February 24, 2004

Journalism Professor to Discuss "Media and Foreign Policy"
in March 4 lecture at Whitworth

The 47th annual Great Decisions Lecture Series at Whitworth College features five speakers who will focus on political, cultural and economic subjects of interest to the international community. In the fourth lecture of the year, Jim McPherson, an assistant professor of communication studies at Whitworth, will present a lecture, "Media and Foreign Policy," in which he will address topics including why some areas of the world receive more media coverage than others; how that coverage has changed over time; how media coverage affects foreign policy; and the effects foreign policy has on media coverage.

The lecture will take place on Thursday, March 4, from 7:30-9:30 p.m., in Whitworth's Music Recital Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public. The background book, Great Decisions 2004, is available for purchase at the Whitworth Bookstore. For more information, please call (509) 777-3270.

A former newspaper reporter and editor, McPherson teaches mass-media history, media criticism and journalism skills at Whitworth. He holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in journalism, history and political science from Washington State University and has written on a variety of topics, focusing primarily on American journalism since 1960. McPherson is currently working on two books; one book is about American journalism since 1965 and the other is about the rise of conservative media in America.

Contacts:

Barbara Brodrick, Politics & History Department academic program assistant, Whitworth College, (509) 777-3270 or bbrodrick@whitworth.edu.

Julie Riddle, public information specialist, Whitworth College, (509) 777-3729 or jriddle@whitworth.edu.