A reporter who has covered nine presidents, from J.F.K. to G.W. Bush, will appear via teleconference at the University of Denver’s Cable Center studio on Feb. 8.
Helen Thomas, who has spent 57 years as a White House correspondent and bureau chief for United Press International, will discuss the press and the presidency as part of the distance-learning course Congress, the Presidency & 21st Century Media.
The session will be delivered from C-SPAN’s studios in Washington, D.C., to the Cable Center studio, which features real-time interaction between the speaker and students. Students will get to ask Thomas questions, says Christen Adams, the Cable Center’s coordinator of programs and education.
The program featuring Thomas will air Feb. 9 at 4 p.m. MST on C-SPAN3.
Thomas was the first woman officer of the National Press Club and the first woman member and president of the White House Correspondents Association.
Her appearance is part of the winter quarter speakers’ series to examine how 21st century technology — from cable television’s 24-7 news cycle to the Internet — impacts the political process, and how television, congress, the presidency and the modern political process intersect.
Other upcoming speakers this quarter will explore how technology has changed the way Congress communicates issues and ideas to the public:
James Rosen, Washington correspondent, FOX News, Feb. 6
Thomas “Mack” McLarty, former White House chief of staff, Clinton administration, Feb. 15
Thomas Mann, co-author of The Broken Branch: How Congress is Failing America and How to Get it Back on Track, Feb. 22
The course is funded partially by a grant from the Barr Foundation and Amos Hostetter. Programming is a partnership of the Cable Center, C-SPAN and DU.