Keynote speaker to address threats to First Amendment as SU celebrates 40 years of the Newhouse complex

Keynote speaker to address threats to First Amendment as SU celebrates 40 years of the Newhouse complexOctober 18, 2004Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

On Oct. 21, Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications will celebrate 70 years of journalism study at the University and 40 years of the Newhouse complex with an all-day commemoration. Dean David Rubin, Donald and Sue Newhouse, Chancellor Nancy Cantor and many distinguished alumni and guests will participate in the celebration.

The keynote speaker will be Bruce Sanford, First Amendment attorney and partner with Baker and Hostetler LLP. Sanford will address current threats to the First Amendment. The full text of his remarks will be available online beginning Oct. 21.

“As important as mass communication was 40 years ago when this great building was dedicated, no one could have imagined the power over 21st century life that the media exercise today,” says Rubin. “On a global basis, the media are arguably the single most important institution shaping political, cultural and social processes.”

The anniversary celebration will begin with a series of panels on magazine, entertainment, newspaper and broadcast journalism; advertising and public relations; and visual and interactive communications. Panelists include:

• Patrice G. Adcroft, executive editor of Marie Claire magazine;
• Barry Baker’73, managing director and venture partner of Boston Ventures Management;
• Amanda Bennett, executive vice president and editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer;
• Bob Berenson’61, vice chairman and general manager of Grey Global Group;
• David Carey, publisher of The New Yorker;
• Jennet Conant, contributing editor to Vanity Fair, Esquire, and GQ, and a writer for Manhattan Inc. and Newsweek;
• Gary Conway, vice president of corporate marketing of PeopleSoft;
• Dianne DoctorG’79, senior vice president and news director of WCBS-TV;
• David Hadju, best-selling author and columnist for The New Republic;
• Matthew Harrington, president, eastern region, of Edelman Public Relations;
• Deb Henretta’85, president of Global BabyCare, Proctor & Gamble;
• Don Hewitt, executive producer of “60 Minutes”;
• Steven Kroft’67, co-editor of “60 Minutes” and news correspondent for CBS;
• Richard Leibner, president of N.S. Bienstock, Inc;
• Jeff Licata’84 of Jeff Licata Fashion Photography;
• Alex Machaskee, publisher, president and CEO of The Plain Dealer;
• Maggie Murphy, managing editor of Life Magazine;
• Al Neuharth, former chairman and CEO of Gannett and founder of the Freedom Forum;
• Bill Ostendorf, president and founder of Creative Circle Media Consulting;
• Jo Thomas, Pulitzer Prize winner and former reporter for The New York Times, professor of journalism at the Newhouse School and associate chancellor;
• Robert Thompson, director of SU’s Center for the Study of Popular Television;
• George Verschoor, producer, director, writer and editor; former producer and director of MTV’s “The Real World”;
• Tony Vincquerra, president and CEO of Fox Networks Group

The student-focused panels will explore the nature of mass communications and how they have evolved since Aug. 5, 1964, the day President Lyndon B. Johnson cut the ribbon to the I.M. Pei-designed building on University Avenue. The panels, which will take place in Studios A and B of the Newhouse School, are free and open to the public. Seating is limited.

At 5 p.m., the Newhouse complex will be rededicated, followed by a reception hosted by Cantor. Kroft will be the master of ceremonies at the invitation-only anniversary dinner, held in the Goldstein Auditorium of the Schine Student Center at 6:30 p.m.

“As we prepare for the next 40 years and add a third building to our complex, we know that the students we are training will play an increasingly crucial role in the health and well-being of us all,” says Rubin.