Newhouse Sports Media Center to Host ‘Sports Matters’ Symposium Feb. 24

The Newhouse Sports Media Center will host “Sports Matters,” a daylong symposium examining current issues in sports media on Wednesday, Feb. 24, in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse 3. Follow on Twitter at #SportsMatters.

The event will begin at 9 a.m. with welcoming remarks from Newhouse School Dean Lorraine Branham, followed by a series of panel discussions.

Panels:

9:15 a.m. The Face of the Future in Sports Media—who will it be and how will it be done?

Panelists include:

• Robert Lipsyte, sports writer, columnist, author and former ESPN ombudsman;
• Jodi Logsdon ’03, news director and coordinating producer, CBS Sports;
• Raul Martinez G’04, sports reporter/anchor, KDVR Fox Denver; and
• Robert Ford ’01, radio play-by-play announcer, Houston Astros.
• Branham will moderate.

1 p.m. Covering Women’s Sports—why is it important and how should it be done?

Panelists include:

• Vera Jones ’88, G’91, analyst, Big Ten Network;
• Chris Hannan ’95, executive vice president of communications and integration, Fox Sports;
• Josh Barnett ’94, director of content, USA Today Sports; and
• Laurie Orlando ’87, senior vice president of talent strategy, CBS News.
• Anne Osborne, associate professor of communications in the Newhouse School, will moderate.

2:30 p.m. Conflicts: Wearing Multiple Hats—how do you tell a reporter and analyst from a commentator from a spokesperson, and does it matter?

Panelists include:

• Chris Broussard, analyst and sports writer, ESPN and ABC;
• Jim Axelrod, anchor and correspondent, CBS News/60 Minutes Sports;
• Kelly Saco ’12, in-game reporter, Miami Marlins and University of Miami; and
• Ron Wechsler G’93, senior vice president for original programming and development, NBC Sports Group.
• Joel Kaplan, associate dean in the Newhouse School, will moderate.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact John Nicholson at 315-443-4065 or jsnich01@syr.edu.