MEDIA ADVISORY: Rear Admiral John Kirby & Gordon Johndroe to Speak at LSU Classified Communications Event

April 3, 2019

Baton Rouge, LA – Rear Admiral John Kirby USN (ret) and Vice President of Government Operations Communications at The Boeing Company, Gordon Johndroe, will keynote “Classified Communications: Messaging for National Security and Foreign Affairs” on April 8 at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication. The summit is hosted by the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs, Cornerstone Government Affairs and Taylor Porter and will focus on how mass communication professionals cover and disperse military, foreign affairs and national security information. The event will investigate the methods the military and national security organizations use to keep the public informed in peacetime, conflict and war.

• WHAT: “Classified Communications: Messaging for National Security and Foreign Affairs”
• WHO:
  • Rear Admiral John Kirby, retired U.S. Navy and frequent CNN military and diplomatic analyst
  • Gordon Johndroe, Vice President of Operations Communications at The Boeing Company
• WHEN: Monday, April 8, 2019, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
  • (Media availability for interviews is slated from 5:55 – 6:15 p.m. Contact smalin@lsu.edu to schedule in advance.)
• WHERE: LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication
  • Holliday Forum inside the Journalism Building
  • 144 Field House Drive (at the corner of Field House Drive and North Stadium Drive)
  • Louisiana State University
  • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803
• STREAM: This event will stream live at http://bit.ly/2YyuYTs.
• PARK:    Free parking is open to the public in the Union Square Garage (across from Barnes & Noble on Highland Road). Find walking and driving directions here: https://lsu.edu/manship/research/centers-labs/rcmpa/journalism_building_directions.php 
• NOTES: This event is free and open to the public. Reserve a seat here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/classified-communications-messaging-for-national-security-foreign-affairs-tickets-58295339931
• SPONSORS: Cornerstone Government Affairs and Taylor Porter

Find full biographies on Admiral Kirby and Johndroe on the Reilly Center’s website: www.lsureillycenter.com.  

This summit is the Reilly Center’s second annual Academy of Applied Politics Speaker Series, a premiere program featuring renowned communication and political thought leaders. Last year’s event, “From the President to the Press Briefing: Exploring the Role of the Presidential Press Secretary,” hosted former presidential press secretaries Ari Fleischer, press secretary for President George W. Bush, and Mike McCurry, who served under President Clinton.

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LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication ranks among the top schools of mass communication and journalism in the country, with its robust emphasis on media and public affairs. It offers undergraduate degrees in public relations, journalism, political communication, digital advertising and pre-law; and four graduate degree programs: Ph.D. in media and public affairs, master of mass communication, dual MMC/law degree and a graduate certificate in strategic communication. Its public relations, digital advertising and student media teams frequently earn national recognition, including the 2018 national Bateman Case Study Competition of the Public Relations Student Society of America.

The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs is partnership-driven, action-oriented, and dedicated to exploring contemporary issues at the intersection of mass communication and public life. Its interdisciplinary approach draws together experts from diverse fields to advance research and dialogue. The intent is to inspire our communities to think deeply, take action, develop solutions and broaden knowledge. Underlying the Center’s endeavors is to strengthen and advance the Manship School’s national and state leadership in media and politics.

Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc. is a full-service, bipartisan public affairs firm with 80+ professionals and offices in Washington, DC, Annapolis, MD, Atlanta, GA, Austin, TX, Baton Rouge, LA, Chicago, IL, Des Moines, IA, Houston, TX, Jackson, MS, and Springfield, IL.  Cornerstone represents a diverse group of clients from myriad industries and sectors, and maintains expertise in a wide range of issue areas, including agriculture, cyber security, defense, education, energy, health, homeland security, international affairs, tax policy, telecommunications, and transportation and infrastructure.  For more information, please visit Cornerstone’s website at www.cgagroup.com

Founded in 1912, Taylor Porter is Louisiana’s Law Firm® with more than 100 years of a strong tradition of a commitment to excellence and to a high level of quality, client service reflected in our long-standing relationships with many local, regional, and national clients across a variety of industries and diverse practice areas. Taylor Porter is the exclusive Louisiana law firm member for MSI Global Alliance, enabling the Firm to source reliable, local expertise wherever in the world clients are involved in doing business. Taylor Porter provides community service to more than 100 nonprofit organizations and leadership agencies across the state of Louisiana, embraced the role of “corporate citizen.” Taylor Porter is the proud recipient of the 2018 Better Business Bureau of South Central Louisiana Torch Award in Ethics.