Sarah Baker ’03, Carolina Miranda ’93, Kate O’Brian ’80, and Brooke Hauser.

Thursday, October 3, 7:30 p.m., Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall
View a video of the panel discussion.

How has the transformation of the media landscape affected journalists and readers? Can traditional media and social media combat the rise in mis- and dis-information? Join us for this timely panel discussion with guests Sarah Baker ’03; Carolina Miranda ’93; and Kate O’Brian ’80. Brooke Hauser, the editor in chief of the Daily Hampshire Gazette, will moderate the discussion. This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Friends of the Smith College Libraries, Smith College English Department and American Studies Program.

Panelists

Sarah E. Baker ’03 has worked for over a dozen years as a TV news producer. She is currently the Booking Director for MSNBC, serving as the point of contact for guests and contributors in Washington DC. She previously served as NBC's News Coordinating Political Producer/ Booker also in the Washington D.C. Metro Area. Earlier, she worked as a Senior Producer at ABC News, as a Senior Editorial Producer at CNN and a Senior Political Producer at ABC News Digital Media Group. She got her first break in television news as a Smith student intern at ABC.

Carolina A. Miranda ’93 is a Los Angeles Times staff writer covering a wide gamut of culture, including visual art, architecture and film, not to mention performance art cabaret divas. Her work often looks at how art intersects with politics, gender and race — from the ways in which artists are tackling the U.S.-Mexico border to the ways in which art intersects with development and gentrification. She is a regular contributor to KCRW’s “Press Play” and was a winner of the 2017 Rabkin Prize in Visual Arts Journalism.

Kate O’Brian ’80 is the founder and CEO of O’ Media Strategies, a media consulting group. Kate works with a range of organizations including, among others, the Washington Post, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the United Nations, and the Voice of America. Previously, Kate served as President of the award-winning Al Jazeera-America (2013-2016) and before that she had a long career at ABC, finishing as Senior V-P for News.

Moderator

Brooke Hauser is Editor in Chief of the Daily Hampshire Gazette. A longtime journalist, she has written for Allure, Glamour, Marie Claire, Premiere, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. She is the author of two award-winning books, Enter Helen: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Modern Single Woman and The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens.

Past Events

Video recordings of many of the Friends' events are available on the Libraries' YouTube channel.

McGrath Lecture: Conceptional Sensations - From Germany to Japan and Back Again

Veronika Schäpers delivered the annual McGrath Lecture in Contemporary Book Arts, a series which honors master printer Harold P. McGrath (1921-2000). Wednesday, October 31, 2018.

Panel Discussion: Publishing for Young Readers - The Success of the Baby-sitter's Club and Other Publishing Phenomena

Ann M. Martin ’77, bestselling author of the Baby-sitter's Club series, and two legendary publishing professionals, Jean Feiwel and Liz Szabla, give an insider’s look at publishing for children over the past thirty years. Dean of the College and Vice President for Campus Life Susan Etheredge ‘77 moderated the panel. Thursday, October 11, 2018. View video.

In Humility, Knowledge: One Smithie's Journey into our Wild, Lascivious Language

Kory Stamper '96, the author of Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries delivered the McGrath lecture. Stamper is a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster where she also writes, edits, and appears in the "Ask the Editor" video series. She blogs regularly on language and lexicography on her blog Harmless Drudgery, and her writing has appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, and on Slate.com. Thursday October 5, 2017. View video.

Italia Mia: How English and American Travelers Made Italy their Own

Werner Gundersheimer presented a lecture based on his collection of more than 600 published and manuscript travel narratives about Italy. Dr. Gundersheimer is director emeritus of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. Thursday, October 6, 2016. View video.

Trans-formations: Writing and Understanding Transgender Lives

Amy Ellis Nutt, author of the recent New York Times bestseller Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family, about a transgender identical twin, spoke about her work. April 14, 2016. View video.

