FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Jan. 12, 2007

 

Contact: Chelsey Walden

E-mail: cwalden1650@gmail.com

Phone: (608) 469-1339

 

 

Denver Posts's Lewis, three Register columnists

highlight Mid-Winter Conference

 

 

AMES, Iowa—Denver Post business columnist Al Lewis and three editorial writers from the Des Moines Register highlight the first annual Iowa SPJ Mid-Winter Conference to be held at Iowa State on Feb. 10.

            The theme for the conference is Opinion Writing in the Age of Information. The conference will be held at Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State. It is sponsored by the Greenlee School, the ISU and University of Iowa chapters of SPJ, and the Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau.

            Joining Lewis are Register columnists David Yepsen, Ken Fuson and Richard Doak. Yepsen writes about politics; Fuson is a humorist who writes about contemporary mores; and Doak writes about social issues and politics.

Yepsen is a nationally prominent political analyst who appears regularly on “Iowa Press” on Iowa Public Television and from time to time on national news talk shows. Fuson, a veteran enterprise reporter who has specialized in human-interest features, won the 2005 Best of Gannett Outstanding Achievement Award in Writing. Doak, an ISU alumnus, is officially retired after 42 years as a journalist, though his column still appears in the newspaper.

Lewis frequently writes about the follies of big business and conventional thought regarding the market and the economy. He often presents a humorous or counter-intuitive point-of-view and strives to capture the human drama as it unfolds in the business arena.

            The Denver Post columnist has a wide readership. The New York Times and MediaNews Group distribute Lewis’ syndicated column. He also appears each Sunday on KUSA-TV in Denver.

Lewis, who grew up in Northbrook, Ill., will talk about using humor in column writing and the major issues on the business beat today. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from MacMurray Collere and a master's in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Also on the schedule are sessions to help students learn how to write effective commentary. Greenlee professors Tom Beell and Dave Saldana will present seminars on opinion writing for the electronic media and print, respectively.

The conference is open to the public. Registration fee is $5. There is no cost for high school students and their advisers.

Contact ISU Chapter President Chelsey Walden for more information at cwalden1650@gmail.com or call her at (608) 469-1339.

 

 

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