cable. Cold Case Files® was nominated for 2004 and 2005 Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Nonfiction Series. Kurtis also provides satirical narration for the feature film comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, starring Will Ferrell and has provided spoken word elements to the recent Dandy Warhols' album released by Capitol Records. Kurtis is also an author. The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice (PublicAffairs) is his most recent book, which explores issues surrounding capital punishment in America. By profiling two murder cases, Mr. Kurtis reveals his change of mind regarding capital punishment.
Howard Kurtz Washington Post journalist and the author of Media Circles: The Trouble with America's Newspapers; Hot Air; and the bestseller Spin Cycle.
Matt Lauer NBC “Today” co-anchor Matt Lauer has been co-anchor of NBC News’ Today since 1997. Lauer joined Today as news anchor in 1994, providing news updates throughout the two-hour telecast each weekday morning. He also was a frequent substitute for anchor Bryant Gumbel. From 1992 to 1996, Lauer was at WNBC-TV, New York as co-anchor for the station’s early evening and early morning newscasts, News Channel 4/Live at Five and Today in New York. Before joining WNBC, Lauer hosted a daily, live three-hour interview program, 9 Broadcast Plaza, in New York. Previous experience includes hosting a number of weekly information and talk programs in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence, and Richmond. Lauer began his career in 1979 as a producer of the noon news on WOWK-TV, Huntington, W.Va. and then became a reporter on the station’s 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts. Lauer attended Ohio University.
Mara Liasson White House correspondent for National Public Radio, Mara Liasson regularly reports on NPR's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered." An insightful and provocative reporter, she is a frequent guest on the weekly television news show, "Washington Week In Review."
Rush Limbaugh A conservative, he discusses politics and current events on his show, The Rush Limbaugh Show using a style that bounces "between earnest lecturer and political vaudvillian". His show was first nationally syndicated in August 1988, and as of 2005 (according to Arbitron ratings surveys) its audience was estimated at 13.5 million listeners per week, making it the largest radio talk show audience in the United States. Such high ratings have been a consistent hallmark of his show. The Rush Limbaugh Show has been largely credited for the large shift in AM broadcasting to a news-talk format after an audience decline in the 1970s. Limbaugh was the 1992, 1995, 2000, and 2005 recipient of the Marconi Radio Award for Syndicated Radio Personality of the Year, given by the National Association of Broadcasters, joining the syndicated Bob & Tom Show as the only other four-time winner of a Marconi award. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2002, industry publication Talkers magazine ranked him as the greatest radio talk show host of all time. Although Limbaugh's audience is not monolithic, he does attract the highest percentage (56%) of hard news consumers relative to all other television and radio programs in the United States.
Roland Martin Roland S. Martin is a nationally Award-Winning Journalist and CNN Contributor A nationally syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate, Mr. Martin is the author of Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith, and Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America. Mr. Martin is a commentator for TV One Cable Network also host of "The Roland S. Martin Show" on WVON-AM/1690 in Chicago. He can be heard daily from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. He is also a CNN Contributor, appearing on a variety of shows, including Paula Zahn Now, Anderson Cooper 360, Lou Dobbs Tonight, and many others. In August 2007, he joined Essence Magazine as a special correspondent, writing a bi-monthly column and a daily blog on Essence.com. An insightful and provocative analyst, Mr. Martin has appeared numerous times on MSNBC, FOX News, Court TV, BET Nightly News, BBC News, National Public Radio, The Word Network, America's Black Forum, American Urban Radio Networks, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, and NPR's News and Notes. He is the former executive editor/general manager of the Chicago Defender, the nation's largest Black daily newspaper. He is the former founding news editor for Savoy Magazine under the team of New York-based Vanguarde Media, and the former founding editor of BlackAmericaWeb.com, owned by nationally syndicated radio show host Tom Joyner and Radio One. He previously served as owner/publisher of Dallas-Fort Worth Heritage, a Christian monthly newspaper. He also has worked as managing editor of the Houston Defender and the Dallas Weekly, which he led to a number of local, state and national journalism awards. Mr. Martin has worked as morning drive reporter for KRLD/1080 AM; news director and morning anchor at KKDA-AM in Dallas; city hall reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram; and county government and neighbors reporter for the Austin American-Statesman. He has won more than 20 professional awards for journalistic excellence, including a regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television News Directors; several first place awards from the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Black Communicators; two citations from the National Associated Press-Managing Editors Conference; the top sports reporting award in 1997 from the National Association of Black Journalists; and honors from the Houston Press Club. Mr. Martin is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and the American Society of Newspaper Editors. He is a 1987 graduate of Jack Yates High School-Magnet School of Communications, and a 1991 graduate of Texas A&M University, where he earned a bachelor's of science degree in journalism. Martin is studying to receive his master's degree in Christian Communications at Louisiana Baptist University.
Sylvia Martinez Hispanic journalist and editor-in-chief of Latina magazine.
Hans Massaquoi Retired managing editor of Ebony magazine and author of Destined to Witness, his autobiography, in which he tells what it was like to grow up black in Nazi Germany.
Cynthia McFadden ABC News correspondent.
Michel McQueen Martin ABC News Correspondent, Michel McQueen spent more than a decade covering national politics and policy for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal where she was White House correspondent. She has also been a regular panelist on the PBS program, "Washington Week in Review."
Ameena Meer Asian American journalist and author, Ameena Meer was managing editor of Bomb, an art and literary magazine and is a contributing journalist to the Times of India and India Magazine. She writes and speaks about South Asian women in the diaspora.
Ved Mehta Award winning Asian American author and journalist, Ved Mehta, despite his blindness, has written about India and other topics as both a staff member and contributor to The New Yorker for over 25 years.
