Fall Arts Celebration welcomes Scott Simon as distinguished lecturer

Award-winning broadcaster, journalist and writer Scott Simon will explore the challenges vital to journalism, democracy and personal sanity in the practice and consumption of daily news, as the featured distinguished lecturer for Grand Valley State University’s Fall Arts Celebration.

“Professional Journalism in a DIY Age”
Monday, October 6, at 7 p.m.
L.V. Eberhard Center, 2nd Floor
Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus

In addition to hosting National Public Radio’s (NPR) “Weekend Edition Saturday,” Simon hosts the PBS television series “Backstage With…” that features his conversations with some of the biggest names in theater. He has been a frequent guest host on the CBS television program “Nightwatch” and CNBC’s “Talkback Live,” as well as an essayist and commentator on NBC’s “Weekend Today,” “NOW with Bill Moyers” and on ESPN.

During his career, Simon has reported from all 50 states and every continent — covering wars, political campaigns, sieges, famines, natural disasters and scandals. He has received numerous prestigious honors for his reporting, including the George Foster Peabody Award, multiple Emmy Awards, the Studs Terkel Media Award and the Charles Osgood Lifetime Achievement Award in Broadcast Journalism, among others.

Simon has also written multiple bestselling books including, “Home and Away: Memoir of a Fan,” “Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball,” “Pretty Birds,” “Windy City,” and “Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other: In Praise of Adoption.”

“Scott Simon is the ideal person to help us think about journalism in an age in which time demands are 24/7, and nearly everyone has a cellphone, but not an editor,” said Fred Antczak, dean of Grand Valley’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. “With experience in so many parts of the world, across so many different kinds of events and topics, Simon is ideally situated to raise the right questions about how we should be thoughtful consumers of what calls itself ‘news.’ As Grand Valley has just revamped the broadcast/journalism curriculum in a more contemporary context, Simon will be asking timely and demanding questions about what we need from it.”

Those in attendance are invited to join Simon in the east lobby of the Eberhard Center immediately following the lecture for a book signing and reception.

The event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited. For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/fallarts, or call (616) 331-2185.