Athens, Ga. – Some of the nation’s preeminent Supreme Court journalists and scholars, including the publisher and editor of the only blog to win a Peabody Award, will discuss Supreme Court coverage and cases Sept. 9 at 8:45 a.m. at the University of Georgia Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries.
The event, titled “SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court Coverage and Cases,” will feature Tom Goldstein, publisher of SCOTUSblog and veteran Supreme Court litigator; Amy Howe, attorney and SCOTUSblog editor; Pete Williams, NBC News Justice correspondent; Tony Mauro, Supreme Court correspondent for the National Law Journal; and Janet Murray, media professor at Georgia Tech and a member of the Board of the Peabody Awards. The program, which will be streamed live on UGA’s Center for Teaching and Learning website, http://www.ctl.uga.edu/eventstream, and on www.scotusblog.com, is sponsored by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Peabody Awards and the University of Georgia School of Law.
“The story of Peabody Award-winning SCOTUSblog is one of entrepreneurship, innovation and ultimately of the triumph of solid journalism in a marketplace rife with opinion and spin,” said Grady College Dean Charles Davis. “We have a veritable Who’s Who to discuss coverage of the United States Supreme Court and the many ways in which digital media alter the landscape.”
The first panel, held from 9 to 10:15 a.m., will focus on the rise of SCOTUSblog to preeminence as a source of information about the Supreme Court. Moderated by Peabody Awards Director Jeffrey Jones, the panel will discuss how the SCOTUSblog developed into one of the most comprehensive and trusted sources of information about the Supreme Court.
“In awarding SCOTUSblog a Peabody, the board recognized the important role SCOTUSblog plays in communicating timely, accurate and detailed information to citizens about the high court,” Jones said.
The second session, held from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m., will analyze Supreme Court coverage in the digital age. This session, moderated by Grady College telecommunications professor Bill Lee, will focus on how digital media have influenced coverage of the court.
Panelists in the final session from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. will share insights into the Roberts Court and discuss the court’s upcoming term. Moderated by Sonja R. West, associate professor of law and former U.S. Supreme Court judicial clerk, this panel will look more directly at recent cases and current issues before the court.
“The law school is pleased to play a role in bringing this program on the U.S. Supreme Court to the university and broader communities,” Georgia Law Dean Rebecca Hanner White said. “The press plays a key role in sharing information and educating the public about our nation’s highest court. SCOTUSblog has become a reliable and reputable source in this important task, and programs such as this help to further erode some of the mystery surrounding the Supreme Court.”
All sessions will be held in UGA’s Russell Special Collections Building, 300 S. Hull St. in Athens. All sessions are open to the public.
UGA Grady College
Established in 1915, the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers undergraduate majors in journalism, advertising, public relations, digital and broadcast journalism and mass media arts. The college offers two graduate degrees and is home to the Knight Chair in Health and Medical Journalism and the Peabody Awards, internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious prizes for excellence in electronic media. For more information, see http://www.grady.uga.edu or follow @UGAGrady on Twitter.
UGA School of Law
Consistently regarded as one of our nation’s top public law schools, the University of Georgia School of Law was established in 1859. With an accomplished faculty, which includes authors of some of our country’s leading legal scholarship, Georgia Law offers two degrees-the Juris Doctor and Master of Laws in U.S. Law-and is home to the renowned Dean Rusk Center for International Law and Policy. The school counts six U.S. Supreme Court judicial clerks in the last nine years among its distinguished alumni body of more than 9,200. For more information, see www.law.uga.edu.