Richard Miniter Richard Miniter is the author of two New York Times bestselling books, Losing bin Laden and Shadow War, and is an internationally recognized expert on terrorism. He has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The Christian Science Monitor, as well as leading magazines including The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic and Reader's Digest. His published work has been featured in policy and political magazines including The American Enterprise, National Review, Reason, and Policy Review, among others. In addition, his articles have appeared in newspapers throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. After graduating from Vassar College in 1990, Miniter worked for the American Spectator, became a policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and was a senior writer at Insight, a magazine published by the Washington Times. Miniter made two forays into public broadcasting. He was associate producer of the PBS series Technopolitics, a weekly program covering the politics of science, technology and the environment from 1991 to 1993. In June 1996, he was executive producer of Enterprising Women, a national weekly public radio series devoted to women executives and entrepreneurs. The series, distributed by the National Public Radio Satellite System, was hailed as "inspirational" by CNN and described as "the radio equivalent of the female Forbes magazine" by the New York Post. It was hosted by Christy Brown. Despite a loyal audience estimated at five million and carriage in eight of the top ten markets, the series ended in June 1997 due to sponsorship difficulties. From 1996 to 2000, Miniter reported for newspapers and magazines on assignment from Western Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Africa and Southeast Asia. He traveled with rebels into war zones in Uganda, Sudan and Burma and along smugglers' routes in Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. Hired by renowned Wall Street Journal editor Robert Bartley in 2000, Miniter was sent to Brussels as an editorial page writer at The Wall Street Journal Europe and editor of its weekly "Business Europe" column. He also wrote a weekly column, "The Visible Hand," for The Wall Street Journal's OpinionJournal.com. This column was cited by Forbes, Slate, and others. Shortly after the September 11 attacks, Miniter left the Journal to join the investigative reporting team of the Sunday Times (of London), Britain's largest quality paper. Miniter co-wrote a four-part series, "The Road to Ground Zero." The series won first prize by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Miniter's latest book is entitled Disinformation: 22 Media Myths That Undermine the War on Terror. Based on exclusive interviews and official documents, the book challenges many widely-held notions: that Bin Laden was trained or financed by the CIA in the 1980s, that Halliburton profiteered in Iraq, that profiling Arabs at airports would stop terrorism, and that the U.S.-Mexico border is an open door for Al Qaeda.
Andrea Mitchell Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC News. Andrea reports on evolving foreign policy issues in the United States and abroad for all NBC News broadcasts, including "Nightly News with Tom Brokaw," "Today & for MSNBC
Bill Moyers Television journalist and social commentator. During his 25 years in broadcasting, Bill Moyers has pursued a broad spectrum of journalism for which he has received many major awards including over 30 Emmys; the Erik Barnouw Award from the Organization of American Historians; the George Foster Peabody Award for political reporting and international coverage; and the prestigious Gold Baton, which is the highest honor of the Alfred I. duPont/Columbia University Award.
Andrew Napolitano Andrew P. Napolitano joined FOX News Channel in May 1998, and currently serves as a senior judicial analyst. He appears daily on The Big Story with John Gibson, co-hosts FOX and Friends once a week and is a regular on The O’Reilly Factor. Napolitano is the youngest life-tenured Superior Court Judge in the history of the State of New Jersey. While on the bench from 1987-95, Judge Napolitano tried over 150 jury trials, and sat in all parts of the Superior Court — Criminal, Civil, Equity and Family. For eleven years, Napolitano served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall Law School, where he taught constitutional law and jurisprudence. He returned to private law practice in 1995, the same year he began his career in broadcasting. Napolitano received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame.
Jack Nelson Washington bureau chief of The Los Angeles Times and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist.
Tim OBrien Author and journalist, he won national acclaim for his book, If I Die In A Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home, and In The Lake of the Woods.
Stephanie Oliver Well known journalist and health expert, Stephanie Stokes Oliver is the author of Cornbread: 365 Secrets for a Healthy Mind, Body and Spirit. She shares personal tips on health, fitness and spirituality and tells the audience how to have optimum health and happiness in the new millenium. Stephanie Stokes Oliver was an editor at Essence magazine and founding editor-in-chief of Heart & Soul magazine.
Clarence Page Clarence Page, the 1989 Pulitzer Prize winner for Commentary, has been a columnist and a member of the newspaper's editorial board since July 1984. His column is syndicated nationally by Tribune Media Services and he does twice-weekly commentary on WGN-TV, Chicago. He has been based in Washington, D.C. since May 1991. Page is an occasional guest panelist on "The McLaughlin Group," a regular contributor of essays to the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour and a host of documentaries on the Public Broadcasting System. He is a regular panelist on Black Entertainment Television's (BET) weekly "Lead Story" news panel program and a biweekly commentator for National Public Radio's (NPR) "Weekend Sunday." Page was a reporter and assistant city editor for the Chicago Tribune from 1969 to 1980. He joined WBBM-TV in August 1980 as director of the Community Affairs Department. He was a reporter and planning editor at the station from August 1982 to July 1984. Page's awards include a 1980 Illinois UPI award for community service for an investigative series titled "The Black Tax" and the Edward Scott Beck Award for overseas reporting of a 1976 series on the changing politics of Southern Africa. Page also participated in a 1972 Chicago Tribune Task Force series on vote fraud which won the Pulitzer Prize. He has received awards from the Illinois and Wisconsin chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union for his columns on civil liberties and constitutional rights. He was inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hal of Fame in 1992. As a freelance writer, he has published articles in Chicago Magazine, the Chicago Reader, Washington Monthly, New Republic, Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday, and Emerge. His new book, Showing My Color: Impolite Essays on Race and Identity, has been published by HarperCollins. A 1965 graduate of Middletown High School, Middletown Ohio, he began his journalism career as a freelance writer and photographer for the Middletown Journal and Cincinnati Enquirer at the age of 17. Page received his Bachelor of Science in journalism degree from Ohio University in 1969. He has received honorary degrees from Columbia College in Chicago and Lake Forest (Illinois) College.
Letty Cottin Pogrebin Social critic, feminist, author and a founding editor of Ms. Magazine.
Jane Quinn Syndicated financial columnist for Newsweek magazine.
John Quinones John Quinones is anchor of ABCs What Would You Do?, a co-anchor of Primetime, a correspondent for 20/20, and the author of Heroes Among Us: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Choices (Harper). Winner of seven Emmy Awards, Quinones has also been honored with the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards Grand Prize for International Reporting. Quinones joined ABC News in June 1982 and has reported for World News with Charles Gibson, Nightline, and Good Morning America. A sought after speaker, he has been a keynote speaker, diversity speaker, commencement speaker, and after-dinner speaker at universities, diversity conferences, and charitable organizations across the country. In addition to sharing the many stories of heroes hes met, he also shares his own touching personal narrative of his rise from humble roots as the son of a laborer and a house cleaner to his life as a network anchor. His is one of the most American of stories. Quinones reminds us all of the courage and dignity it takes to stand up for oneself and those around us, and by chronicling such bravery, he captures Americas can-do spirit, showing that through the slightest good deed, each one of us harbors a hero within. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Quinones received a masters degree from the Columbia School of Journalism and makes his home in New York City.
