Maryland's Public System of Higher Education

Annual Langenberg Lecture at UMB Features Panel Discussion on 'Role of Information in a Democratic Society'

Prominent National Journalists to Lead Media Talk, after Morning Presentation with former U.S. Sen. Mikulski

Adelphi, Md. (April 6, 2017) -- The University System of Maryland (USM) at its annual Langenberg Lecture on April 10 will present a special panel discussion, "The Role of Information in a Democratic Society," with panelists Brian Stelter of CNN and Alan C. Miller, a Pulitzer Prize winner and president of the News Literacy Project.

The panel discussion will take place at 1 p.m. as a culmination of events for a Maryland Statewide Civic Education and Engagement Symposium, held at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Southern Management Student Center at 621 W. Lombard St, Baltimore, MD.

The full agenda begins with 8 a.m. registration and continental breakfast. At the annual Langenberg Lecture (9:45 a.m.), the Hon. U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski in an interview session will reflect on her history of public service and the importance of civic education to students from pre-kindergarten through college. Linda Morris, a student at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, will be presented with a scholarship award in recognition of her work as a public service leader.

Lucy Dalglish, dean of the Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park, will serve as moderator for the 1 p.m. "The Role of Information in a Democratic Society" panel.

The following organizations are sponsors of the Langenberg Lecture and Symposium on Civic Engagement and Civic Education: USM Foundation in collaboration with Maryland Higher Education Commission; Maryland Association of Community Colleges; Maryland Independent College and University Association; and the Maryland State Department of Education. Online registration details are here.

The discussion on media will address such timely and sensitive issues as the changing role of media in civic discourse; information literacy; and the importance of critical analysis and inquiry for an informed citizenry.

“As Chancellor, it is my privilege to introduce the Langenberg Lecture and salute both Chancellor Emeritus Langenberg and the Hon. Senator Barbara Mikulski, who served our state and nation with such distinction in the U.S. Congress for more than 40 years," said USM Chancellor Robert L. Caret. "The audience will truly benefit from the ideas shared from Sen. Mikulski, and from our afternoon panel of prestigious journalists discussing the importance of a free press to a democratic society.”

Details on the panelists are as follows:

Alan C. Miller, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, is the president and CEO of the News Literacy Project. He was a reporter with the Los Angeles Times for 21 years, spending nearly 19 years in the paper's Washington bureau, the last 14 as a charter member of its high-profile investigative team. His work prompted investigations by the Justice Department, Congress and inspector generals in federal agencies and led to congressional hearings, reforms and criminal convictions.

He received more than a dozen national reporting honors, including the George Polk Award, the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting and the Investigative Reporters and Editors Medal for breaking the 1996 Democratic National Committee campaign finance scandal. He won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his series on the Marine Corps Harrier attack jet.

Brian Stelter is the senior media correspondent for CNN Worldwide and the host of "Reliable Sources," the Sunday morning media program on CNN/U.S.

As CNN's senior media correspondent, Stelter reports on trends, personalities, and companies across the media spectrum, from news to entertainment. He appears regularly on CNN/U.S., CNN International, CNN.com, CNNMoney.com, and across CNN's vast mobile and social landscape.

Stelter started at CNN in November 2013. He was previously a media reporter for the New York Times. He covered television and digital media for the Business Day and Arts sections of the newspaper. While a freshman at Towson University in 2004, Stelter created TVNewser, a blog covering the television news industry. More details on Stelter, a 2007 graduate of Towson University, are here.

Lucy Dalglish became Dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland on August 1, 2012.

She served as executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press from 2000 to 2012. The Reporters Committee is a voluntary, unincorporated association of reporters and news editors dedicated to protecting the First Amendment interests of the news media. A longtime journalist, she was awarded the Kiplinger Award by the National Press Foundation in 2012 for her service to journalism.

Dalglish earned a juris doctor degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1995; a master of studies in law degree from Yale Law School in 1988; and a bachelor of arts in journalism from the University of North Dakota in 1980.

Hannah Cole-Chu, another panel participant, is a third-year student at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and editor in chief of the Maryland Law Review.

Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu