New York Times public editor to speak April 5 at Newhouse

New York Times public editor to speak April 5 at NewhouseMarch 22, 2005Jaime Winne Alvarez jlwinne@syr.edu

On April 5, Daniel Okrent, public editor for The New York Times, will speak on “From the Belly of the Beast: One Year, Four Months and Five Days Gazing into the Innards of The New York Times,” at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Okrent will appear at 7:30 p.m. in Studio A, located in Newhouse II. The program will take the form of a conversation between Okrent and Newhouse Dean David Rubin, followed by a question-and-answer session from the audience. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Okrent was named The New York Times’ first public editor in October 2003, in the aftermath of the Jayson Blair scandal. Okrent is the readers’ representative, working outside of reporting and editing to answer questions from readers and the general public about the paper’s articles. He also writes periodic commentary in regards to The Times’ journalistic practices and current journalism issues.

He came to his highly visible job at The Times after a distinguished career in the magazine and book worlds. Most recently he served as editor-at-large, editor of new media and managing editor of Life magazine for Time, Inc. He previously worked as an editor for Viking Press, Harcourt Brace and Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. His book “Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center” (Viking Penguin, 2003) was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in History. The inventor and founder of Rotisserie League Baseball, Okrent was a featured commentator on Ken Burns’ PBS television series “Baseball.” He also had a speaking part in the 1999 Woody Allen film, “Sweet and Lowdown.”

Paid parking for the lecture will be available in the Waverly lot.