Past Events

Fall 2024

Occurring as early voting begins and shortly after the second presidential debate, this event features a dynamic fireside chat with prominent media figures and political strategists from both major parties. Moderated by Charlie Cook, one of the nation’s leading authorities on U.S. elections and political trends, this discussion covers current party dynamics, key swing states, potential game-changers and the future of the political landscape. Engage in a robust Q&A session to deepen your understanding and prepare to cast an informed vote in November.

Spring 2024

The 2024 John Breaux Symposium: AI In Mass Communication

The widespread use of artificial intelligence tools is now a reality, including in the communication industry. How are these tools being used? What concerns should we have? How will the industries change? What do practitioners need to know now and why? The 2024 John Breaux Symposium—the Reilly Center’s signature annual event–examines these questions and more. This event features collaborative presentations and live demos from AI experts and explores its use in communication industries while also examining the accompanying ethical considerations. Manuscripts developed from the 2024 John Breaux Symposium will be featured in an issue of the International Journal of Strategic Communication.

Authoritarian Journalism: Book Talk with Dr. Ruth Moon

In her new book “Authoritarian Journalism: Controlling the News in Post-Conflict Rwanda,” Ruth Moon, Ph.D., examines the force of globalization and its impacts on reporting techniques in Rwanda, ultimately drawing conclusions applicable to journalism fields everywhere. Building on months of ethnographic work, Moon takes a deep dive into journalistic practice in Rwanda, a country where journalists, facing pressure to please the state, have lost confidence in themselves, and readers have lost faith in local media. This discussion sheds light not just on journalism practice in Rwanda, but also what it means to be a journalist in an authoritarian country.

Meet Me in the Middle: A Multicultural Panel Discussion

Watch an interactive, cross-cultural panel discussion titled "Meet Me in the Middle: A Multicultural Panel Discussion," by the LSU Bateman team, supported by the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs, which took place on Feb. 20 at 3:30 p.m. in the Holliday Forum of the Journalism Building. Panel members shared their experiences of living in multiple cultures and navigating between them.

This event is one of many elements created by LSU’s Bateman team as part of an annual, national public relations competition. The campaign increased awareness of Culturs, a global multicultural magazine with a mission of sharing the experiences of people who live between cultures. The inspirational panel discussion features multicultural storytelling.

Dismantling Racism: Book Talk with Dr. Tina Harris

In her new book “Dismantling Racism: One Relationship at a Time,” internationally renowned interracial communication scholar and Manship School Endowed Chair Tina Harris, Ph.D., challenges readers to think critically about the complex conditions and personal impact of racism. During the discussion, Harris encourages organic interracial relations that implement changes in systems that sustain racial division.

Fall 2023

Behind the Scenes of the 2023 Gubernatorial Election

In the race to election day, Louisiana candidates worked hard to outwit each other in order to secure the most votes. A panel of four campaign leaders and political communication professionals discuss the inner workings of four Louisiana gubernatorial campaigns. This event informs viewers on the most recent developments in campaign funding while delving into the core tactics of each team.

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, Film Screening and Panel Discussion

Twenty-six percent of Americans live with a physical and/or invisible disability. Americans with physical and/or invisible disabilities make up 26% of the population. Disability rights were overlooked by the civil rights movements of the 1960s, garnering the term "invisible minority." But soon after Woodstock, a revolution began in a run-down summer camp for teenagers with disabilities that changed their lives and spurred a historic movement that resulted in the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. The Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs hosts a film screening followed by a panel discussion on the current state of disability civil rights and the role college communities play in supporting those with disabilities.

How to Win the War on Truth: Book Presentation with author Samuel C. Spitale

In an era saturated by misinformation and fake news, it is tough to sort through and comprehend what is genuinely true. In his book How to Win the War on Truth: An Illustrated Guide to How Mistruths Are Sold, Why They Stick, and How to Reclaim Reality, Manship alumnus and author Samuel C. Spitale delves more into this topic. This book provides an essential road map for navigating the nuances of truth and deception. Throughout the discussion, Spitale emphasizes the deceptive tactics utilized by those who wish to distort the truth and encourages participants to challenge and refute misconceptions.

The Hubert Humphrey Legacy: A Conversation Between Robert Mann and Samuel Freedman

Hubert Humphrey attended LSU as a graduate student in 1939–40, which led to a significant impact on his views on civil rights. Bob Mann, a prolific novelist and journalist, and Samuel Freedman, an award-winning author, journalist, and professor, discuss the impact and influence of Humphrey in this conversation. This discussion explored the intertextuality between the books Into the Bright Sunshine by Freedman (2023) and When Freedom Would Triumph by Mann (2006), both of which include Humphrey as a key figure and navigate experiences in Louisiana during a challenging racial climate.

Equity at the Ballot Box: Discriminatory Obstacles to Voting

Racial minorities are primarily the focus of voter intimidation, suppression and election result manipulation tactics. In this new episode of Racism: Dismantling the System, advocates and experts addressed measures being taken in the US to limit voting in response to baseless claims of widespread fraud and a stolen presidential election in 2020. This panel discussion focused on these methods and how communities are trying to construct a more equitable democratic process in the face of moves to limit voting rights.