William Raspberry Washington Post columnist whose political and urban affairs column is nationally syndicated. Time magazine has hailed him as "the most respected Black voice on any white U.S. newspaper."
Barbara Reynolds Award-winning journalist, nationally syndicated columnist, television news commentator and an ordained minister. She is the author of two books, Jesse Jackson: America's David; and And Still We Rise, a book which includes interviews with fifty Black American role models.
Dennis Rivera Hispanic leader, director of the Rainbow Coalition and the influential president of the largest health care workers union in the United States. Dennis Rivera also writes a column on social and public policy issues for El Diaro La Pensa.
Geraldo Rivera Well known Hispanic talk show host and controversial investigative journalist.
Tara Roberts Hip, young and happening, Tara Roberts is a young African American woman whose personal mission as Lifestyle Editor of Essence magazine is to include the voices, stories and ideas of Black women under 30. Tara's article "Am I The Last Virgin?" was so controversial and generated so much reader feedback that she has compiled and edited a new book entitled,Am I The Last Virgin?: African American Reflections on Sex and Love.
Robin Roberts ABC sports commentator on "Good Morning America" and host of ESPN's Sports Center, Robin Roberts is one of the most versatile commentators in sports. She is also the current host for the Emmy Award winning anthology program, "ABC's Wide World of Sports."
Richard Rodriguez Rodriguez is an important American essayist, known for writing about the intersection of personal life with some of the difficult cultural issues facing America today. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed books Hunger of Memory (an autobiographical memoir read in many high schools and colleges), Days of Obligation: An Argument with My Mexican Father and Brown: The Last Discovery of America. As a journalist, Rodriguez worked with the Pacific News Service in San Francisco and was a contributing editor with Harper’s Magazine and the Sunday “Opinion” section of the Los Angeles Times. In 1993, Rodriguez was given the Frankel Medal (now renamed “The National Humanities Medal”), the highest honor the federal government gives to recognize work done in the humanities. In 1997, his televised essays on American life, featured on PBS’ “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer,” were honored with a George Peabody Award.
Joel C. Rosenberg Joel C. Rosenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Jihad, The Last Days and The Ezekiel Option, with more than one million copies in print. As a communications strategist, he has worked with some of the world’s most influential leaders in business, politics and media, including Steve Forbes, Rush Limbaugh, and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As a novelist, he has been interviewed on more than 300 radio and TV programs, including ABC’s “Nightline,” CNN Headline News, Fox News Channel, The History Channel, MSNBC, the “Rush Limbaugh Show,” and the “Sean Hannity Show.” He has been profiled by the New York Times, Washington Times, and The Jerusalem Post, and was the subject of two cover stories in WORLD magazine. He has addressed audiences all over the world, including Russia, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and Belgium. He has spoken at the White House, The Heritage Foundation, AOL, and the International Spy Museum, as well as at dozens of conferences, universities, churches, synagogues, political events, bookseller conventions, and charitable fund-raisers. The first page of his first novel – The Last Jihad – puts you inside the cockpit of a hijacked jet, coming in on a kamikaze attack into an American city, which leads to a war with Saddam Hussein over weapons of mass destruction. Yet it was written before 9/11, and long before the actual war with Iraq. When published, The Last Jihad spent eleven weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, reaching as high as #7. It raced up the USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists, hit #4 on the Wall Street Journal list and hit #1 on Amazon.com. His second thriller – The Last Days – opens with the death of Yasser Arafat and a U.S. diplomatic convoy ambushed in Gaza. Two weeks before The Last Days was published in hardcover, a U.S. diplomatic convoy was ambushed in Gaza. Thirteen months later, Yasser Arafat died. The Last Days spent four weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, hit #5 on the Denver Post list, and #8 on the Dallas Morning News list. Both books have been optioned by a Hollywood producer. The Ezekiel Option centers on Russian dictator in Russia who forms a military alliance with the leaders of Iran who are feverishly pursuing nuclear weapons and threatening to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. On the very day it was published in June 2005, Iran elected a new leader who vowed to accelerate the country's nuclear program and later vowed to "wipe Israel off the map." Six months after it was published, Moscow signed a $1 billion arms deal with Tehran. The Ezekiel Option spent four weeks on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list and four months on the Christian Bookseller Association bestseller list. An evangelical Christian from an Orthodox Jewish background, Joel’s grandparents escaped Russian persecution of the Jews in the early part of the 20th century. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1989, and studied at Tel Aviv University. He is married, has four sons, and lives near Washington, D.C., where he and his wife are members of McLean Bible Church. WORLD magazine says The Last Days is “dramatic...good entertainment ...a New York Times bestseller with the gospel tucked inside.” The New York Times calls Rosenberg “a Washington success story.” Rush Limbaugh says The Last Jihad is “amazing…I could not put this book down…You have to read this.” Sean Hannity calls The Last Days “riveting to the point you can’t put it down - a heart-pounding, edge of your seat roller coaster ride.” The Jerusalem Post calls The Last Days “a fast-paced thriller, packed with the authentic details and behind-the-scenes tidbits that only a Washington insider such as Rosenberg could know…. screams ‘possible’ from every page.” U.S. News & World Report says Rosenberg’s novels are so close to reality he seems like a “modern Nostradamus.” CNN Headline News says “J.K. Rowling may be the writer of the moment for the young and the young at heart. But for many adults Joel Rosenberg is the ‘it author’ right now. Inside and outside the beltway in Washington, people are snatching up copies of his almost life-like terrorist suspense novels.”
Roger Rosenblatt Roger Rosenblatt is a journalist, author, playwright and teacher. His essays for The NewsHour have won a Peabody and an Emmy award. His essays for Time magazine have won two George Polk Awards, awards from the American Bar Association, the Overseas Press Club, and others.Roger's journalism career began in 1975 as literary editor of The New Republic. He has also been a columnist and editor-at-large for Life magazine, the editor of U.S. News & World Report, a columnist and editorial board member of The Washington Post and editor-at-large of Time, Inc. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, The New Republic, Esquire and elsewhere.A Fulbright scholar with five honorary doctorates, Roger has a Ph.D. from Harvard, where he taught writing and modern literature from 1968-73 and was, at age 29, the youngest House Master in Harvard's history. He is the author of ten books, including a collection of his writings, "The Man in the Water," "Coming Apart: A Memoir of the Harvard Wars of 1969," and the national bestseller, "Rules for Aging." His Children of War (1983) won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Prize and has been published in seven languages. Roger is married, has three children and lives in New York City.
