KINGSTON, R.I. — October 8, 2002 — Reporting on the genetic revolution is like trying to control a runaway horse. The continual stampede of information must be rapidly examined, analyzed, and explained to the public in simple, understandable terms. And before the dust has settled, a reporter needs not only to look at the medical advances, but at the social, ethical, and legal impacts.
A panel of distinguished journalists will discuss these kinds of responsibilities and responses at the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus on October 15. The discussion will be held in Room 271, Chafee Social Science Center from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Free and open to the public, it is part of the University’s on-going fall Honors Colloquium entitled “Genetic Technology and Public Policy in the New Millennium.” The panel discussion was organized and supported by The Providence Journal.
The panel includes Sheryl Gay Stolberg, The New York Times science reporter; Boyce Rensberger, director of the Knight Science Journalism Fellowships at MIT; and G. Wayne Miller, The Providence Journal reporter. Joel Rawson, senior vice president and executive editor of The Providence Journal, will moderate.
Stolberg is a science correspondent in the Washington bureau of The New York Times. She began her career at The Providence Journal and subsequently worked for The Los Angeles Times, both in Los Angeles and as a national correspondent based in Washington, D.C.
Rensberger was a science writer for more than 32 years before assuming his current post at MIT. He reported for The Detroit Free Press, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. He was head writer of a PBS science series for children called “3-2-1-Contact!”
Miller has written for the Cape Cod Times and The Providence Journal. He has won the American Society of Newspaper Editors prize for feature writing. Miller specializes in long-term projects and has authored several books including The Work of Human Hands, Coming of Age, Toy Wars, and Men and Speed: A Wild Ride Through NASCAR’s Breakout Season. He has a personal interest in genetics.
Joel Rawson, has been with The Providence Journal since 1971 with a three-year break spent in Kentucky. He returned to the Journal in 1989 as deputy executive editor, responsible for the daily operation of the newspaper. He was named to his current post in 1997. He has been a Pulitzer Prize jurist.
In addition to The Providence Journal, major sponsors for the colloquium series are URI’s Honors Program, The URI Foundation, Theta Chi Fraternity, the Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities, the Joan Irvine Smith and Athalie R. Clarke Foundation, and the URI’s President’s Office. Additional sponsors include URI’s Offices of the Provost and the dean of Arts and Sciences, College of Nursing, Student Entertainment Committee, the Multicultural Center, the John Hazen White Sr. Center for Ethics and Public Service, the URI Alumni Association, the Department of Communications/News Bureau and Matritech.
Media contact: Jan Wenzel, 874-2116