Steve Berta

Steve BertaOn October 11, the Diederich College of Communication and the O'Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism welcomed Steve Berta as the 2018 Burleigh Media Ethics Lecturer. With his colleagues Marisa Kwiatkowski, Mark Alesia and Tim Evans, Mr. Berta published the "Out of Balance" series for the Indianapolis Star. This series revealed that 368 gymnasts had claimed sexual abuse by the USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. 

"Out of Balance" fueled an outpouring of testimony by the victims, parents and witnesses against Nassar for his crimes, and the series won the annual O'Brien Fellowship Award for Impact in Public Service Journalism and the Tom Renner Award from Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). 

Soledad O'Brien

Soledad O'BrienSoledad O'Brien was the 2019 Nieman Lecturer. Ms. O'Brien is CEO of Starfish Media Group, a reporter for HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" and PBS News Hour and anchor / producer for "Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien". She participated in a number of events on the day of the lecture, including a panel discussion with President Lovell.

After her lecture "Reporting on Politics in 'Crazy Times,'" Ms. O'Brien answered several questions from audience members on topics that spanned covering politics as a reporter to career advice for aspiring journalists.

This event was made possible, thanks to the Diederich College of Communication, Marquette Forum, Marquette University Law School, Raynor Memorial Libraries and Center for Gender and Sexuality Studies.

Nancy Armour

Nancy ArmourMarquette University alumna Nancy Armour was the 2019 Pete and Bonnie Axthelm Memorial lecturer. A columnist for USA Today Sports, Ms. Armour presented her lecture on March 19, during which she discussed how sports journalism is changing due to digital platforms.

In addition to answering questions from students about her career as a columnist and the challenges of working in the male-dominated field of sports journalism, Ms. Armour participated in a celebration and reception to honor the 25th year of the Axthelm Lecture.