Jonathan Rosenblum Jewish Media Resources is a leading media organization dedicated to furthering an understanding of Torah Judaism. Jewish Media Resources works with foreign journalists stationed in Israel and with local journalists by providing access to leading figures within the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel, and with information and insights about the community. Jonathan Rosenblum, director of Jewish Media Resources, also serves as an English-language spokesman for the Orthodox Jewish community with foreign journalists.
Robert Rosenthal An award-winning journalist with nearly 40 years of experience, Rosenthal has worked for some of the most respected newspapers in the country, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer where he was Executive Editor, and the San Francisco Chronicle where he was Managing Editor. Rosenthal is now Executive Director of Center for Investigative Reporting. As a reporter, his awards include the Overseas Press Club Award for magazine writing, the Sigma Delta Chi Award for distinguished foreign correspondence, and the National Association of Black Journalists Award for Third World Reporting. He has also been in charge of the award winning Chauncey Bailey Project and was an editorial assistant on the Pulitzer Prize winning Pentagon Papers Project while at The New York Times. He has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in international reporting and a Pulitzer judge four times.
William Safire Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for The New York Times and best-selling author.
William Safire William Safire Pulitzer Prize-Winning Political Columnist, Author William Safire, winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary, joined The New York Times in April 1973 as a political columnist. He now writes a Sunday column, “On Language,” which has appeared in The New York Times Magazine since 1979. This column on grammar and usage has led to the publication of 14 books and makes him the most widely read writer on the English language. Before joining The Times, Mr. Safire was a senior White House speechwriter for President Nixon. He had previously been a radio and television producer, a U.S. Army correspondent, and began his career as a reporter for a profiles column in The New York Herald Tribune. From 1955 to 1960, Mr. Safire was a public relations executive in New York City. He was responsible for bringing Mr. Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev together in the 1959 Moscow “kitchen” debate to publicize his client’s kitchen. In 1968, he left to join the campaign of Richard Nixon. He is the author of four novels, including “Freedom,” a novel of Lincoln and the Civil War. His dictionary, “The New Language of Politics,” has helped 2 generations of politicians and voters understand one another. His anthology of great speeches, “Lend Me Your Ears,” is the best seller in that field.
Bill Sammon SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Six-foot-seven inch Bill Sammon—nicknamed “Superstretch” by President Bush—enjoys more access to the commander-in-chief than any other journalist. Sammon has spent hours with Bush in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One—even in the President’s sprawling Texas ranch. As Senior White House Correspondent for the Washington Examiner, Sammon travels with Bush wherever he goes and was with him on September 11, when his presidency was utterly transformed by the terrorist attacks. Sammon, who is also a political analyst for Fox News Channel, has turned this extraordinary access into a series of New York Times bestselling books chronicling the historic Bush presidency—”Strategery: How George W. Bush is Defeating Terrorists, Outwitting Democrats and Confounding the Mainstream Media,” “Misunderestimated: The President Battles Terrorism, John Kerry and the Bush Haters,” “Fighting Back: The War on Terrorism from Inside the Bush White House,” and “At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election.” Bill has also served as Senior White House correspondent for the Washington Times.
Mike Shiley Mike Shiley, producer/director of Shidog Films is a photographer, filmmaker and freelance journalist. He has recently returned from two months in Iraq, developing exclusive stories for ABC World News Tonight, Nightline and Good Morning America as well as ABC-TV affiliates KATU-Portland, OR, KMGH-Denver, CO and WFTS Tampa/St. Petersburg FL, international humanitarian aid groups and a variety of online news services. His new film is entitled Inside Iraq: The Untold Stories, an 80-minute documentary that highlights the challenges, opportunities and the inside lives of the Iraqi people and the US soldiers stationed in Iraq. Mike traveled extensively throughout Iraq from the Kurdish controlled region in the North, through the infamous Sunni Triangle in central Iraq and to the sacred Shiite controlled cities in the South. He visited impoverished villages with Western medical teams, went on night patrols along the Syrian border in a tank squadron, flew over the country in a Blackhawk helicopter and walked the streets of Baghdad uncovering the lives of the Iraqi people. Mike literally risked his life every day to bring you this film. Mike has also worked as a freelance photographer for CNN covering the war in Sarajevo, trekked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal and completed a 3,000 mile solo bicycle trip from British Columbia, Canada to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Mike is also an accomplished scuba diver and as a certified Divemaster, he has guided over 250 dives in the Red Sea in Egypt. Mike has produced travel films on Iraq, Nepal, Thailand and Cambodia. He has visited 36 countries and loves meeting people, especially children, from around the world. Mike is 37, single and lives in Portland, Oregon with his dog, Bear.
David Simon David Simon is a Baltimore-based author, journalist and writer-producer of television specializing in criminal justice and urban issues. Born in Washington, he came north to Baltimore after graduating from the University of Maryland to work as a police reporter at the Baltimore Sun. In 1988, after four years on the crime beat, he took a leave of absence from the newspaper to write "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets." Published in 1991, the Edgar-award winning account of a year inside the Baltimore Police Department Homicide Unit became the basis for NBCs HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET, which was broadcast from 1993 to 1999. Simon worked as a writer, and later as a producer on the award-winning drama. In 1993, Simon took a second leave from the Baltimore Sun to research and write, "The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood." Published in 1997 and co-authored with Edward Burns, the true account of life in a West Baltimore community dominated by an open-air drug market was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times. Simon then co-wrote and produced THE CORNER as a six-hour miniseries for HBO. That production, which aired in 2000, won an Emmy® as the year's best miniseries. Simon and David Mills also won the Emmy® for best writing in a movie or miniseries. For his writing on NBCs Homicide, Simon has won the WGA Award for best writing in an episodic drama, as well as the Humanitas Award in the same category. Having left the Baltimore Sun in 1995, Simon continues to work as a freelance journalist and author, writing for publications as varied as the Washington Post, the New Republic and Details magazine.
