The University of Mary Washington will host a Podius series debate on Monday, Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in George Washington Hall’s Dodd Auditorium on the Fredericksburg campus. Stephen Farnsworth, UMW professor of political science, and Craig Smith, professor emeritus and director emeritus of the Center for First Amendment Studies at CSU-Long Beach, will analyze media bias as a threat to the American democracy.
The 60-minute debate will be moderated by American broadcast journalist and host of Inside Story on Al Jazeera America Ray Suarez. The audience will be given the chance to vote on a winner at the end of the debate, which is free and open to the public.
The Podius Debate Series was created to help Americans preserve and strengthen their democratic institutions by championing intelligent and thoughtful civic discourse. Sponsored by the National Speech and Debate Association, the series is being held on colleges and universities across the country.
Farnsworth, who also serves as the director of the UMW Center for Leadership and Media Studies, is the principal author of The Global President, which examines how presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush have shaped the global conversation about the U.S. government. He also is the author or co-author of four other books on topics including media coverage of presidential elections and how presidents “sell” their policies and themselves. Having been widely featured in national media as a political commentator, he has appeared in The Washington Post, Reuters, The Chicago Tribune and MSNBC. Most recently, Farnsworth was recognized with the National Political Science Association Award.
Smith is the author of 16 books and more than 60 scholarly articles and book chapters. He served as a full-time speechwriter for President Gerald Ford and Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca. He also has served as a consultant to President George Bush and Governor Pete Wilson, among others. In 1983, he founded the Freedom of Expression Foundation and currently serves as president.
Suarez joined the PBS NewsHour in 1999 and was a senior correspondent for the evening news program on the PBS Television Network until 2013. He also is host of the international news and analysis public radio program America Abroad from Public Radio International. He was the host of the National Public Radio program Talk of the Nation from 1993-1999. In his more than 30-year career in the news business, he also has worked as a radio reporter in London and Rome, as a Los Angeles correspondent for CNN, and as a reporter for the NBC-owned station WMAQ-TV in Chicago.
The Podius Debate Series is made possible by the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation, which supports numerous projects that promote civil and reasoned public debate at the high school, college and civic levels. This event also is sponsored by UMW’s Speaking Intensive Program and the UMW Speaking Center.
For further information about the event, contact Associate Professor of Communication Anand Rao at arao@umw.edu. To learn more about Podius debates, visit http://podius.com/.
Albert Tejera says
Will there be a live stream or recorded version made available for those that can’t be in attendance?
Lisa says
This will be fascinating. I have the same question as Albert: is there a way to access the debate?