Robert M. Batscha University Seminar Series

2008 Spring Semester

From Bella to Hillary: Women, Media, and Politics
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Panelists; Laura Flanders, Carol Jenkins, Suzanne Braun Levine, Marlene Sanders, Gloria Steinem, Mary Thom, Marie Wilson, and others
Marlene Sanders is a 2006 She Made It honoree. Go to shemadeit.org for information about this Paley Center initiative.

On the Road in America
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Panelists: Lara Abou Saifan and Ali Amr, Cast Members
Ambassador Richard Fairbanks, Layalina Productions
Jerome Gary, Creator Laura Michalchyshyn, Sundance Channel 

2007 Fall Semester 

Beyond the Anchor Desk: The Rise of Citizen Journalism
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Moderator: Merrill Brown, Chairman of the Board, nowpublic.com; Editorial Director, News21
In Person:
Jon Alpert, Cofounder/Codirector, DCTV
Debra Galant, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Baristanet.com
Adam Glenn, Cofounder, ireporter.org
Andrew Heyward, Sr. Advisor, Marketspace LLC; Fr. Pres., CBS News
Max Lugavere, Producer/Host, Current TV
Gus Rodriguez, Citizen Journalist
Jason Silva, Producer/Host, Current TV 
click here for the panelists' bios

An Evening with Mary Tyler Moore
Thursday, October 11, 2007
In Person:
Mary Tyler Moore

Extraordinary Work: A Conversation with the IWMF Courage in Journalism Honorees
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Moderator: Andrea Mitchell, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, NBC News
In Person: Lydia Cacho (Mexico); Ban Adil Sarhan (Iraq); Peta Thornycroft (Zimbabwe), IWMF Lifetime Achievement Award

Truth and the Iraq War: Frank Rich Converses with Television Journalists
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Moderator: Frank Rich, Op-Ed columnist, The New York Times
In Person:
Dan Rather, Anchor and Managing Editor, Dan Rather Reports, HDNet
Tom Yellin, Pres. & Exec. Prod., The Documentary Group; Exec. Prod., ABC News

2007 Spring Semester 

Simply Absurd: The Comedy of Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Thursday, April 5, 2007
In Person:
Conan O'Brien, Mike Sweeney, Michael Gordon, Brian McCann, Brian Stack

The War of Information in the Middle East
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
In Person:
Jon B. Alterman, Jamal Dajani, Raghida Dergham, Naomi Sakr
Moderator:
Garrick Utley, President, The Neil D. Levin Graduate Institute of International Relations and Commerce 

Women, the Media, and the Middle East
Thursday, April 19, 2007
In Person:
Muna AbuSulayman, Anchor, MBC's Kalam Noua'em (Saudi Arabia)
Tasneem Ahmar, Dir., Uks Research, Resource and Publication Centre on Women and Media (Pakistan)
Huda Ahmed, Reporter, McClatchy's Baghdad Bureau; Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow, International Women's Media Foundation (Iraq)
May Chidiac, Journalist, LBC (Lebanon)
Ghida Fakhry, Anchor, Al Jazeera English
Mehrangiz Kar, Visiting Scholar, Harvard Law School Human Rights Program (Iran)
Moderator: Barbara Walters  

Covering the World: Al Jazeera
Thursday, May 3, 2007
In Person:
Abderrahim Foukara, Dave Marash, Lawrence Pintak
Moderator: Deborah Amos, Foreign Correspondent, NPR

2006 Fall Semester 

Katie Couric At the Anchor Desk
Monday, November 13, 2006
Panelist: Katie Couric

Christiane Amanpour: A View from the Front Lines
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Panelist: Christiane Amanpour

Blogging and Elections
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Panelists: Duncan Black, Ana Marie Cox, Peter Daou, Jeff Jarvis, Micah L. Sifry

Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger on Media and Foreign Policy
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Panelists: Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger

2006 Spring Semester

Instant Gratification: The Development of Polaroid Advertising
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Panelists: Alan Alda, Mariette Hartley, Phyllis Robinson, Doyle Dane Bernbach, Ted Voss, Peter C. Wensberg
Moderator: John Bernbach 