Carole Simpson Carole Simpson is anchor of "World News Tonight Sunday" and an Emmy Award-winning senior correspondent for ABC News. She reports most frequently on family and social issues for "World News Tonight With Peter Jennings." Her reports have also appeared on "20/20," "Nightline," and other ABC news broadcasts and specials. She is an occasional contributor to "This Week," and she has substituted for Peter Jennings on "World News Tonight." Ms. Simpson joined ABC News from NBC News in 1982. During the 1992 Presidential campaign, Ms. Simpson was moderator of the second Presidential debate in Richmond, Virginia -- the first Presidential debate in history to have a town meeting format. She was one of the reporters on the critically acclaimed documentary, "Black and White America"; and she anchored three hour-long ABC News specials: "The Changing American Family," "Public Schools in Conflict" and "Sex and Violence in Media." In 1990, Ms. Simpson was a member of the "Nightline" team in South Africa. She helped anchor ABC's live coverage of the release of Nelson Mandela from his 27-year imprisonment. While reporting on a victory celebration in Johannesburg, Ms. Simpson was injured during a brief melee between blacks and the South African police. Ms. Simpson has also anchored, live, many major breaking news stories, such as the Persian Gulf War, the Tiananmen Square massacre, the fall of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, and the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings. Ms. Simpson's first assignment for ABC News included coverage of then-Vice President George Bush. She accompanied him on domestic and foreign trips, and on his 1988 Presidential campaign. At NBC News, she covered the U.S. Congress and hosted a women's public affairs program on Washington's NBC-owned station, WRC-TV. Her television broadcasting career began in Chicago at the NBC owned and operated station, WMAQ-TV, where she was a reporter and weekend anchor. Prior to joining NBC News in 1974, she was a journalism instructor at Northwestern University's Medill School. Ms. Simpson's other broadcasting experience includes serving as a commentator for WTTW, Chicago's public television station, as well as reporting and anchoring at WCFL radio and WBBM Radio, the city's all-news station. Earlier, she spent two years as journalism instructor and director of the information bureau at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Ms. Simpson is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. in journalism. She did graduate work at the University of Iowa. She has received numerous awards for her reporting on social issues, particularly those involving children and families, and for her efforts to improve opportunities for women and minorities in the broadcasting industry. In addition to an Emmy and a duPont-Columbia Award, Ms. Simpson has won the Milestone in Broadcasting award from the National Commission on Working Women, the Turner Broadcasting "Trumpet" Award for Scholastic Achievement, the Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award from the Radio and Television News Director Foundation, the National Organization of Women Legislators National Media Award, was inducted into the University of Iowa Communications Hall of Fame, received the University of Missouri's distinguished journalist award, and a Star award from the American Women in Radio and Television. In 1992, she was named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists. Currently, Ms. Simpson is chair of the ABC News Women's Advisory Board, Vice Chair of the International Women's Media Foundation, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Commission on Working Women, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation (RTNDF), a member of the National Academy of Sciences' forum on the Future of Children and Families, and a member of the Board of the National Press Foundation.
Kevin Sites Kevin Sites is re-defining journalism for the digital age. As Yahoo!'s first news correspondent, he is spending a year covering every major global conflict for "Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone" on Yahoo! News. One man. One year. A world of conflict. This project is an audacious attempt to bring the very best traditions of battlefield reportage into the 21st century. By combining Sites' remarkable skills as a solo journalist ("SoJo") with Yahoo!'s global reach, 400 million Internet users around the world have instantaneous access to eye-witness reporting of some of our planet's most ferocious and intractable conflicts. The project has generated widespread publicity and discussion, and has cemented Sites' place as one of the rising stars of American journalism. Sites is a highly respected war correspondent. He has spent the past five years covering global war and disaster for several national networks. He is a pioneer of solo journalism, in which he works completely alone, carrying a backpack of portable digital technology to shoot, write, edit, and transmit multimedia reports. In November 2004, as an NBC News correspondent, he filmed and reported on one of the defining moments of the current Iraqi war when he videotaped a U.S. Marine shooting a wounded Iraqi insurgent in a Fallujah mosque. The story turned Sites into a flashpoint of pro- and anti-war controversy, and he was both praised as a journalist willing to reveal the harsh realities of war and vilified as a traitor to both the Marine unit in which he was embedded and to his country. His innovative approach to his work can be seen on his award-winning war blog, www.kevinsites.net. In 2004, Sites was honored with the Payne Award for ethics in journalism for both his television and Web coverage of the mosque shooting. He garnered an Emmy nomination for the same story. Recently, Wired magazine named Sites as the recipient of their RAVE Award—the first ever for blogging. Sites is a former university lecturer who is frequently invited to speak at many national and international media forums, including London's famous "Frontline Club," which supports independent war correspondents. He is also a regular speaker at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, as wells as the Arab American Media Forum, sponsored by Aspen Institute.
Jane Skinner Jane Skinner is a daytime news presenter on Fox News Channel, usually providing Fox News Live headline updates at the top and bottom of each hour on weekdays. She also contributes to The Big Story with John Gibson and a segment during Studio B called "Skinnerville." Skinner joined Fox News as a general reporter from WNBC-TV in New York City. Previous to that she worked at WITI in Milwaukee. She has also been a general assignment reporter for KMOV in St. Louis and WCSH in Portland, Maine. Skinner began her career as a political correspondent for KBJR in Duluth, Minnesota.
Joseph Sobran Senior editor of National Review magazine and a leading conservative spokesman.
Mi-Ling Stone Poole After a successful career in the entertainment industry Mi-Ling went back to school and earned her master’s degree in communications from Oklahoma City University. In 2001, she decided to merge her love for journalism with her passion for decorating and began writing two weekly decorating columns; Ask Mi-Ling, and Mi-Ling’s Comfort Zone. These columns are published weekly in newspapers throughout the country and have been translated and published in Spanish. Currently, she writes a weekly decorating column for The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City. Mi-Ling earned the reputation of being funny, entertaining and outspoken during her weekly radio segments, while offering advice and cost saving tips on decorating. She believes that creating a comfortable and livable home is the key to a great design.
John Stossel ABC 20/20HOST John Stossel joined ABC news magazine 20/20 in 1981. He began doing one-hour prime-time specials in 1994. Stossel’s first special, Are We Scaring Ourselves To Death?, examined exaggerated fears over risks such as crime and pollution. It was followed by The Blame Game, which looked at American’s growing tendency to blame their misfortunes on others.
Kristin Clark Taylor White House Director of Media Relations in the Bush administration and the first African American woman in American history to hold that position. A journalist, Kristin Clark Taylor helped create and launch USA Today and was a founding member of the newspaper's Editorial Board. She is the author of her autobiography, The First to Speak: A Woman of Color Inside the White House.
Studs Terkel Pulitzer Prize winning author and social critic.
Cal Thomas Conservative journalist, nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and TV talk show host.
