Past Events
Fall 2018
Louisiana Secretary of State candidates convened at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication to discuss their vision for office as part of LSU President King Alexander’s multiple-day Behind the Ballot Symposium. The forum explored factors that impact voter behavior and will include questions on election integrity, college-aged voters and voting rights.
Questioning panelists included Jeremy Alford, publisher and editor of LaPolitics Weekly; Jessica Rosgaard, supervising editor and producer for 89.9 WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio (NPR affiliate); Stewart Lockett, LSU Student Body President; and Natalie Anderson, The Daily Reveille’s editor-in-chief. Moderated by Manship School senior journalism student, Laryssa Bonacquisti.
Re-envisioning Louisiana: The State We Want to Be In
This day long event held October 16th, 2018 centered around the pivotal question that many young Louisianans ask themselves as they contemplate college or beginning their careers: should I stay in Louisiana or should I go? Experts on economic development, criminal justice, education, disaster prevention, arts and more explored the adversities and opportunities for growth in Louisiana.
Spring 2018
From the President to the Press Briefing:
Exploring the Role of the Presidential Press Secretary
As presidential administrations transition, so do the roles and responsibilities of
presidential press secretaries. Former presidential press secretaries Ari Fleischer,
press secretary for President George W. Bush, and Mike McCurry, who served under President
Clinton, shared their insider perspectives about serving in this key communication
role. In what ways does the role change with each administration, and how does it
remain the same? How have relationships with the press evolved over time? Has the
role of the presidential press secretary changed in response to the digitized media
landscape? Fleischer and McCurry shared their thoughts on these and more during their
visit to the Manship School.
Hear them Roar: Voicing the Truth on Sexual Harassment in Media & Politics
Our national news features near-daily breaking stories of alleged sexual harassers
and their victims, leaving some people stunned and others surprised it took this long
for a national conversation to begin. Like other industries that wield power and money,
media and politics are at the forefront of the conversation. LSU’s Manship School
convened media, government and law experts to discuss the role of these industries
in building the sexual harassment structure and how they can serve as instruments
of change. Senator Mary Landrieu, center, opened and moderated the panel. Public relations
and journalism instructors Sadie Wilks and Steve Bien-Aime, Ph.D., joined legal expert
Michelle Craig and journalists Amy Brittain (The Washington Post) and Gloria Riviera
(ABC News) in a robust discussion of this salient public issue.
2018 Sports Communication Summit
The debate is hot: How much money should local communities shell out to entice (and
keep) professional sports teams? The Houston Astros World Series championship rallied
the city just weeks after Houston suffered historic flooding. Sports teams also generate
tangible economic benefits, but at what cost to the community? Public investments
in sports bring with them enormous price tags that leave people divided. Should communities
fund these teams, or is the effort futile?
Dr. Charles Steinberg, President of the PAwtucket Red Sox, emphasized the power of sports teams to impact the lives of the people who care about them in his keynote address. Matt Moscona, Manship School alum and host After Further Review on ESPN Radio: Baton Rouge, moderated a panel discussion by experts on the merits and limitations of public funding in sports.
2018 Louisiana Redistricting Summit
The 2018 Louisiana Redistricting Summit featured dialogue from top Louisiana leaders
on redistricting in the state, an issue which shapes future elections and influences
who represents Louisiana’s citizens locally, in Louisiana’s state legislature, and
in Congress. Participants included nationally-renowned redistricting thought leaders,
university students from around the state, and a bipartisan group of Louisiana legislators.
Public affairs expert Marie DesOrmeaux Centanni of Lafayette served as emcee for the event, and Louisiana Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne (pictured) served as keynote speaker.
Fall 2017
A Conversation with Dean Baquet
New Orleans native Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The New York Times, addressed
the political and financial pressures on American journalism in a conversation sponsored
by the LSU Ogden Honors College and Manship School of Mass Communication's Reilly
Center. Three students questioned Baquet about a number of topics, including the president’s
strained relations with the media, accusations of “fake news,” public trust in the
media, the changing economic model of journalism and race in the newsroom. The three
interviewers, Sarah Gamard, William Taylor Potter and Kayla Swanson, are students
of LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication. Gamard is also an Ogden Honors College
student.
She Persisted: Women at the Ballot Box & on the Campaign Trail
Despite seeing the first woman nominated to represent a major party in the 2016 presidential
election, women remain underrepresented among elected officials in the United States.
This panel, featuring exclusively female expert perspectives, explored why there are
so few women in government and addressed specific challenges women face today in becoming
elected officials. Panelists also discussed current efforts underway across the nation,
on both sides of the aisle, to encourage more women to run for office and what that
means for the future.
Neither Liberal nor Conservative: Top Strategists and Scholars
Debate Campaigning in Polarized America
The consensus in today’s political spectrum is that Americans are extremely polarized
and can’t agree on anything. Surprisingly, however, truly ideological liberals and
conservatives exist in a distinct minority only among those who are deeply engaged
in political life. The panel was inspired by new research released in “Neither Liberal
nor Conservative: Ideological Innocence in the American Public,” in which Donald Kinder
and Nathan Kalmoe, assistant professor at the Manship School, argue that American
public opinion is in a state of ideological innocence. If this is the case, how do
Americans make election and policy decisions? What are the implications for campaign
and issue strategists? The panel explored these questions.
Resistance in the Digital Age:
Exercising or Abusing First Amendment Rights
Changes in technology and communication practices have raised questions about when
efforts to convey political protest are protected, peaceful, and safe. Changes in
the meaning and exercise of first amendment rights reflect these technological changes
in the digital sphere. This panel focused on the implications of protest's movement
to the online world.
This panel of activists, journalists, and scholars discussed the opportunities and challenges faced by reporters, law enforcement officials, and protesters because of changes in technology and the introduction of new communication platforms.
Lunch & Learn
A networking program hosted by the Reilly Center
Meet our past guests
Featured Guests
Reilly Center Speaker Series
David Karpf
Author, Analytic Activism
Melissa Michelson
Author, Listen, We Need to Talk
Lesley Fair
Attorney, Federal Trade Commission
Steven Luckert
Senior Curator, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
Charlie Cook
Editor & Publisher, The Cook Political Report
