LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University Institute for Media, Culture and Ethics will sponsor a public lecture by retired president of CBS News Andrew Heyward on Thursday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the Brown Activities Center on campus. Heyward’s lecture is expected to focus on his experiences at CBS News and the state of network news.
Heyward will serve as a fellow at the institute this fall. He will begin his visit to Bellarmine on Oct. 31. His activities will include meeting with students in communications classes, speaking to the Student Government Association about broadcast network coverage of presidential elections and giving the public lecture on Nov. 1.
Currently, Heyward is a senior adviser to Marketspace LLC, which specializes in helping companies use digital technology to drive growth and revenue. He served as president of CBS News from January 1996 to November 2005. Under Heyward’s leadership, CBS News was recognized with 57 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, 13 Peabody Awards, 13 Alfred I. DuPont/Columbia University Awards, six Overseas Press Club Awards and 46 RTNDA/Edward R. Murrow Awards.
Before his tenure as president, Heyward was executive producer of “CBS Evening News,” and vice president of CBS News (October 1994-January 1996). He also developed and launched “48 Hours, the primetime CBS News hour that premiered in January 1988.
Heyward was recently in the news when former CBS anchor Dan Rather sued the network and three executives for $70 million. Rather asserts that the network violated his contract by giving him insufficient airtime on “60 Minutes” after forcing him to step down as anchor of “CBS Evening News” in March 2005. As part of his public lecture and within the limits prescribed by CBS attorneys, Heyward is expected to discuss the lawsuit and circumstances regarding Rather’s departure from CBS.
The Bellarmine University Institute of Media, Culture and Ethics was created as an educational environment for research, study and discussion so that students can become critical consumers of popular culture as promulgated by mass media. The institute also strives to promote ethics in media. Eventually, Bellarmine plans to merge the institute with the Department of Communication to create the School of Communication: Media, Culture and Ethics.
For more information call (502)-452-8329 or visit www.bellarmine.edu/mce.