Helen Thomas Commonly referred to as The First Lady of the Press, White House Bureau Chief Helen Thomas is a trailblazer, breaking through barriers for women reporters while covering every President since John F. Kennedy. For 57 years, Helen also served as White House correspondent for United Press International. She recently left this post and joined Hearst Newspapers as a syndicated columnist. Born in Winchester, Kentucky, Helen was raised in Detroit, Michigan where she attended public schools and later graduated from Wayne State University. Upon leaving college, she served as a copy girl on the old, now defunct Washington Daily News. In 1943, Ms. Thomas joined United Press International and the Washington Press Corps. For 12 years, Helen wrote radio news for UPI, her work day beginning at 5:30am. Eventually she covered the news of the Federal government, including the FBI and Capitol Hill. In November, 1960, Helen began covering then President-elect John F. Kennedy, following him to the White House in January, 1961 as a member of the UPI team. It was during this first White House assignment that Helen began closing presidential press conferences with ?Thank you, Mr. President.? In September, 1971, Pat Nixon scooped Helen by announcing her engagement to Associated Press? retiring White House correspondent, Douglas B. Cornell at a White house party hosted by then President Nixon in honor of Cornell. Helen was the only woman print journalist traveling with then President Nixon to China during his breakthrough trip in January, 1972. She has the distinction of having traveled around the world several times with Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, and Bush, Jr., during the course of which she covered every Economic Summit. The World Almanac has cited her as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in America. Helen Thomas has written three books, including her latest, Thanks for the Memories Mr. President: Wit and Wisdom from the Front Row at the White House.
Cynthia Tucker Cynthia Tucker is editorial page editor of the Atlanta Constitution and a syndicated columnist whose commentary appears in dozens of newspapers across the country. She is a frequent commentator on the News Hour With Jim Lehrer and CNN and Company.
Lorna Tychostup The War You Won't See On TV Lorna Tychostup is the senior editor for Chonogram magazine and a freelance journalist and photographer. To date, she has visited Iraq three times, collectively spending more than 12 weeks there. Her photographs of Iraq and its people, before and during the war, have been exhibited throughout the country, and her PowerPoint presentations have intrigued and informed audiences at colleges and other organizations from New York to Oregon. Lorna's work has appeared in Foreign Policy, YES!, Z Magazine, Covert Action Quarterly, War Times, and Major League Baseball Magazine. She has been interviewed extensively, on both radio and TV, including Fox's “Hannity & Colmes” and NBC’s “Nightly News with Tom Brokaw."
Elizabeth Vargas Television journalist Elizabeth Vargas is the first woman of Puerto Rican heritage to be named co-anchor of ABC's nightly newscast World News Tonight and anchor of television newsmagazine 20/20. As an award-winning anchor and correspondent, Elizabeth Vargas has traveled the world covering breaking news stories, reporting in-depth investigations and conducting newsmaker interviews. Elizabeth Vargas recently anchored for both "World News Tonight" and "20/20" from the Gulf region, covering Hurricane Katrina's devastation; traveled to Beslan, Russia, to cover the terrorist attack and found stories of hope after rebels attacked a school and killed more than 300 people, more than half of them children; reported from the Middle East including on the standoff at Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah and for a special on the resurrection of Jesus; and reported from Cambodia on the plight of orphans for sale. Elizabeth Vargas anchored ABC News coverage of live, breaking news stories including the deaths of President Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy Jr. and the 2003 blackout. Vargas won an Emmy in 2000 for Outstanding Instant Coverage of a News Story for anchoring live coverage of the Elian Gonzales case. Her primetime reporting on the death of Matthew Shepard and an investigation examining the disappearances of several young women in northern California and why their stories failed to attract the significant media attention Laci Peterson won critical acclaim. Elizabeth Vargas was born in Patterson, New Jersey, where her parents spent about a year while her father studied for an MBA. English is her first language, though she now speaks fluent Spanish. In high school, she decided on journalism. At the University of Missouri, she settled on broadcasting after a stint as reporter/anchor for KOMU-TV. Elizabeth Vargas spent a year at KTVN-TV, the CBS affiliate in Reno, moved on to KTVK-TV, the ABC affiliate in Phoenix, then WBBM-TV, the CBS affiliate in Chicago, before moving on the NBC News.
Stuart Varney A legend in business journalism, this Peabody-award winning economist is one of the most respected names in financial reporting. Varney, now with Fox News, joined CNN upon its founding in 1980. His broad range of expertise offers an insider’s view of the latest economic trends and news headlines, unraveling the complexities of the business world, from Wall Street to Main Street. Varney’s talk will encompass the most pressing developments in domestic and international business and the advantages--and--dangers of the new global economy. He helps audiences benefit from the fluctuations in the financial markets and make better decisions regarding investments, real estate, retirement, taxes and family finance.
Linda Villarosa Linda Villarosa is a freelance writer, an Essence Magazine editor-at-large and contributing writer to the New York Times. Formerly, she edited the health pages for the Times, where she redesigned and expanded health coverage for Science Times and for the newspaper at large. Linda was also the executive editor of Essence Magazine, where she wrote or edited a number of award-winning articles. Twenty years ago, Linda wrote what may be the first article to cover the topic of AIDS in an African-American publication when she wrote about women and children battling the disease for Essence. This year, two of her articles on African-Americans and HIV/AIDS appeared on the front page of the NY Times. In 1981, with her mother, Clara, Linda wrote Essence’s ground-breaking article, “Coming Out,” which received more mail than any other in the magazine’s history. Due to the overwhelming response, the two women followed up with an additional story several months later. Linda is the author of Body & Soul: The Black Women’s Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-Being. A Blackboard Bestseller, there are more than 200,000 copies in print. She is the coauthor of both Finding Our Way: The Teen Girls’ Survival Guide and The Black Parenting Book. As a lecturer, Linda has spoken to groups from Harvard, Wellesley, Dartmouth, Indian University, the University of California at Davis and Swarthmore, to name several. Shehas also provided testimony to the U.S. Congress and the National Institutes of Health and offered workshops for the Radcliffe Publishing Course, the American Society of Magazine Editors, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Press Association. This year she traveled to the International AIDS Conference in Bangkok to help train journalists from around the world to cover HIV.