2005 Fall Semester 

The Women of NPR
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
Panelists: Melissa Block, Maria Hinojosa, Cokie Roberts, Susan Stamberg, Linda Wertheimer

From The Goldbergs to 2005: The Evolution of the Family Sitcom
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Panelists: Aviva Kempner, John Markus, Bill Persky, Adriana Trigiani, David Zurawik

Taking the Lead: Women and the Changing Face of Television Drama
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Panelists: Barbara Corday, Susanne Daniels, Jill Hennessy, Jenji Kohan, Jane Seymour 

2005 Spring Semester 

Making Politics Funnier: Daily Show Writers Tell All
Thursday, April 7, 2005
Panelists: Stephen Colbert, Rob Kutner, Chris Regan, Jason Reich
Moderator: Ana Marie Cox

The Passion of the Partisan: What Is the Future of the Political Documentary?
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Panelists: Robert Drew, Eugene Jarecki, Alexandra Pelosi, Thom Powers, Guns and Mothers Ted Steinberg, Paul Stekler
Moderator: Steve Rosenbaum

2004 Fall Semester

MTV's Choose or Lose and the Campaign for the Youth Vote
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Panelists: Daniel Cruise, Rosario Dawson, Ben Ferguson, Alexis McGill, Ian V Rowe
Moderator: Brianna Keilar
Presenter: Matt Catapano

C-SPAN and Congressional Hearings
Monday, November 8, 2004
Panelists: Bill Bradley, Al Felzenberg, John Fund, Peter Hart
C-SPAN Representative: Terry Murphy
Moderator: Albert Eisele

These two seminars are part of The Political Process in the Media Age, a yearlong seminar and screening series. Funding for this series is made possible, in part, by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.

Funding for C-SPAN: Adventures in Democracy was generously provided by The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation.

Additional support provided by cable television pioneer Gerry Lenfest.

2004 Spring Semester

Television as Social Commentary:
A Celebration of 30 Years of the Humanitas Prize: Comedy
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Panelists: Matthew Carlson, Marcy Carsey, Matt Tarses

The History of Gay & Lesbian Images on Television
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Panelists: Jennifer Beals, Ilene Chaiken, Ron Cowen, Wilson Cruz, Winnie Holzman, Daniel Lipman, Dr. Stephen Tropiano

To Be, or Not to Be, in the Picture:
The Documentary Filmmaker and the Search for Truth
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Panelists: Alan Berliner, Chris Hegedus, Alexandra Pelosi, D A Pennebaker, Chris Wilcha

2003 Fall Semester

Notorious: Crime and Celebrity
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Panelists: The Honorable Catherine Crier, James Curtis, Troy Roberts, Peg Tyre, Barbara Walters

Through the Looking Glass:
The Media, the Message, and America's Image Abroad

The View from Abroad: The Journalistic Perspective
Monday, November 17, 2003
Panelists: Hafez Al-Mirazi, Akwe Amosu, Laurent Cohen-Tanugi, Nuri Colakoglu, Mark Damazer, Rosanna Fuentes-Berain, Yoichi Funabashi, Bachi Karkaria, Reinhard Meier

Entertaining the World: The Impact of American Culture Overseas
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Panelists: Joan Ganz Cooney, Everette E. Dennis, Charles Stuart

The America's Image Abroad seminars were funded by the
Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.

Additional support provided by the
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

2003 Spring Semester

The Simpsons
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
Panelists: Dan Castellaneta, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Harry Shearer, Yeardley Smith

Satire or Sacrilege?
Social and Political Commentary on Television
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Panelists: Floyd Abrams, Mike Dann, John Podhoretz, The Smothers Brothers

The William S. Paley Annual Lecture: A Conversation with Walter Cronkite
Monday, March 31, 2003 Panelist: Walter Cronkite

2002 Fall Semester 

Cuba and American Television: The Missile Crisis and Beyond

The Cuban Missile Crisis and Television
Tuesday, October 22, 2002
Panelists: Edmundo Desnoes, Jane Franklin, Richard C. Hottelet, Sander Vanocur, Donald M. Wilson

After the Missile Crisis:
Forty Years of Covering Cuba
Tuesday, October 22, 2002
Panelists: Jon Alpert, Don Bohning, Eason Jordan, Andrea Mitchell, John S. Nichols 

