Where Do We Go From Here? The Future of Local and National Journalism

The McLean Contributionship Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Endowed Lecture Series at Temple University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center

Join us for a program honoring the McLean Contributionship’s long-standing commitment to the field of journalism and supporting access to our Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Collection. The McLean Contributionship Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Endowed Lecture Series at Temple University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center aims to reflect on the past, present, and future of American journalism, history, and culture. This program is cosponsored by Klein College of Media and Communication.

In this installment, David Boardman, dean of the Klein College of Media and Communication, will moderate a panel on current trends in journalism. Panelists include:

• Tracy Davidson, anchor/reporter, NBC10, and Temple alumna
• Gabriel Escobar, editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer
• Cherri Gregg, anchor/reporter, WHYY, and Temple alumna
• Aron Pilhofer, James B. Steele Chair of Journalism Innovation, Klein College of Media and Communication

About the speakers:

David Boardman is dean of the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University. Previously, Boardman was executive editor and senior vice president of The Seattle Times, the largest news organization in the Pacific Northwest. Under his leadership, The Times won four Pulitzer Prizes and produced 10 Pulitzer finalists. Boardman personally has been the recipient of numerous other major national awards, including the National Ethics Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Goldsmith Prize in Investigative Reporting from Harvard University, the Worth Bingham Prize in Investigative Reporting, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, and the Associated Press Managing Editors Public Service Award. He is the founding chair of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, which owns The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the chair of The Markup, a digital site focused on the nexus of society and technology. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and has a graduate degree from the University of Washington.

Tracy Davidson is an anchor for NBC10 News. You can watch Davidson’s live newscasts weekdays at 4 and 5 p.m. Davidson joined NBC10 in March 1996 and has served as both an anchor and consumer reporter. She has received 11 Emmy Awards, including the Best News Anchor Emmy for the Mid-Atlantic Region in 2008 and 2013. In 2013, Temple University honored Davidson with the Lew Klein Alumni in Media Award. She was recognized with Pennsylvania’s Most Powerful and Influential Women Award by the National and Pennsylvania Diversity Council. In 2014, she was inducted into Philadelphia’s Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame. Davidson enjoys motivational speaking and presents on a variety of topics, and she freely shares her breast cancer survival story with her message: “Don’t Wait.”

Gabriel Escobar is editor and senior vice president of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Escobar has extensive experience as both a reporter and news manager. He spent 16 years at The Washington Post, as a reporter on the local and national staffs, a foreign correspondent based in South America and as city editor. At the Inquirer he has worked as managing editor, deputy managing editor for Metro and as assistant managing editor for news. Escobar also worked at The Hartford Courant, the Philadelphia Daily News and The Dallas Morning News, where he was an editorial writer and columnist. Escobar was born in Bogota, Colombia and grew up in New York City. He has a BA in creative writing from Queens College, CUNY, and a masters in journalism from the University of Maryland.

Cherri Gregg is an afternoon drive host/news anchor for WHYY radio. Prior to her current position, the award-winning journalist covered civil rights, social justice, race, and public affairs issues impacting marginalized communities in the Greater Philadelphia region, spending nearly a decade on air at KYW Newsradio. She served as the station’s Community Affairs reporter and was the creator, host, and executive producer of the weekly, syndicated radio show and podcast, Flashpoint with Cherri Gregg. Under her leadership, the show earned two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, an NABJ Salute to Excellence Award for Best Podcast, and a Pennsylvania Bar Association Media Award all in 2021. Gregg, who is also a licensed attorney, is a past president of the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists.

Aron Pilhofer is the James B. Steele Chair in Journalism Innovation at Temple University. In addition to teaching, his work is focused on new business models, digital transformation, and innovation in news. Before joining Temple, Pilhofer was executive editor, digital, and interim chief digital officer at the Guardian in London. There, he led the Guardian's product and technology teams as well as heading visual journalism—including pictures, graphics, interactive, and data journalism. Before coming to the Guardian, Pilhofer was associate managing editor for digital strategy and editor of interactive news at The New York Times. Outside the newsroom, Pilhofer co-founded two news-related startups: DocumentCloud and Hacks/Hackers.

This program will be presented via Zoom. On the day of the program, use this link to join: https://temple.zoom.us/j/94849900355 .

Our programs are geared toward a general audience and are open to all, including Temple students, faculty, staff, alumni, neighbors, and friends. Registration is encouraged.

Contact libraries@temple.edu with questions.