Leadership Lecture
   Today is February 9, 2010

Monday January 24, 2005

Jonah Goldberg and Peter Beinart Editors from two of America’s most conservative and liberal publications square off in a debate on media bias on Monday, January 24 at 7:00 p.m. in UNCW’s Kenan Auditorium. Jonah Goldberg, once dubbed the Gen X answer to P.J. O’Rourke, and Peter Beinart, one of the more precocious editors of a national magazine, will give “A Look From the Left and the Right” on current media coverage of various key events. A question and answer period will follow the talk. This is the third event of the four-part Leadership Lecture Series. “The core principle behind the Leadership Lecture Series is thoughtful consideration, not blind acceptance…it is up to us as an educated public to be discerning about the information that bombards us on a daily basis,” said Shannon Hooker, Assistant Director for Programs and Marketing, University Union. “We hope this debate will encourage people to engage in this kind of back and forth thinking on a regular basis, and reveal that every issue has two sides; few things are as simple as we’d like them to be.” One of the most prominent young conservative journalists on the scene today, Jonah Goldberg is a nationally syndicated columnist and the editor of National Review Online. He is also a contributing editor for National Review, writes a popular regular column, “The Goldberg File,” for National Review Online, and is the media columnist for The American Enterprise Magazine. His columns and articles, laced with keen wit and pithy insights, have rapidly generated a large readership. Mr. Goldberg is a CNN contributor and regular panelist on "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer." He is an occasional guest-host on "Crossfire" and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including "Nightline," "Good Morning America," "Today Show," "Hardball with Chris Matthews," NPR’s “All Things Considered,” "Larry King Live," "Politically Incorrect" and "NBC Nightly News." Camille Paglia, writing in Salon, had this to say about Jonah Goldberg: “Considering how many thousands of journalists were credentialed by the Republican and Democratic conventions, the quality of American reportage was abysmal. The American media have turned into a schmoozing herd of sappy clones, rarely deviating from the cocktail-hour party line lest they compromise their future job prospects. In my opinion, top honors for political commentary this summer unquestionably go to Jonah Goldberg. His deftly written pieces were always fresh, smart, independent and often scathingly funny.” Peter Beinart might not look like the editor of a national weekly magazine, but The New Republic, with its snappy prose and an unapologetic progressive bias, isn’t your typical magazine. Becoming editor before he was thirty years old, the Yale alumnus and Rhodes scholar is a working example of the changing face of politics and media that he writes about. Beinart graduated from Yale with degrees in history and political science, winning the Alpheus Henry Snow Prize for leadership and academic excellence. He also won both the Rhodes and Marshall (declined) scholarships, and after a summer as a researcher and reporter, he went on to graduate study at Oxford University. While working toward his master’s in international relations, Beinart wrote for The New Republic, Newsweek and London’s Financial Times. He has also written for such publications as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and TIME. In 2000, Beinart was named a Poynter Fellow of Journalism at Yale College. His specialties include globalization, the changing politics and media in America, and the politics of Africa. He is a regular panelist on “Final Round” on CNN’s Sunday show, “Late Edition,” and has appeared on ABC’s “The Week with George Stephanopoulos,” “Charlie Rose,” “The McLaughlin Group,” and other programs. For a selected bibliography of related readings, please click here. BOX OFFICE AND TICKET INFORMATION Tickets are free for UNCW students, faculty and staff, and $6 for the general public. To reserve tickets or for additional information about the Leadership Lecture Series, call the Kenan Auditorium Box Office at 962.3500, or 800.732.3643 outside of the Wilmington area. Ticket office hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP LECTURE SERIES The Leadership Lecture Series invites nationally-known speakers who enlighten, challenge, inspire and demonstrate that all people have the ability to lead if they have the desire to make a difference. Sponsored by the University Union and funded primarily by student fees, the series seeks to spur students’ critical thinking abilities and encourage debate on topics relevant to students personally and as members of society at large. By inviting a speaker to the campus, the university does not endorse any particular position.