Award winning journalist and Viacom executive to kick off Mass Comm Week Nov. 15-19

By Malorie Burkett

Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Leonard Pitts Jr., and Viacom Television Stations Group head Dennis Swanson will kickoff Virginia Commonwealth University’s Mass Communications Week – a weeklong program of guest lectures, presentations, events and workshops.

All events are free and open to the public.

The Miami Herald’s Pitts will present “Writing With Passion and Compassion” at noon, Monday, Nov. 15 in the VCU Student Commons, Richmond Salons, 907 Floyd Ave. A nationally syndicated columnist, Pitts won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. He started at The Miami Herald as a pop music critic and later began writing about race and current affairs in his own column. His book, “Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood,” was a best seller in 1999.

Swanson, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Viacom’s TV station’s group, will present the second Bill Turpin Lecture in News Management at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 16, in the VCU Student Commons, Richmond Salons. Swanson created the Oprah Winfrey Show and developed Monday Night Football into a top-rated primetime program. A member of the School’s Advisory Board, Swanson is a 1998 recipient of the Peabody Award, which honors individuals for excellence in both radio and television broadcasting.

The Turpin Lecture in News Management was created in 2002 by former students who wished to honor Dr. William H. Turpin for his dedication to journalism and mass communications students. Turpin, who served as a coach and career adviser to hundreds of aspiring journalists, taught at VCU for 16 years and died in 2002.

Other industry professionals who will present lectures during the week include Pamela Slane Pepe, executive director of government policy at Serono, Inc., and a 1983 graduate of VCU. Slane will present “The Challenges of Healthcare PR,” on Thursday, Nov. 18. In addition, Jeff Steinhour, partner and director of account services at the advertising firm Crispin Porter Bogusky, will speak Friday, Nov. 19. Steinhour helped orchestrate the introduction of the Mini Cooper in a highly competitive market.

Additional Mass Comm week events will include panel discussions, student workshops and an internship fair with representatives from more than two dozen broadcast stations, non-profit organizations, government agencies and advertising firms.

VCU’s School of Mass Communications is one of the largest programs in VCU's College of Humanities and Sciences, with an enrollment of about 1,070 students. The school offers three sequences of specialized study including advertising with a concentration in creative or business; journalism with a concentration in print or broadcasting; and public relations.
For more information and the complete schedule of Mass Comm week events, call 828-2660, or visit http://www.has.vcu.edu/mac/school/index.html.