Keynote speakers announced for #acpdc
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Bob Woodward and former CIA employee Edward Snowden, who share a passion for the public’s right to know despite starkly different approaches, are headlining the 2016 Associated Collegiate Press National College Media Convention this October in Washington, D.C.
Joining Woodward and Snowden as top speakers are immigration activist and journalist Jose Antonio Vargas and political strategist and commentator Donna Brazile.
More than 100 media professionals and expert advisers will speak and host workshops Oct. 20-23 at the Grand Hyatt. The speakers are expected to address this year’s hot topics of politics, digital/online media and press freedom, among others.
Friday, October 21 at 1:30 p.m.
Bob Woodward, twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize, is one of America’s preeminent investigative reporters and non-fiction authors. He has worked for The Washington Post since 1971 as a reporter and is currently an associate editor.
Woodward has won nearly every American journalism award. The Post won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for his work with Carl Bernstein on the Watergate scandal that led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon in August 1974. Woodward was the main reporter for The Post’s articles on the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks that won the National Affairs Pulitzer Prize in 2002.
Gene Roberts, former managing editor of The New York Times has called the work of Woodward and Bernstein “maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time.” Read more…
Saturday, October 22 at 11 a.m. via live video stream from Moscow
A former CIA employee and government contractor, Edward Snowden gained international notoriety in 2013 when he disclosed classified information revealing that the National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting the private records of millions of unsuspecting American citizens. The United States government has filed a criminal complaint against Snowden, who is accused of espionage after leaking the documents. This incident sparked one of the largest debates about government surveillance in recent history.
Snowden has received numerous awards for social justice and courage, including the Right Livelihood Award, and the Stuttgart Peace Prize. He continues to advocate for human rights through the application and development of new technologies. He also serves on the board of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Read more…
Thursday, October 20 at 3:30 p.m.
Donna Brazile is a veteran Democratic political strategist, adjunct professor, author, syndicated columnist, and television political commentator. While much of her commentary is partisan, she has been asked to do a broader presentation.
Since 2000, Brazile has lectured at over 150 colleges and universities across the country on such topics as “Inspiring Civility in American Politics,” “Race Relations in the Age of Obama,” “Why Diversity Matters,” and “Women in American Politics.” Read more…
Sunday, Oct. 23 at 11 a.m.
Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, filmmaker, and media publisher whose work centers on the changing American identity. He is the founder of Define American, a non-profit media and culture organization that seeks to elevate the conversation around immigration and citizenship in America; and the founder and editor of #EmergingUS, a digital platform that lives at the intersection of race, immigration, and identity in a multicultural America. #EmergingUS is the first-ever media property owned by an undocumented immigrant.
In June 2011, the New York Times Magazine published a groundbreaking essay he wrote in which he revealed and chronicled his life in America as an undocumented immigrant. A year later, he appeared on the cover of TIME magazine worldwide with fellow undocumented immigrants as part of a follow-up cover story he wrote. He then produced and directed Documented, a documentary feature film on his undocumented experience. It received a 2015 NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Documentary. Read more…
Registration will open later this month for the convention, with special early-bird discounts available. Attendees can save even more my making sure their ACP membership is up-to-date. Follow @ACPress on Twitter for updates and announcements.