Former Washington Post, Boston Globe Editor Martin Baron to Visit LSU, Discuss Book ‘Collision of Power’

September 24, 2024

BATON ROUGE—Martin Baron, former executive editor of The Washington Post and The Boston Globe, will speak to LSU Manship School of Mass Communication students in the Journalism Building’s Holliday Forum from 10:30 to 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26. He will discuss the difficulties in covering the Trump White House amid “fake news” claims, coverage of this year’s presidential election and what journalists can do to regain public trust.

Baron has been at the helm of journalism for decades. Notably, from 2001 to 2012, he was the top editor at The Boston Globe, where he oversaw an investigation exposing the Boston Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal in 2002. That work won The Boston Globe a Pulitzer Prize and was featured in the 2015 Academy Award-winning film “Spotlight.” In 2013, Baron joined The Washington Post, where he led the newspaper to multiple Pulitzers and navigated coverage of the Trump presidency. He retired in 2021.

In preparation for Baron’s visit, the LSU Ogden Honors College will host a screening of “Spotlight” on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 6 p.m. in 135 French House. And at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday Sept. 26, Baron will talk about politics and investigative journalism in the Hans and Donna Sternberg Salon at French House, followed by a light reception. Faculty and students are invited to these events.

LSU journalism professionals-in-residence Len Apcar and Lisa Frazier Page hosted a student book club in spring 2024 that discussed Baron’s new book, “Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post.” Apcar will moderate the discussion in the Holliday Forum on Sept. 26, with contributions from Page and students from the book club. Audience Q&A will follow. The discussion will be livestreamed on the Manship School’s YouTube channel.

These events are hosted in partnership with LSU Ogden Honors College.

For more information, contact acharbonnet1@lsu.edu.

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LSU Manship School of Mass Communication ranks among the strongest collegiate communication programs 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, along with four graduate degree programs: Master of Mass Communication, Ph.D. in Media and Public Affairs, Certificate of Strategic Communication and a dual MMC/Law degree.