"Much has been written and said about Katie Couric as anchor of The CBS Evening News. Now let's hear from Katie herself — what is her vision of the job, of an anchor's impact on journalism and American democracy? [And] What are her plans for the future?" Those questions are from veteran journalist Marvin Kalb who will be sitting down with Couric this Tuesday.

The forum at the National Press Club will air on New England Cable News as well as public television stations nationwide.

Couric says she looks forward to "an engaging discussion of the necessity of a free press in our democracy, my role as an anchor, new media platforms, and how we meld traditional journalism with emerging technologies."

It's the first installment of the Kalb Report series which is underwritten by a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.

Click continued to read the press release...

CBS EVENING NEWS ANCHOR KATIE COURIC TO DISCUSS
DEMOCRACY AND THE PRESS ON THE KALB REPORT
September 25, 2007

Couric Kicks Off Four-Part Kalb Report Series and National Press Club Centennial Celebration Series to be Underwritten by Grant from Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation

WASHINGTON – Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, will join veteran journalist and scholar Marvin Kalb to discuss democracy and the press in the first installment of the 2007-2008 Kalb Report series, produced by The George Washington University, Harvard’s Joan Shorenstein Center, and the National Press Club and underwritten by a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. This academic year, The Kalb Report also will serve as a cornerstone of the National Press Club’s Centennial Celebration as it focuses on 'craft' and 'impact' in four critical areas of journalism: war coverage, investigative reporting, White House coverage, and the role of the television anchor in our society.

"Much has been written and said about Katie Couric as anchor of The CBS Evening News. Now let's hear from Katie herself–what is her vision of the job, of an anchor’s impact on journalism and American democracy? What are her plans for the future?" said Marvin Kalb, James Clark Welling Presidential Fellow at The George Washington University and moderator of the forum series. "I am delighted to have the opportunity to talk with this trailblazing journalist, as the National Press Club opens its Centennial celebration."

Couric said, "I am honored to take part in such an important discussion with fellow journalist Marvin Kalb, who is among those who set many standards for the critical issues in journalism today. I look forward to an engaging discussion of the necessity of a free press in our democracy, my role as an anchor, new media platforms, and how we meld traditional journalism with emerging technologies."

In addition to her anchor duties, Couric is a 60 Minutes
correspondent and the anchor of CBS News primetime specials. Couric's career spans more than 25 years and includes interviews with major newsmakers from presidents and prime ministers to captains of industry and cultural icons. She has conducted one-on-one conversations with Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter, and was the last person to interview the late John F. Kennedy, Jr. Couric spent 15 years as co-anchor of the Today show on NBC. She has won numerous honors for her work, including a George Foster Peabody Award for her series on colon cancer, which also led to NBC News receiving the 2001 RTNDA-Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence. She also has won six Emmy Awards, the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Award, and a National Headliner Award, among others. She was born in Arlington, Va. and graduated with honors from the University of Virginia in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in English and a focus on American studies.

"The Kalb Report presents a unique opportunity for the current and next generation of journalists to hear from legends and leaders – like Kalb and Couric – at a critical time for the profession," said Michael Freedman, GW vice president for communications and former general manager of CBS Radio Network News. "It is our goal to present dialogues that educate and inspire our students as they prepare to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s media landscape. These conversations complement their classroom activities with the real world experiences of those still on the front lines."

"I couldn't be happier about the fact that Katie Couric will be joining us for The Kalb Report," said Jerry Zremski, president of the National Press Club. "As CBS News anchor, she inherited a position of great influence and great history in broadcast journalism. It will be great for us to hear from her about how, and where, her broadcast is going."

All Kalb Report forums are produced in the main ballroom of the National Press Club before audiences comprising several hundred college students and National Press Club members. This year’s Kalb Report series will be distributed for radio by CBS Radio Network. The series also will air on New England Cable News and will be distributed to public television stations nationwide by Oklahoma Educational Television Authority and American Public Television. The director of The Kalb Report series is Robert Vitarelli, a 39-year veteran of CBS News. The producer is Heather Date, a 1998 George Washington University graduate, former CNN associate producer, and now a special assistant for media and public affairs at GW.

The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, the National Press Club and Harvard’s Shorenstein Center have produced 56 forums in the The Kalb Report series since 1994. Guests have included Walter Cronkite, Jim Lehrer, Ted Koppel, Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., NPR President and CEO Kevin Klose, FOX News Chairman Roger Ailes, New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman, and Washington Post Writer/Editor Bob Woodward.

Over a distinguished 30-year career in broadcast journalism, Marvin Kalb served as chief diplomatic correspondent for CBS and NBC News and as moderator of Meet the Press. He went on to serve as the first director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He is a contributing news analyst on Fox News Channel and is frequently called upon to comment on major issues of the day by many of the nation’s leading newspapers and networks. Among his many honors are two Peabody Awards, the DuPont Prize from Columbia University, and more than a half-dozen Overseas Press Club Awards.

Earlier this month, George Washington University President Steven Knapp appointed Kalb to a two year term as a James Clark Welling Presidential Fellow. "Marvin Kalb has always led by example," said Knapp. "His accomplishments as both a journalist and an educator have infused generations of reporters with the knowledge, desire, and courage to strive for excellence. It is an honor and a pleasure to continue our long association with Mr. Kalb."

Free Tickets for the Sept. 25th Kalb Report with Katie Couric will be available beginning September 4 at the GW TicketMaster on the Ground Floor of the Marvin Center (800 21st St. NW, Washington, D.C.) or online at www.kalb.gwu.edu.