Berkeley - How do Americans decide what they think about the world and their country's role in it? How does The New York Times, the country's most powerful newspaper, influence American opinion about foreign affairs, the "war on terrorism," or a possible attack on Iraq?The public will have a chance to find out on Monday, Nov. 18, at the University of California, Berkeley, when two leaders of The New York Times - publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr. and executive editor Howell Raines - take part in a wide-ranging conversation at Zellerbach Auditorium.
In "Setting the Agenda: The New York Times and America's View of the World," Sulzberger and Raines will discuss how decisions are made about The Times' foreign affairs coverage, how that coverage has been adapted to the post-Sept. 11 world, and how the newspaper influences American attitudes about the country's role in the world.
Leading the discussion will be Orville Schell, dean of UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, and Mark Danner, a professor at the journalism school, a staff writer for The New Yorker and director of the new Goldman Forum on the Press and Foreign Affairs, which is sponsoring the event.
"This is a unique opportunity to understand how The New York Times views its role," said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl. "While many of us understand that the way we receive our news has changed a great deal over the past few decades, few of us understand how profoundly - and how deeply - that change has affected the way in which we as a people and a nation view the world."
The event inaugurates the Goldman Forum on the Press and Foreign Affairs, a series of lectures, dialogues and scholarship to foster debate about how the American press covers critical world issues and how it might better meet the needs of an increasingly diverse public. In addition, a series of "Goldman Dialogues" will be held on campus featuring salon-style discussions aimed primarily at the campus community.
Future Goldman programs will explore coverage of the war on terrorism, the Bush Administration's new national security strategy, and the evolution of the media in the Middle East.
The Goldman Forum was created with support from the Rhoda and Richard Goldman Fund. It is based at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism in North Gate Hall.
The New York Times program, which begins at 7:30 p.m., will be broadcast at a later date by KQED Radio's City Arts and Lectures.
Tickets are free to students and $10 each for the general public. They can be obtained by contacting the Cal Performances box office at (510) 642-9988.
