Vol.25, No. 11	Jan. 21, 2000

Annual duPont Awards Bring Top Journalists to Campus for Forums and a Televised Ceremony

By Abigail Beshkin

CNN's Jeff Greenfield will host the 58th annual Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards in television and radio journalism this Wednesday, Jan, 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rotunda.

Thirteen/WNET New York will air the hour-long awards program the following evening at 10 p.m. (ET) on PBS stations (check local listings).

The event will feature excerpts of winning news programs—many of them never before aired nationwide. The duPont Awards are considered the highest honor in broadcast journalism, comparable to the Pulitzer Prizes in print journalism.

Presenters at the ceremony will be Gwen Ifill, PBS senior correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and moderator of Washington Week in Review; Susan Spencer, CBS News correspondent for 48 Hours; Jack Ford, ABC News anchor and correspondent for 20/20; President George Rupp and Dean Tom Goldstein, dean of the Graduate School of Journalism, which administers the awards.

The 2000 Alfred I. duPont Forum will begin Thursday, Jan. 20 at 9:00 a.m. in Journalism Hall.

The first panel, "Following the Money: Covering Campaign Finance" (9:00-10:30 a.m.), moderated by Gwen Ifill, will look at whether public frustration over campaign finance abuse has led to dissatisfaction among voters, how the media has influenced the debate over campaign finance, and whether the press is offering recommendations for resolving these issues.

The second panel, "Humor and Satire: How They Spin the News" (11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.), moderated by Nightline's Ted Koppel, will examine the relationship between humor and the public perception of politics. Among the questions discussed will be: How much do late night talk shows, political cartoons and satirical songs shape political debate? Has humor coarsened political debate or is it essential for a healthy democracy?

Finally, three of this year's duPont-Columbia Award-winning television programs will be screened, and a discussion with the reporters, producers and editors who created them will follow.

All panels will be held in Room 301, Lecture Hall, Journalism.