Marty Baron ’76 ’76G ’14H will be the guest speaker for the second event in this year’s Compelling Perspectives series.
The event will take place Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. in Packard Laboratory. President Joseph J. Helble ’82 and Baron will participate in a discussion reflecting on coverage of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, which will be guided by questions submitted by audience members. A brief Q&A with the audience will follow.
Author of the recently published book “Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post” and former editor of Lehigh’s student-run newspaper, The Brown and White, Baron has returned to campus numerous times, including to celebrate The Brown and White’s 125th anniversary and for a screening of the Academy Award-winning movie “Spotlight,” based on Baron’s work leading The Boston Globe’s investigation into the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal. That investigation earned the paper a 2003 Pulitzer Prize in public service.
Considered one of the nation’s top news editors, Baron also worked for the Miami Herald, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. Newsrooms under his leadership received 18 Pulitzer Prizes in the categories of public service, national, explanatory and investigative reporting, as well as criticism and feature photography.
In 2014, Baron delivered the address at Lehigh’s 146th Commencement and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. Born and raised in Tampa, Baron graduated from Lehigh with both bachelor of arts and MBA degrees. He became editor-in-chief of The Brown and White during his junior year and went on to start his career at the Miami Herald after graduating in 1976.
Most recently, he was executive editor of The Washington Post, retiring in February 2021.
Advance registration is required and space is limited. Please register by Nov. 26.
In its second year, Compelling Perspectives is a program that widens the aperture on issues of societal importance by encouraging open conversations and modeling respectful discourse on challenging topics. This year’s theme is the role of media in contemporary society.
In September, veteran journalist Katie Couric was the first guest in this year’s series. An announcement on a third speaker, focusing on non-traditional media, is forthcoming.
For more information, visit the Compelling Perspectives webpage, which will be continually updated.
