OXFORD, Miss. – Howell Raines, former executive editor of The New York
Times, is to discuss the decline of financially-embattled newspapers
and its impact on American society Friday (Oct. 9) at the University of
Mississippi.
The program is the second in a series, “Gatherings Before the Grove,”
hosted by the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics on the
eve of home football games. The 5 p.m. event, which is free and open to
the public, is slated for the Overby Center Auditorium. The lecture is
to be followed by a question-and-answer session and a reception.
Raines is skeptical that Internet models will be able to replace
traditional newspapers and is troubled by the loss of strong reporting.
“With the collapse of community-based coverage, I think we’ll
see a field day for corruption, misguided public policy and general
disregard for voter opinion,” Raines says.
“I believe history will show Howell is one of the most important
and accomplished journalists of our time,” said Charles Overby,
chairman and CEO of the Freedom Forum, which established the center at
Ole Miss. “He had that rare blend of being a gifted writer who also has
astute insights into the craft and business of journalism.”
A native of Birmingham, Ala., Raines earned a bachelor’s degree
from Birmingham-Southern College in 1964 and a master’s degree in
English from the University of Alabama. He worked for several Southern
newspapers, including the Birmingham Post-Herald, Tuscaloosa News,
Birmingham News, Atlanta Journal and St. Petersburg Times, before being
hired by The New York Times in 1978.
Author of a novel and three nonfiction books, including the
best-selling memoir “Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis,” Raines
won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 1992 for an article that
appeared in The New York Times Magazine.
He served as a national and foreign correspondent, Washington
bureau chief and editorial page editor for the Times before being named
its executive editor in 2001. He resigned two years later during
turmoil after a Times reporter plagiarized and fabricated articles, but
not before Raines led the newspaper to an unprecedented seven Pulitzer
Prizes in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Raines and his wife, Krystyna, live in the Pocono mountains of
northeastern Pennsylvania, where he is working on a new book and
writing for magazines.
“It’s no coincidence that Howell’s coming on the weekend of the
Alabama game,” said Curtis Wilkie, an Overby Fellow who will serve as
moderator for the program. “He’s been my friend for more than 30 years,
and I know of no more thoughtful observer of American journalism. I’m
delighted he’ll share some of his wisdom with us while he’s here.”
For more information or for assistance related to a disability, call Dawn Jeter at 662-915-1692.