September 23rd, 2008 | Queensborough Community College
Bayside, New York — To read the newspaper or browse the Internet…that is the question. The answer is that an increasing number of people, especially young people, are turning to the Internet as a primary source of up-to-the-second news information, whether it’s the rollercoaster economy or the latest exchange of barbs in the presidential race. This seismic shift in both reporting and gathering news and its implications will be the topic of a lecture given by Dr. Eric Alterman, well-known political journalist, author, media critic, blogger and educator. The lecture, entitled “Liberty and the News,” will be given at The 2008 Fall Presidential Lecture Series at Queensborough Community College, October 15, at 4:00PM in the Medical Arts Building, Room 136.
“It is crucial that our society comes to terms with what will be gained, what will be lost and what will be needed to allow democracy to function in the brave new world of fewer and smaller newspapers with declining numbers of readers engaging in fewer knowledgeable conversations,” says Dr. Alterman.
In addition to his many on-line articles, interviews and books, Dr. Alterman’s passion for – and expertise in – politics is expressed on his popular weblog, Altercation, hosted by Media Matters for America, and contains in depth, pithy, and often humorous highlights of the day’s political news.
“I fervently believe in supporting and enriching the intellectual stimulation and growth of our faculty, students and the community at large, which is why I established the Presidential Lecture Series seven years ago,” notes Dr. Eduardo J. Martí, President of Queensborough Community College. “We are indeed fortunate to have such a distinguished guest as Dr. Alterman, who can articulate for us the complexity of media in its myriad forms, and its evolving relationship to society.”
Dr. Alterman, a CUNY Distinguished Professor of English at Brooklyn College and Professor of Journalism at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and Media Matters for America. He is the author of several books, and writes a political column for The Nation and a weekly column for the Center for American Progress.
Past CUNY lecturers at the Presidential Lecture Series include Dr. Selma Botman, Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost; Dr. Ann Kirschner, Dean, The William E. Macaulay Honors College; Dr. Billy Collins, Distinguished Professor, Lehman College and New York State and United States Poet Laureate 2001-03.
Queensborough Community College, a College of The City University of New York, was founded in 1959 and is located on a picturesque 37-acre site in Bayside, Queens offering a rich liberal arts and science curriculum, as well as career and pre-professional courses. Over half of the faculty holds doctorates compared with 21% of faculty in other community colleges nationwide. Comprising the most diverse population of any college in the U.S., more than 13,000 students pursue an Associate degree or Certificate program and another 10,000 students of all ages attend continuing education programs. Among the campus’s prized resources are the Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center, the QCC Art Gallery, and the Queensborough Performing Arts Center (QPAC), created to stimulate ideas and intellectual curiosity while exposing students and the public to culture and the arts. Please visit our website at qcc.cuny.edu. # # #