Cuba and American Television: The Missile Crisis and Beyond was funded by the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation

2002 Spring Semester 

Television and the War on Terrorism

The War at Home: The Media Responds
Monday, February 11, 2002
Panelists: Victoria Clarke, Jane Hanson, Andrew Heyward, General Barry McCaffrey, John Miller, Governor Tom Ridge, Paul Steiger, Mortimer Zuckerman

The War Abroad: The International Perspective
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
Panelists: Wolf Blitzer, Tony Burman, Chen Xiaonan, Pascal Golomer, Hafez Al Mirazi, Patrick O'Connell, Dan Rather

The Artistic Community Responds
Thursday, March 7, 2002
Panelists: Ken Burns, Richard Dreyfuss, Peter Eisenman, Richard Meier, Twyla Tharp, Robert Wilson

The War Abroad: The U.S. Perspective
Tuesday, February 12, 2002
Panelists: Rick Berke, Ari Fleischer, Paul Friedman, Colonel Jay M. Parker, Norman Pearlstine, Bob Simon

Television's Creative Community Responds
Wednesday, March 6, 2002
Panelists: Alan Alda, Joan Ganz Cooney, Michael Davies, Tom Freston, Sheila Nevins, Henry Schleiff 

Major underwriting for the Television and the War on Terrorism seminars has been provided by ROBERT F.X. and LAURA BAUDO SILLERMAN through THE TOMORROW FOUNDATION and the BLANCHE AND IRVING LAURIE FOUNDATION.

Additional generous support has been provided by CHRISTOPHER H. BROWNE.

These seminars are also funded by the Lawrence Schulman Family Foundation.

Satellite transmission is provided by GlobeCast. Satellite time is provided by Hubbard Broadcasting, Incorporated and CONUS Communications Company.

Vyvx Occasional Fiber Services are donated by Williams Communications.

2001 Fall Semester 

Open Mics: The Art of Radio Documentary
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Panelists: Jay Allison, David Isay, Davia Nelson, Joe Richman, Nikki Silva, Stephen Smith

Television & the African-American Experience: Civil Rights & Beyond
A Three-Part Seminar Series

On the Front Lines: Television and African-American Issues
Wednesday, November 7, 2001
Panelists: Gerald M. Boyd, Benjamin L. Hooks, Nicholas Katzenbach, Judy Richardson, Dorothy Zellner

Images of African-Americans on Prime-Time Television
Wednesday, November 14, 2001
Panelists: Jannette Dates, Tim Reid, Mel Watkins

Bebopping, Hip-Hopping, & Slam-Dunking: The Influence of African-American Endeavors in Music and Sports on Mainstream Culture
Thursday, November 15, 2001
Panelists: Harry Allen, Chuck D, Gary Giddins, Madison D. Lacy

2001 Spring Semester 

A Conversation with George Carlin
Monday, February 5, 2001

From The Outer Limits to Roswell: Writing the Fantastic for Television
Monday, March 26, 2001
Panelists: J. Michael Staczynski, Ronald D. Moore, D.C. Fontana, Steve Roberts, Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson

Twenty Years of Nightline
Thursday, March 29, 2001
Panelists: Fletcher Johnson, Sara Just, Ted Koppel, Tom Bettag

Cinéma Vérité and the Search for Documentary Truth
Tuesday, April 10, 2001
Panelists: Rory Kennedy, Brett Morgen, Jon Alpert, D A (Donn Alan) Pennebaker, Robert Drew

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Thursday, April 19, 2001
Panelists: Stewart Bailey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Madeleine Smithberg, Ben Karlin, Jon Stewart

2000 Fall Semester 

"The News Is Next...":
Twenty Years of Morning Edition
Tuesday, October 24, 2000
Panelists: Bob Edwards, Carl Kasell, Ellen McDonnell, Cokie Roberts

"Learning from the Last War":
The Media and the Military 

The World War II Generation:
A United Front
Tuesday, November 14, 2000
Panelists: Walter Cronkite, Richard Hottelet, Williamson Murray, Michael Sweeney

