WKU News

New York Times bestselling author Beth Macy and nationally recognized photographer Jared Soares will speak at WKU on March 4 for the School of Journalism & Broadcasting’s 11^th annual John B. Gaines Family Lecture Series.

The talk, titled “Outsiders and Underdogs: Telling the Untold Stories of Globalization’s Aftermath,” begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Mass Media and Technology Hall Auditorium. Admission is free.

Macy is the author of the Lukas Prize-winning non-fiction book “Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local — and Helped Save an American Town,” published in July 2014. A long-time newspaper reporter, Macy has won more than a dozen national journalism awards, including a Nieman Fellowship for Journalism at Harvard in 2010. Among the marginalized groups she has chronicled in her stories are Hispanic immigrants, African refugees, caregivers for the elderly, veterans with PTSD and displaced factory workers.

Based in Washington, D.C., Jared Soares is an independent photographer who regularly collaborates with editorial and commercial clients such as AARP, Bloomberg Businessweek, Discovery, Fast Company, The New Yorker, Wired Magazine and Whole Foods Market, among others. His prints and handmade books are held in the public collections of the Portland Art Museum, the Sloane Art Library at the University of North Carolina and the Indie Photobook Library.

Macy and Soares worked together on several editorial projects for The Roanoke (Va.) Times chronicling the effects of globalization on the lives and livelihood of common people living and working in Virginia. Their collaborative work ultimately led to Macy’s book Factory Man and will form the main topic of their joint presentation and discussion.

“Through the generous gift of the John B. Gaines family, WKU has benefitted from more than a decade of exceptional guest lecturers who have shared their numerous professional experiences with our students,” said David Lee, dean of WKU’s Potter College of Arts & Letters.  “Our speakers’ contributions to community and issues-based journalism will certainly continue that strong tradition.”

A separate book signing by Macy and picture presentation by Soares will immediately follow their presentation in the auditorium.

“Beth and Jared bring a unique perspective that will not only be beneficial to our journalism students, but to all WKU students and members of the Bowling Green community who are interested in the grassroots effects of globalization,” said Loup Langton, director of WKU’s School of Journalism & Broadcasting. “We are very fortunate to have them both on our campus at the same time.”

About the John B. Gaines Family Lecture Series: Launched in 2004 in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Gaines’ family-owned newspaper, the Daily News, the lecture series has brought several award-winning international journalists to WKU.  Previous lecture participants include Todd Gillman, Washington Bureau Chief for the Dallas Morning News; investigative freelance journalist Lucy Komisar; newspaper journalism icon John Seigenthaler; Emmy award-winning photojournalist Dai Sugano of the San Jose Mercury News; Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Leonard Pitts of The Miami Herald; New Orleans Times-Picayune staff writer Mark Schleifstein; and Chicago Tribune photojournalist and official White House photographer Pete Souza.