Indiana University School of Journalism

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A columnist and author, a public radio executive and a sports broadcaster will share their experiences and ideas about media as part of the School of Journalism’s fall Speaker Series.

Wall Street Journal columnist and author Jeff Zaslow, National Public Radio CEO Vivian Schiller and Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck will visit Bloomington for the series of free lectures open to the public. All talks are at 7 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.

Jeff Zaslow

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WSJ columnist and author Jeff Zaslow visits Sept. 14.

Zaslow, co-author of the best-selling book, The Last Lecture, kicks off the series Sept. 14. The book’s co-author is the late professor Randy Pausch, whose last talk to Carnegie Mellon students about celebrating life and living grabbed public attention.

For his Wall Street Journal column, "Moving On," Zaslow focuses on life’s transitions, and when he heard about Pausch, who had terminal cancer, he decided to attend the lecture as a possible column topic. Zaslow’s resulting column and the video of the talk that circulated on the Internet propelled Pausch to international attention, and soon he and Zaslow were compiling the story into book form. Today, The Last Lecture has been translated into 44 languages and has spent weeks as No. 1 on The New York Times best-seller lists.

In addition to his continued reporting for the Journal, Zaslow is at work on a book about yet another American whose philosophy on staying focused in times of trouble captivated readers’ attention. He and Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who safely landed his jet in the Hudson River, are co-authoring Highest Duty, set for release this fall.

Vivian Schiller

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National Public Radio CEO Vivian Schiller will speak Oct. 19.

Schiller, who visits Oct. 19, made the switch from print to broadcast earlier this year when she moved from the senior vice president and general manager of The New York Times to National Public Radio, where she is CEO. In this position, she oversees all NPR operations, including the organization’s partnerships with more than 800 member stations. She just led NPR’s redesign of its Web site.

While she’s new to radio, Schiller does have broadcast and multimedia experience. She spent four years as general manager of the Discovery Times channel, a joint venture of The New York Times and Discovery Communications. Under her leadership, Discovery Times Channel tripled its distribution while achieving critical acclaim for its award-winning journalistic programming.

Schiller also served as senior vice president at CNN Productions, where documentaries produced during her tenure won two Peabody Awards, two Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Awards and five Emmys. At the Times, Schiller oversaw the day-to-day operations of NYTimes.com, the newspaper’s Web site.

Joe Buck

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Sportscaster Joe Buck wraps up the series Nov. 10.

Joe Buck, a six-time Emmy Award-winner who handles lead play-by-play duties for Fox Sports’ Emmy Award-winning coverage of Major League Baseball and the National Football League, appears Nov. 10.

His career path may inspire journalism students. His broadcasting career began in 1989, while he was a telecommunications undergraduate at IU. That year, he called play-by-play for the Louisville Redbirds of the American Association, a minor league affiliate of the Cardinals, and was a reporter for ESPN’s coverage of the Triple-A All-Star Game.

In 1994, he was the youngest announcer to call a full slate of NFL games on network television. Before that, he was a radio and television announcer for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1991 to 2007.

Buck is the son of the late broadcasting legend Jack Buck, whose career spanned parts of six decades. They are the only father and son to each call the Super Bowl on network television.

About the series

Since its inception in the fall of 2006, the Speaker Series has brought to campus highly regarded journalists and authors, including Steve Kroft, Anna Quindlen, Nina Totenberg, Elizabeth Gilbert, Lisa Ling, Frank DeFord, David Halberstam and Christopher Hitchens.

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