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Media, Communications and Journalism

Roger Tatarian Journalism Symposium

The Tatarian Symposium brings to campus top figures in journalism for lectures, question-and-answer sessions and interaction with students and the public. Past speakers have included investigative reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh; War correspondent and Pulitzer prize winner Chris Hedges; Longtime Washington correspondent Helen Thomas. 

Past Symposiums

 March 2004. New York Times war correspondent Chris Hedges and freelance writer Seymour Hersh examined how well the media covered the Iraq conflict since the fall of Baghdad in 2003.

September 2004. Longtime UPI White House reporter Helen Thomas spoke about covering campaigns.

2005. McClatchy Newspapers CEO Gary Pruitt, San Jose Mercury News executive editor Susan Goldberg, Visalia Times-Delta editor Jim Houck and others discussed the future of news.

 2006. Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador to Iraq and the husband of Valerie Plame, whose CIA agent status was revealed in the press after what the couple alleges was a leak from the Bush administration, spoke about war, politics and the CIA.

 2007. Then-Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters headlined an examination of politics in a digital age.

2010. Youssef, McClatchy correspondent for the Pentagon, and Gareth Porter, investigative journalist and historian, spoke about how to report on armed conflicts.

2011. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Matt Richtel of the New York Times discussed how high-tech gadgets can alter the human brain.

2013. New York Times’ Fernanda Santos, Phoenix bureau chief, examined the power of young immigrants in the nation’s politics – in particular Latino voters. A panel discussion on immigration issues followed Santos’ speech. 

2014. A series of speakers, including Robert Hackett of Simon Fraser University, Tom Yulsman of the University of Colorado and Mark Grossi of The Fresno Bee, discussed journalism and climate change.

2015. Days before the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Peter Arnett spoke about coverage of the Vietnam War and the role of American news media.

2019. ProPublica editor-in-chief Stephen Engelberg, Los Angeles Times deputy managing editor Sewell Chan, Associated Press Northern California news editor Juilet Williams and Washington Post senior national correspondent Scott Wilson discussed how the media can improve trust.