Stahl to Speak Today for Wynn Lecture Series

Stahl, a 29-year veteran with CBS, will speak about current events in television news at the free lecture sponsored by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Organizers said Stahl was asked to speak because of her stature in the field of journalism.

"We wanted to get a prominent person, someone with authority and someone working on current news events," said Richard Cole, dean of the journalism school.

The journalism school began working to schedule Stahl earlier in the semester, Cole said.

"It was difficult to schedule, but once we worked it into her schedule, she was thrilled to come," he said.

Stahl's appearance is the latest of several occasions when CBS reporters have visited the journalism school in the past. "The school has had close ties with CBS over the years," Cole said.

Other CBS personalities that have participated at school functions include Dan Rather, Walter Cronkite, Bill Plante, Bob Schieffer and UNC graduate Draggan Mihailovich, who works at "60 Minutes II."

The lecture's planners said they were glad the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., did not prevent Stahl from coming to Chapel Hill.

"With anything, there might be something that pull them away and they can't come," said Jennifer Lamb, assistant dean for alumni and development at the journalism school. "We just crossed our fingers."

Stahl began her career at CBS News, reporting on the Watergate scandal in 1972. Since that time, she has covered the 1981 assassination attempt against President Reagan, the Persian Gulf War and the recent terrorist attacks in New York City.

She also has covered every Soviet-U.S. summit since 1978 and every national party convention and election night since 1974.

Prior to joining "60 Minutes," Stahl was the CBS News White House correspondent during the Carter and Reagan presidencies and a portion of George Bush's term. She also has moderated the Sunday morning public affairs show, "Face the Nation," interviewing newsmakers such as Yasser Arafat, George Bush, Margaret Thatcher and Boris Yeltsin.

Stahl based her 1999 book, "Reporting Live," on her experiences covering the Washington beat.

Stahl has won several Emmys, the Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Television presented by the Radio and Television News Directors Association and many other awards.

The Earl Wynn Distinguished Lecture Series, dedicated to issues in broadcast journalism, is one of four series sponsored by the journalism school each year. Last year's Wynn speaker was CNN's Larry King.

The series honors Wynn, who founded UNC's Department of Radio, Television and Motion Picture Studies at the end of World War II.

The program trained successful film and TV producers, writers, station owners and on-air and film talent before it was dismantled by the University.

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.