Katie Couric, a former anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News, co-anchor of NBC’s Today show and Yahoo Global News Anchor, will be the first speaker in Lehigh University’s 2024-2025 Compelling Perspectives series on September 17 at 5 p.m. in Zoellner Arts Center.
President Joseph J. Helble ’82 and Couric will participate in a discussion guided by questions submitted by audience members. A brief Q&A with the audience will follow.
The New York Times bestselling author and first woman to solo anchor a network evening newscast is the first of three speakers slated for the Compelling Perspective series this academic year. Compelling Perspectives, which this year will focus on the role of media in contemporary society, provides the opportunity to hear perspectives from both traditional and new media on navigating the modern landscape to access information. In its second year, the program aims to widen the aperture on issues of societal importance by encouraging open conversations on challenging topics and modeling constructive discourse.
Mainstream media has long been considered a cornerstone of informed democracy. It is lauded for its professional standards, editorial oversight, and commitment to fact-based reporting. This perspective will explore traditional media as a source of information, its challenges in the digital age (and the inherent contrasts in reporting from non-traditional media sources) and its role in fostering an informed electorate. With the first event in this academic year’s series occurring prior to November’s U.S. presidential election and amidst a period of global unrest, Lehigh’s intent was to select a speaker who was a veteran of traditional media.
Couric, who founded Katie Couric Media (KCM) in 2017 and is a co-founder of Stand Up to Cancer, has won numerous awards for her work as a journalist, including a duPont-Columbia, a Peabody, two Edward R. Murrows, a Walter Cronkite Award and multiple Emmys. In addition to producing daily newsletters, a podcast and a digital video series, KCM has worked with brands to create content addressing social issues such as gender equality, environmental sustainability and mental health.
KCM has also produced multiple documentaries, including “America Inside Out with Katie Couric,” a six-part series for National Geographic; “Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric,” for National Geographic; “Under the Gun,” which aired on EPIX; and Fed Up, available on iTunes, Amazon and YouTube. Couric was the executive producer of “Unbelievable” on Netflix and is developing other scripted projects.
Additionally, Couric has authored “The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives.” Her newest book and memoir, “Going There,” was released in October 2021.
This will mark Couric’s second appearance on campus; she delivered a speech at the university’s 131st Commencement ceremonies in 1999.
The event has reached capacity and registration is now closed. For those who still wish to attend, contact Lehigh's events team at inevents@lehigh.edu or 610-758-4682 to be added to a waitlist. For additional information, visit the Compelling Perspectives presented by Lehigh University webpage, which will be continually updated.
