Guest Journalism Speakers at SUNY Plattsburgh

Guest Speakers

A number of journalists, experts and academics have spoken with our students on campus or via teleconferences. These guest speakers include:

Nationally known speakers

• David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter, retired from The New York Times, and author of two best-selling books, Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You With The Bill and Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich—and Cheat Everybody Else.
• Wallace Westfeldt, founder and executive producer of Huntley-Brinkley Report, NBC Nightly News, NBC White Paper, NBC Reports and ABC Special Reports; and author of two books, With All Deliberate Speed and The First Hundred Days of John F. Kennedy; and recipient of four Emmy Awards and a George Peabody Award – TV’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.
• Nicholas Daniloff, former UPI and U.S. News & World Report reporter, author of two books, including Two Lives, One Russia and Of Spies and Spokesmen: My Life as a Cold War Correspondent.
• Ray Suarez, TV correspondent and anchor for “The NewsHour” on PBS and author of two books, The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America and The Old Neighborhood: What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration.
• Mark Kriegel, FoxSports.com writer, author of two best-selling books, Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich and Namath: A Biography.
• Buster Olney, columnist at ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, baseball analyst for ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight”.
• Luke Cyphers, senior writer at ESPN The Magazine and former New York Daily News sportswriter.
• Jon Scher, an editor at ESPN The Magazine.
• Glenn Stout, the editor of the Best American Sportswriting series of books.
• Helen Thomas, legendary veteran White House correspondent for Hearst Newspapers and United Press International who has covered every president since the Eisenhower administration.
• David Barstow, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times.
• Andrea Elliott, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times.
• Julia Keller, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The Chicago Tribune.
• Celia Farber, award-winning science reporter with stories published in Spin, Harper’s, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Newsmax and Gear magazines, as well as Salon.com.
• Nicholas Wapshott, former New York bureau chief of The Times (London).
• Todd Lewan, national reporter for the Associated Press.
• Shanel Odum, editor in chief for Honey magazine.
• Linda Hobbs, investigative reporter for VIBE magazine.
• Jeff Schmidt, author of Disciplined Minds: A Critical Look at Salaried Professionals and the Soul-Battering System That Shapes Their Lives.
• Lyn Gerry, host of the independent radio show “Unwelcome Guests.”
• Gerald Hannon, award-winning Canadian journalist.
• Bill McKibben, environmentalist and author who is a frequent contributor to various magazines including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Orion Magazine, Mother Jones, The New York Review of Books, Granta, Rolling Stone, and Outside; has written several books, including The End of Nature, regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change, which has been printed in more than 20 languages.
• James Der Derian, professor at that Watson Institute of International Studies and director of its Global Security Program at Brown University; producer of three documentaries, “VY2K”, “After 911”, and “The Culture of War”; author and editor of several books on terrorism, national security, espionage, war and diplomacy; guest commentator on BBC, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, Discovery Channel, and 60 Minutes.
• Herman Wasserman, a senior lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa, a Fulbright scholar with expertise in how the news media uses the Internet for social activism.
• Dave Heller, attorney with Media Law Resource Center based in New York City.

Regionally known speakers

• Alan Chartock, president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio, syndicated columnist, and author of Me and Mario Cuomo: Conversations in Candor.
• Bob Freeman, executive director of New York State Committee on Open Government in Albany.
• David Klatell, the vice dean and professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism; contributor to Washington Post Sunday Magazine and The New York Times; and former news writer, producer and executive producer for WCVB-TV in Boston.
• David T.Z. Mindich, associate professor and chair of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department at Saint Michael's College in Vermont and author of Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don't Follow the News.
• Michael Dupras, graphics/web development editor at Syracuse Post-Standard.
• Steve Carlic, government editor at Syracuse Post-Standard.
• Paul Block, executive producer for timesunion.com (Albany Times-Union).
• Matt Powers, online editorat Burlington Free-Press.
• Joe Brill, assistant editor at The Legislative Gazette in Albany.
• Annie Stoltie, editor of Adirondack Life.
• Brian Mann, reporter with North Country Public Radio, contributor to Adirondack Life and Adirondack Explorer magazines.
• Jack LaDuke, long-time TV reporter from regional CBS affiliate WCAX.
• Stephanie Gorin, TV anchor at regional NBC affiliate WPTZ.
• Gus Rosendale, TV anchor at regional NBC affiliate WPTZ.
• Thom Hallock, TV anchor at regional NBC affiliate WPTZ.
• Erin Vannella, TV reporter at regional NBC affiliate WPTZ.
• Kelly Minty Morris, reporter/anchor at regional NBC affiliate WPTZ.
• Gabrielle Komorowski, reporter/anchor at regional NBC affiliate WPTZ.
• Pam Bechtold, news producer at regional NBC affiliate WPTZ.
• Bob Grady, editor of the Press-Republican.
• Lois Clermont, news editor of the Press-Republican.
• Kelli Catana, photographer at the Press-Republican.
• Caroline Kehne, editor in chief of the Lake Champlain Weekly.

Questions, Comments, Suggestions?

If you would like to learn more about the journalism programs at SUNY Plattsburgh, please contact

Shawn Murphy, Chair
Co-Director, Center for Communication and Journalism
Office: Yokum Hall 103-A
Phone: 518-564-2422
Fax: 518-564-2105
Email: shawn.murphy@plattsburgh.edu