Special Lead Story

“I love journalism. I do. Real journalism is here to stay,” Lillian Dunlap said with enthusiasm, in the opening of her “(Un)Covering Race and Gender: Lessons from the 2008 U.S. Presidential Campaign” presentation.
Lillian Dunlap was the key speaker in this years’ Friel Lecture series. It was primarily sponsored by the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.
“The Friel Lecture is a series we try to present every few years,” Dean and Professor of The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Erica W. Austin, said. “It is paid for by an endowment from the Friel family. They want to honor the memory of their daughter who was a trailblazer in broadcasting.”
The lecture was held in the CUB Auditorium on the evening of Oct. 16. “There was a miscommunication and the event happened on the same night as the forum for the University District so we had a small turnout,” Dean Austin said.
There were approximately 25 people in attendance, 15 appeared to be students.
“I was really surprised there weren’t more students there. I was really impressed by the lecture content and it’s an exciting topic,” Rachel A. McElwee, a junior at Washington State University, said.
Lillian Dunlap, who works as a professor in Leadership and Management at the Poynter Institute, also taught a workshop for WSU faculty titled “Teaching Diversity Across the Curriculum.” Approximately 15 faculty and staff attended the workshop.
“The workshop addressed how to naturally bring diversity into the classroom. She also discussed what makes excellent and ethical reporting,” Dean Austin said. “It received rave reviews.”
According to Dean Austin more people attended the last lecture series. She also said the event will be reviewed and it will be discussed what went well and what could be done differently in the future.