The Vietnam War:
Conflict at Home and Abroad
Wednesday, November 15, 2000
Panelists: William Hammond, Stanley Karnow, Morley Safer, Sydney Schanberg, Lt. General Brent Scowcroft, Barry Zorthian

The Gulf War and Beyond:
War in the New World Order
Thursday, November 16, 2000
Panelists: Ralph Begleiter, Susan Moeller, Lt. Gen. James Terry Scott, Scott Simon

The Next War:
Where Will We Go from Here?
Thursday, November 16, 2000
Panelists: Roger Ailes, James Hoge, Eric Larson, Johanna Neuman, LTC Jay M. Parker

The Media and the Military seminars are funded by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and The Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation.

2000 Spring Semester 

NBC Nightly News
with Tom Brokaw
Thursday, February 17, 2000
Panelists: Tom Brokaw, David Doss, Jonathan Wald, Mary Laurence "M.L." Flynn

This seminar was made possible by a grant from Robert F.X. and Laura Baudo Sillerman through The Tomorrow Foundation. Satellite transmission is provided by GlobeCast. 

Creating Prime-Time Drama
The West Wing
Monday, April 3, 2000
Panelists: Aaron Sorkin, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Thomas Schlamme 

Creating Prime-Time Drama
Felicity
Monday, April 10, 2000
Panelists: J. J. Abrams, Scott Foley, Greg Grunberg, Keri Russell

Sports on Television and Radio: The Commissioners' Perspective
Monday, April 24, 2000
Panelists: Gary Bettman, Bud Selig, David Stern, Paul Tagliabue

1999 Fall Semester 

America's Wake-Up Call:
47 Years with Today
Tuesday, March 23, 1999
Panelists: Katie Couric, Ann Curry, Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Jeff Zucker

Crime and Punishment:
Homicide Meets Law & Order
Tuesday, April 13, 1999
Panelists: Dick Wolf, Tom Fontana, Michael Michele, Ed Sherin, Sam Waterston 

Behind the Scenes:
Saturday Night Live
Monday, April 19, 1999
Panelists: Al Franken, Tim Herlihy, James Downey, Marci Klein, Tim Meadows, Lorne Michaels, Michael Shoemaker

The Television Author:
Shaping Character and Conscience
Monday, May 17 and Tuesday, May 18, 1999
Panelists: Steven Bochco, Tom Fontana, Marshall Herskovitz, David E. Kelley, Dick Wolf, Edward Zwick

1997-98 Fall/Spring Semester

A Conversation with the
Creators of The Simpsons,
King of the Hill, and South Park
Thursday, October 8, 1998
Panelists: Matt Groening, Mike Judge, Trey Parker, Matt Stone

Gay and Lesbian Images on Television
Thursday, October 15, 1998
Panelists: Rhona Berenstein, John Catania, Tim Doyle, Richard Kramer, Donna Red Wing, Howard Rosenberg

This seminar was made possible by the Blake Byrne/Skylark Foundation 

Creating Jewish Characters for Television
Wednesday, November 11, 1998
Panelists: Marshall Herskovitz, Carol Leifer, Dr. David Marc, Jeff Melvoin, Jan Oxenberg

The Museum wishes to thank Michael Finkelstein and Sue-ann Friedman, The Hearst Corporation, and E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co., LLC for their support of this seminar.
 
ABC World News Tonight
with Peter Jennings
Wednesday, November 18, 1998
Panelists: Kathryn Christensen, Paul Friedman, Peter Jennings, Tom Nagorski, Paul Slavin

This seminar was made possible by a grant from Robert F.X. and Laura Baudo Sillerman.

Creating Children's Programming:
Sesame Street
February 11, 1998
Panelists: Fran Brill, Kevin Clash, Lou Berger, Arlene Sherman, Michael Loman; via satellite from Los Angeles, Sonia Manzano and Roscoe Orman; Muppets Zoe and Elmo
Moderator: Ron Simon

TELEVISION AND TERRORISM

The Changing Dynamics of
Terrorism on Television
April 22, 1998
Panelists: Ambassador Dore Gold, Sir David Nicholas CBE, Garrick Utley, Chaim Yavin
Comoderators: Robert M. Batscha and James F. Hoge, Jr.

