Ifill Towers

Of all the vocations in the world, few present as ambiguous a career outlook as journalism. What does journalism even mean anymore? Is it about investigative reporting or merely keeping tabs on the output from networking sites or blogs? Has journalism become DIY? And what does that mean for the flow--and the accuracy--of information? It's a scary time for those who have spent their lives in a career field that has been equal parts glamorized and demonized, and this new journalistic paradigm has created a whole subset of ethical issues that would have made Woodward and Bernstein cringe. Gwen Ifill has weathered the upheavals in the media world, starting as a writer at the Boston Globe and rising through the ranks to become one of the top political correspondents of our time. Ifill, having spent time in both print and television journalism, has a front-row perspective on the genesis of modern journalism, and she's also spent some time in the spotlight--being called out on ethics questions about her partiality as a moderator during the 2008 vice-presidential debates. Her insight into the sometimes nebulous concept of media ethics will be valuable to aspiring journalists and media consumers alike as she delivers the Rosine Smith Sammons Lecture in Media Ethics keynote at 8 p.m. Thursday. Tickets to the event, held at SMU's Caruth Auditorium in the Owens Arts Center, 6101 Bishop Blvd., are free. Please call 214-768-2787.
Thu., Oct. 1, 8 p.m., 2009