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CNN’s Sanjay Gupta to speak at UGA

ATHENS, Ga. – Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s medical correspondent, will speak on his experiences as an embedded journalist from 8 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6, at the University of Georgia Chapel. In 2003 Gupta spent time in Kuwait reporting on various medical aspects of the escalating tension between the United States and Iraq. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Gupta reported as a guest of the U.S. Navy’s medical unit, the “Devil Docs.” He provided viewers with exclusive reports from points along the unit’s travel to the outskirts of Baghdad where they delivered emergency medical care near the frontline of battle from a mobile field hospital known as a Forward Resuscitating Surgical System (FRSS). While reporting on the Devil Docs last April, Gupta made headlines when he unexpectedly became part of the story and performed emergency brain surgery on an injured child. As the only neurosurgeon available to treat a patient with a severe brain injury, Gupta said it was his moral duty to help. However, it raised questions about the blurring of roles between doctor and journalist. Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, plays an integral role in the medical unit news coverage for CNN, which includes daily packages, the half-hour weekend show “Weekend House Call” and coverage of breaking medical news. Based in Atlanta, he also contributes health news stories to CNN.com. Cosponsored by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Indian Cultural Exchange, the event is free and open to the public. Established in 1915, the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication provides seven undergraduate majors: advertising, broadcast news, magazines, newspapers, public relations, publication management and telecommunication arts. The college offers three graduate degrees and is home to the Peabody Awards, one of the premier award programs in broadcasting.