Terrorism:
Freedom of the Press and National Security
April 23, 1998
Panelists: Jeffrey Toobin, Gideon Rose, Steve Emerson, Richard Wald
Comoderators: Robert M. Batscha and Mortimer B. Zuckerman

The Museum wishes to thank The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation for providing funding for this seminar series. 

1996-97 Fall/Spring Semester

The 1996-97 Fall/Spring Semester was made possible by General Motors

Creating Prime-Time Comedy:
Frasier
October 8, 1997
Panelists: Peter Casey, David Lee, Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce
Moderator: Steve Bell

The Making of a Prime-Time Schedule
October 15, 1997
Panelists: Jamie Tarses, Peter Roth, Warren Littlefield
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha

Creating Prime-Time Drama:
Law & Order
November 11, 1997
Panelists: Dick Wolf, Ed Sherin, Rene Balcer, Jerry Orbach, Sam Waterston
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha

Creating Prime-Time Situation Comedy
November 12, 1997
Panelists: Jerry Belson, Marcy Carsey, Peter Casey, Larry David, Diane English
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha

CBS Evening News with Dan Rather
November 18, 1997
Panelists: Dan Rather, Jeff Fager, Janet Leissner, Eric Shapiro, Pat Shevlin, Michael Whitney
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha

Creating Science Fiction:
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
November 20, 1997
Panelists: Ira Steven Behr, Peter Lauritson, Ronald D. Moore, Steve Oster, Rene Auberjonois, Nana Visitor
Moderator: Steve Bell

Creating Prime-Time Drama:
Homicide: Life on the Street
February 10, 1997
Panelists: Richard Belzer, Tom Fontana, Julie Martin, Kyle Secor, David Simon, James Yoshimura
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha

Creating Prime-Time Drama:
Steven Bochco
February 19, 1997
Panelist: Steven Bochco
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha

Creating a Prime-Time Newsmagazine:
60 Minutes
April 8, 1997
Panelists: Don Hewitt, Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley, Steve Kroft, Lesley Stahl, Andy Rooney
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha

Television and the Courts
April 15, 1997
Panelists: Steve Brill, Fred Graham, Kristin Jeannette-Myers, Peter J. Neufeld, The Honorable Leslie Crocker Snyder
Moderator: Ron Simon

The following seminars were part of another series sponsored by USA Networks and offered by satellite to the university audience.

The Making of...
An Agnes Nixon Soap Opera:
All My Children
December 3, 1997

A William Bell Soap Opera:
The Young and the Restless
December 11, 1997
USA Networks 

1995-96 Fall/Spring Semester

Creating Prime-Time Comedy:
The Simpsons
November 14, 1996
Panelists: Nancy Cartwright, Matt Groening, Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein, Harry Shearer, David Silverman
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha

Ken Burns:
The Historical Narrative
on Television
November 19, 1996
Panelist: Ken Burns
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha  

TELEVISION: THE CREATIVE PROCESS 

Writing for Television:
The Legal Genre
October 21, 1996
Panelists: William Finkelstein, Jackson Gillis, Dean Hargrove, David E. Kelley, Abby Mann, Judith Paige, Mitchell, Dick Wolf
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha

Creating Prime-Time Drama:
Party of Five
October 29, 1996
Panelists: Christopher Keyser, Amy Lippman, Lisa Melamed, Mark B. Perry, Ken Topolsky, Scott Wolf
Moderator: Ron Simon 

TRADITIONS IN SPORTS ON TELEVISION

The Tradition of the
Olympic Games on Television
April 22, 1996
Panelists: Bob Costas, Peter Diamond, Rick Gentile, Jim Mckay, Donna de Varona 

The Tradition of Sportscasting
April 23, 1996
Panelists: Bob Costas, Chris Schenkel, Lesley Visser
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha 

TELEVISION AND THE PRESIDENCY 

On the Campaign Trail
November 13, 1995
Panelists: Steven Beschloss, Gerald Boyd, Michael Deaver, Dan Rather, Tabitha Soren

The Office of the Presidency
November 14, 1995
Panelists: David Gergen, Gwen Ifill, Bob Squier
Moderator: Robert M. Batscha