Introducing Media@McGill...presenting Seymour Hersh
Reporting legend helps unveil media and communications policy project
Media@McGill, McGill University's new hub of research, scholarship and public outreach on issues and controversies in media policy, culture and technology, is proud to present a public lecture by renowned investigative journalist and author Seymour Hersh. Mr. Hersh will speak on October 26, at 6 p.m., at the Mount Royal Centre, 2200 Mansfield.
Mr. Hersh has been at the forefront of investigative journalism for nearly four decades, uncovering hidden truths and unflinchingly examining the use and abuse of power. He won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for exposing the My Lai massacre, reporting that spurred a reversal in U.S. public opinion on the Vietnam War. He subsequently broke news of B-52 bombings in Cambodia, illegal CIA spying on U.S. citizens and covert CIA attempts to overthrow Chilean President Salvador Allende. More recently, Mr. Hersh has written for the New Yorker magazine on the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, including a 2004 exposé of the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. His most recent book is the 2004 Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib.
His speech marks the launch of Media@McGill, an interdisciplinary focal point for teaching and research in media and communications studies. Media@McGill receives support from various sources, most notably the Beaverbrook Foundation. Based in the Department of Art History and Communication Studies, Media@McGill aims to foster discussion and research of critical media-related issues through scholarships and other endeavours on such diverse topics as post-World War II Canadian tabloid press, the coverage of heavy metal music and online expressions of citizenship and identity. In conjunction with the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and the World Bank, Media@McGill is also creating a guide to best practices in media and development targeted to constituencies in developing nations.
Media@McGill is the second gift to McGill from the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation, which established the Beaverbrook Chair in Ethics, Media and Communications, held since 2004 by Marc Raboy. Foundation president Timothy Aitken is a McGill graduate and grandson of Canadian-born British newspaper magnate and politician Lord Beaverbrook (1879-1964).
After his talk, Mr. Hersh will answer questions from the audience. Canadian journalist and political activist Judy Rebick will host the event.