Norah Vincent Norah Vincent is a journalist and author, known for being a conservative lesbian. Vincent was a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies from its 2001 inception to 2003. She has also had columns at Salon.com, The Advocate, the Los Angeles Times, and the Village Voice. Vincent's most recent book, Self-Made Man, retells an eighteen-month experiment in which she disguised herself as a male. She talked about it in HARDtalk extra on BBC on April 21, 2006 and described her experiences in male-male and male-female relationships. She joined an all-male bowling club, and visited Catholic monks in a cloister. She dated women and describes how inferior she felt, when judged by women during flirting.
Martin Walker Foreign affairs expert and U.S. Bureau Chief for The Guardian of London.
John Walsh A tireless advocate for victims’ rights and missing children, John Walsh has turned his passion for justice into the nation's number-one crime-fighting show, FOX’s America's Most Wanted. Then, from 2002 to February, 2004, NBC daytime aired The John Walsh Show; a new platform for Walsh to comment on current events and issues that are of concern to him. Walsh is no stranger to violent crime; in fact, his incredibly successful career as a host of a nationally televised program, and as an advocate for victims’ rights, was a career Walsh never anticipated. In the summer of 1981, Walsh was a partner in a hotel management company in Hollywood, Florida. He was living the American dream. He and his wife, Revé, had a beautiful six-year-old son, Adam, the joy of their lives. They never thought crime could touch them. But that joy was shattered on July 27th, 1981, when Adam was abducted and later found murdered. The Walshes have never received the closure that America's Most Wanted has brought the lives of so many crime victims. The prime suspect in Adam's murder, Ottis Toole, was never charged in the Adam Walsh case; he died in prison while serving life for other crimes, taking the truth to the grave with him. The story of the Walsh family's tragedy has been dramatized in the 1983 NBC television movie, Adam, and a 1986 sequel, Adam: His Song Continues. Following the airing of the broadcasts, a roll of missing children was featured, leading to the recovery of 65 youngsters. It wasn't long after Adam's death that the Walshes turned their grief into positive energy to help missing and exploited children. Battling bureaucratic resistance and legislative nightmares, John and Revé's work led to the passage of the Missing Children Act of 1982 and the Missing Children's Assistance Act of 1984. The latter Bill founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which maintains a toll-free hotline number (1-800-THE-LOST) to report a missing child or the sighting of one. In their son's memory, they also founded the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to legislative reform. Recently, the centers, originally located in West Palm Beach, Florida, Columbia, South Carolina, Orange County, California, and Rochester, New York, merged with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Walsh serves on the board of directors of the National Center. Back in 1984, Esquire Magazine voted John Walsh "one of the best of the new generation." Since then, Walsh's endless quest for justice has been trumpeted across the pages of newspapers and magazines around the nation including The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and People Magazine, where Walsh was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People for 1996. And CBS portraits named him one of the 100 Americans Who Changed History. Walsh’s life has also been chronicled on A & E’s Biography program as well as on MSNBC’s Headliners and Legends with Matt Lauer. Law Enforcement officials around the nation have also honored Walsh for his efforts. In 1988 he was named the U.S. Marshals Man Of The Year, and two years later received the same honor from the FBI " the Bureau's highest civilian award. The U.S. Marshals also made Walsh an Honorary US Marshal in 2003 – an honor only bestowed upon seven other people in the agency’s history. Walsh has received hundreds of other honors, including the 1984 Father of the Year Award from the National Father's Day Committee. Walsh is the only private citizen to receive a Special Recognition Award by a U.S. Attorney General, and he's been honored in the Rose Garden four times by three presidents: Clinton, Bush (Sr.), and Reagan (twice). Today, Walsh continues his lobbying efforts, testifying before Congress and state legislatures on crime, missing children and victims' issues. His latest efforts include lobbying for a Constitutional Amendment for victims' rights.
Barbara Walters Barbara Walters has arguably interviewed more statesmen and stars than any other journalist in history. She is so well known that her name and a brief biography is listed in the American Heritage Dictionary. Her numerous and timely interviews- which appear regularly on the weekly newsmagazine 20/20 and on The Barbara Walters Specials- read like a "Who's Who" of newsmakers. This past season, she did the first interview for American television with Russia's President Vladimir Putin and the first interview with President and Mrs. Bush following September 11th. She also did a one-hour special on Saudi Arabia following her visit there. Through the years she has interviewed such world figures as Russia's Boris Yeltsin, China's Premier Jiang Zemin, Great Britain's former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Libia's Moammar Quadaffi and Iraq's President Sadaam Hussein. At the other extreme, in 1999 Walters conducted the first interview with Monica Lewinsky, which became the highest-rated news program ever broadcast by a single network. She has interviewed every American President and First Lady since Richard Nixon. She made journalism history by arranging the first joint interview with Egypt's President Anwar Sadat and Israel's Prime Minister Menachem Begin in November, 1977. Another of her "firsts" was an hour-long primetime conversation with Cuban President Fidel Castro- an interview which has been printed in half a dozen languages and shown all over the world. The Barbara Walters Specials are continuously the top-rated specials of the year and have included such legends as Sir Oliver, Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Bette Davis and Audrey Hepburn. More recent interviews of superstars have included Tom Cruise, Halle Berry, Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, John Travolta, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Ms. Walters' The Ten Most Fascinating People special broadcast, launched in 1993 offers a year-end review of the most prominent newsmakers of the year, as well as the selection of the "most fascinating" individual. Walters is also co-owner, co-executive producer and co-host of The View, the original forum where real women discuss relevant, everyday issues and share their daily, no-holds-barred opinions and lively, colorful, conversations. The show premiered in August, 1997 and is broadcast live from New York City. Walters joined ABC News in 1976 as the first woman to co-host the network news. In 1984, she became co-host of the ABC newsmagazine 20/20, which is currently in its 24th season on the network. Prior to joining ABC she appeared on NBC's Today Show for 15 years. She began as a writer on the Today Show, and within a year became a co-host of the program without the official title, but in 1974 NBC officially designated her as the program's first female co-host. Walters was a member of the NBC News team that went to the People's Republic of China to cover the visits of President Richard Nixon in 1972 and President Herald Ford in 1975. In addition to the Today Show, Walters for five years has also hosted her own popular syndicated series, Not For Women Only. The program went off the air when she left for ABC. Early in her career she was a writer for CBS News and, before that, she was the youngest producer with NBC-TV's New York station (WNBC-TV). Over the years Walters has received national recognition for her work and has been the recipient of numerous prestigious honors and awards. Among these include her 1990 induction into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame and also her acceptance of the Lowell Thomas Award for a career in journalism excellence by Marist College. She received the Overseas Press Club's highest award, the President's Award in 1988 and also won three Lifetime Achievement Awards in 1991, 1993, and 2000. Walters is the recipient of honorary doctoral degrees from Sarah Lawrence, her alma mater, as well as Ohio State University, Temple University, Marymount College, Wheaton College, Hofstra University and Ben-Gurion University in Jerusalem.
