Todd Gitlin, professor and doctoral-program chair at the Columbia School of Journalism, believes that mainstream journalism, faced with myriad 21st-century challenges, has failed in many important respects. Yet he also believes that deep journalism is essential to modern democracy and governance, and asks the question, “Can we reinvent mainstream journalism for the new millennium?”

Gitlin will explore these challenges and questions when he delivers the 2013 M. Holly McGranahan Lecture in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The lecture will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 4 in 1505 Seamans Center on the University of Iowa campus. Admission is free and the public is welcome.

Gitlin outlined what he sees as some major failures of mainstream journalism in recent years.

“Mainstream journalism promoted the technology bubble of the late 1990s and the housing bubble of the 2000s, yet it failed to grasp the internationalization of finance and the significance of deregulation. It misunderstood Saddam Hussein and led the cheerleading into the disastrous Iraq war. It blithely accepted the spurious ideas that there is a 'deficit crisis' and that there was a 'fiscal cliff.' It doesn't understand social movements, and it faces challenges from citizen journalism and the rise of the blogosphere. Journalism is better equipped to identify dots than to connect them,” Gitlin says. “But democracy would suffer more from the utter decay of journalism than it does from our present failed journalism. Even with some benefits from new media, the breakdown of organized journalism undermines one of the pillars of democracy. Can we reinvent it for the new millennium?”

David Perlmutter, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, says Gitlin is uniquely suited to address the issues surrounding modern journalism.

“Todd Gitlin is one of the nation’s leading communications scholars,” Perlmutter says. “His books and scholarship are extremely influential in today’s study of media and mass communications in American culture. We couldn’t be happier to welcome him to campus.”

Meenakshi Gigi Durham, professor of journalism and mass communication and lecture organizer, agreed.

“Todd Gitlin was our faculty’s first choice to deliver this year’s McGranahan Lecture, and for good reason,” Durham says. “He’s a giant in our field, and he will deliver a timely and thought-provoking talk.”

In addition to his teaching at Columbia University in New York City, Gitlin has written 15 books, including The Whole World is Watching: Mass Media in the Making and Unmaking of the Left, about media coverage of the student protests against the Vietnam War. He lectures frequently around the nation and internationally, and his books have been translated into many languages. For more information about Gitlin, visit www.journalism.columbia.edu/profile/38-todd-gitlin/10.

Gitlin’s lecture is made possible by a gift to the UI Foundation from the estate of M. Holly and Robert S. McGranahan, both UI alumni. Holly earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 1938 and Robert earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in journalism in 1941 and 1949, respectively. The McGranahan Lectureship, a program of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is dedicated to bringing renowned scholars in the field of journalism and mass communication to the UI.

The UI acknowledges the UI Foundation as the preferred channel for private contributions that benefit all areas of the university. For more information about the foundation, visit www.uifoundation.org.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in advance at 319-335-3486.