Media Advisory: National television correspondent Joy-Ann Reid to speak at Wake Forest
Author and MSNBC national correspondent Joy-Ann Reid will deliver the 2015 Ida B. Wells lecture on Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. in the Porter B. Byrum Welcome Center at Wake Forest University. Reid will discuss bias and objectivity in journalism, media coverage of police-involved violence against civilians and the rise of citizen journalism.
The event is free and open to the public. Doors will open at 5:45 p.m. with seating on a first-come, first-served basis.
Reid’s lecture, “The Myth Of Objectivity: How The Media Quest For ‘Fairness’ And ‘Balance’ Biases Coverage Against Out-Groups,” is part of a week-long Ida B. Wells Residency hosted by the Anna Julia Cooper Center, an interdisciplinary center at Wake Forest University that supports, generates, and communicates innovative research at the intersections of gender, race, and place. The Center is led by Presidential Endowed Professor Melissa Harris-Perry.
Named for the famed anti-lynching advocate Ida B. Wells-Barnett, the Ida B. Wells Residency brings to the University a distinguished journalist with a record of writing about Southern political issues with an eye on gender and racial equality for a week-long residency. During her residency, Reid will engage with students and the community, share expertise with faculty, guest-teach Wake Forest courses, and deliver the Oct. 14 public lecture.
“The Anna Julia Cooper Center is especially honored to welcome Joy Reid as our inaugural Ida B. Wells media expert,” said Harris-Perry. “Reid’s work and career reflect the impactful intersection of journalism and advocacy that Wells herself maintained. We have no doubt that Reid will raise issues of critical inquiry and will challenge our campus and community in ways that will resonate long after her residency.”
Joy-Ann Reid is the author of the new book “Fracture: Barack Obama, the Clintons and the Racial Divide.” She was previously the host of “The Reid Report” on MSNBC. Reid also served as the managing editor of theGrio.com, a daily online news and opinion platform devoted to delivering stories and perspectives that reflect and affect African-American audiences. Reid joined theGrio.com with experience as a freelance columnist for the Miami Herald and as editor of the political blog, The Reid Report. She is a former talk radio producer and host for Radio One, and previously served as an online news editor for the NBC affiliate WTVJ in Miramar, Fla.
About Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University combines the best traditions of a small liberal arts college with the resources of a large research university. Founded in 1834, the school is located in Winston-Salem, N.C. The University’s graduate school of arts and sciences, divinity school, and nationally ranked schools of law, medicine and business enrich our intellectual environment. Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu.