Ben Wattenberg Futurist, political analyst, pollster and social critic. Wattenberg is co-editor of the American Enterprise Institute's Public Opinion maga-zine and the author of such books asThe Real Majority; The Real America; The Good News Is The Bad News Is Wrong; and Values Matter Most: How Republicans or Democrats or a Third Party Can Win and Renew the American Way of Life. Wattenberg is also the host-moderator of "Think Tank" seen weekly on the PBS television network.
Linda Wertheimer Before assuming this post in 2002, she spent 13 years as a host of NPR's daily news program, "All Things Considered." In this position, she helped build the afternoon news program's audience to record levels.Having joined NPR in 1971, she has been with the organization almost since its inception. She served as NPR's congressional correspondent and, in 1976, was named political correspondent- a position she held until 1989 when she became an "All Things Considered" host.In 1976, she became the first woman to anchor network coverage of a presidential nomination convention and of election night. She also is the first person to broadcast live from inside the U.S. Senate chamber.
Kate White Kate White is the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, the largest-selling women's magazine in the world. Under her editorship, guaranteed circulation has increased by over 500,000 and Cosmo now sells two million copies a month on newsstands alone. She also oversees Cosmo Style magazine, Cosmo radio and Cosmo books. White began her career in the magazine business by winning Glamour Magazine's Top Ten College contest and appearing on the cover. She was a neditorial assistant at Glamour and laterbecameafeature writerand columnist for the magazine.She went onto holdkey job satseveralnational magazines,andeventually was named editor-in-chief of Child and then later Working Woman and McCall's. Before joining Cosmo, she served as editor-in-chief of Redbook for four years. In addition to editing Cosmo, White is the New York Times best-selling author of the Bailey Weggins murder mystery series for Warner Books, including If Looks Could Kill, and most recently, Over Her Dead Body. She is also the author of the bestselling career book, Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do. Her newest book, How to Set His Thighs on fire, 86 Lessons on Love, Men, Life and (Especially) Sex, will be published in June.
Tom Wicker Legendary journalist and long-time columnist for The New York Times.
De Wayne Wickman Well known columnist for USA Today and Gannett News Service and a regular panelist on "Lead Story," BET's highly acclaimed weekly news analysis program.
Brian Williams Each night on NBC's all-news and information channel MSNBC and on CNBC, Williams anchors the only primetime news hour, The News with Brian Williams. Relying on the worldwide resources of NBC News, the program has quickly become a news pioneer with its in-depth coverage of the hard news of the day, interviews with the world's newsmakers, and a first-hand look at the next day's morning headlines.
Bob Woodward Bob Woodward is the most respected investigative reporter in the news business, he has earned nearly every American journalism award, including the Pulitzer Prize. Woodward first gained national attention during the Nixon administration when he teamed with Carl Bernstein to investigate the burglary at the Watergate. Since then he's achieved national acclaim as the only contemporary American to author or co-author eight #1 national best-selling non-fiction books, including All The President's Men, The Final Days, The Agenda, The Choice, Shadow - Five Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate, which surveys the legacy of the Watergate scandal on contemporary politics, Maestro: Greenspan's Fed and the American Boom, a look at Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and the American economy. Woodward’s most recent release, Plan of Attack, charts the Bush administration's plans for war against Iraq. Named one of the Best Investigative Reporters in America by The New York Times, Bob Woodward has been the Assistant Managing Editor of Investigative News for The Washington Post since 1982. In 1973, Woodward teamed with Carl Bernstein at The Post to investigate the burglary at the Watergate office building. For their reporting of the scandal in the Nixon administration, the newspaper was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Prior to reporting, Woodward served in the U.S. Navy as a communications officer. He began his career as a "newspaper man" with the Sentinel, out of Montgomery County, Maryland. In 1971 he joined The Post and in 1979 became Assistant Managing Editor of Metropolitan News. Some of his best-selling books include Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi, Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, The Commanders, The Man Who Would Be President: Dan Quayle, The Agenda: Inside The Clinton White House, and The Choice. In 2000 he published, Maestro: Greenspan's Fed and the American Boom, a national best-selling look at the American economy, Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, and Greenspan's economic legacy. Using his standard you-are-there technique in The Shadow (June 1999), he paints a detailed study of crucial points in the five administrations in which "the honesty and truthfulness of the presidents...were challenged." Woodward takes us deep into the administration of Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton. With special emphasis on the human toll, he shows the consequences of the new ethics laws, and the emboldened Congress and media.
Fareed Zakaria Fareed Zakaria is the editor of Newsweek International, overseeing all Newsweek's editions abroad. He writes a regular column for Newsweek, which also appears in Newsweek International and often The Washington Post. He is a member of the roundtable of ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanapoulos" as well as an analyst for ABC News. And he is the host of a new weekly PBS show, "Foreign Exchange" which focuses on international affairs. His most recent book, "The Future of Freedom," was published in the spring of 2003 and was a New York Times bestseller and is being translated into eighteen languages. He is also the author of "From Wealth to Power: The Unusual Origins of America's World Role" (Princeton University Press), and co-editor of "The American Encounter: The United States and the Making of the Modern World" (Basic Books). Zakaria has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The New Republic, and the webzine Slate. He has won several awards for his columns and essays, in particular for his October 2001 Newsweek cover story, "Why They Hate Us." In 1999, he was named "one of the 21 most important people of the 21st Century" by Esquire Magazine. Prior to being at Newsweek, Zakaria was managing editor of Foreign Affairs, the leading journal of international politics and economics. He has also taught international relations and political philosophy, in various capacities, at Harvard, Columbia, and Case Western universities. He currently serves on the boards of Yale University, the Trilateral Commission, and the Council of Foreign Relations among others. He received a B.A. from Yale and a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard. He lives in New York City with his wife, son and daughter.
Helen Zia Asian-American journalist and feminist, Helen Zia was the Executive Editor of Ms. magazine and served as President of the New York Asian American Journalists Association. Her leadership role in the landmark civil rights case was documented in the Academy Award nominated film, "Who Killed Vincent Chin?" She speaks on issues of concern to women, the gay community and the Asian American community.