From Paper to People: A Journalistic Approach to the Archives

Author and journalist Brooke Hauser discussed her experiences researching the life of Helen Gurley Brown (1938-2012.) Monday, November 9, 2015. View video.

Meg Wolitzer in Conversation with Bethanne Patrick '85

New York Times best-selling novelist Meg Wolitzer spoke about her work, her time at Smith and the influence of Sylvia Plath. April 16, 2015. View video.

What Does the Future Hold for the Past? Envisaging Smith College Special Collections

Smith's new Director of Special Collections, Dr. Beth Myers, spoke on the place of Special Collections in the scholarly world of tomorrow. November 12, 2014. View video.

Piper Kerman, Up Close and Personal

The author of Orange is the New Black, Piper Kerman '92, spoke with book critic Bethanne Patrick '85 about her advocacy work highlighting the conditions of incarcerated women, and how the Netflix series is making this topic a national conversation. October 2, 2014. View video.

"Stukulele" Concert and Workshops

Stuart Fuchs, aka "Stukulele," returned to campus. Fuchs specializes in Ukulele, Gypsy Jazz & Classical Guitar, Didjeridoo, and Percussion. September 27, 2014.

Su Meck '14 read from her book "I Forgot to Remember"

Su, an Ada Comstock Scholar who graduated in May 2014, read from her book about her total memory loss following an accident at age 22. April 25, 2014.

Education as Inspiration: How Smith Informs Four Writers' Lives

Four alums discussed how Smith influences their writing lives, 7:30 pm, Sweeney Concert Hall, October 18, 2013. View video.

Empowering Young People with Stories

Ann M. Martin '77, author of The Baby-sitters Club® series took part in a panel discussion with David Levithan, Virginia Euwer Wolff '59 and Emma Straub. Moderated by Bethanne Patrick '85, April 11, 2013. View video.

Margaret Mitchell's Year at Smith: Culture and Context

Former Smith College President Carol Christ and Susan Van Dyne, Professor of the Study of Women and Gender and Chair of the Archives Concentration gave a presentation on October 25, 2012. View video.

Against Wind and Tide, Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1947-1986

Reeve Lindbergh read from her mother’s writings to provide context for this, the final installment of her published diaries. November 7th, 2012. View video.

The Future for Books in the Digital Age

University of Virginia professor, Michael F. Suarez S.J., spoke about the enduring relevance of the printed book. Read more about his topic. April 4, 2012.

Books, Libraries, and the Digital Future

A lecture presented by Harvard University Librarian Robert Darnton who is, among many things, the driving force behind the Digital Public Library of America project. March 12, 2012. View video.

Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West.

Author and executive editor of The New Yorker, Dorothy Wickenden discussed the adventures of her grandmother  Dorothy Woodruff with Rosamond Underwood (both 1909 alums) in remote Elkhead Colorado. March 1, 2012.

Romance Literature: Love it or Leave it 

“Book maven” Bethanne Patrick '85 moderated this very enjoyable discussion with May Chen ’00, Barbara Keiler ’74, Stephanie Dray ’93, and Sarah MacLean ’00, a best-selling regency romance novelist. Wednesday, April 13, 2011. View video. 

Shake It Up, Baby! The Future of Academic Libraries

Lecture by Sarah Thomas ’70, Bodley’s Librarian & Director of the Oxford University Library Services; former chair of the Friends of the Smith College Libraries; and Smith Medal recipient, 2010. April 14, 2010. View video.

William Allan Neilson: "A King o' Men [and Women!] for a' That" 

A lecture on the life and legacy of Smith’s third president by Peter I. Rose, Sophia Smith Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Anthropology. February 18, 2010.

The Heart of Our Place of Learning: William Allan Neilson Library 1909-2009 (Online Exhibition)

Neilson Library opened for research and discovery on November 22, 1909. To celebrate the Library’s centennial and document the history of Smith's first library building, the College Archives presents this online exhibition.

Growing Branches: A History of Smith College's Specialty Libraries (Online Exhibition)

Each of Smith College’s branch libraries has its own unique history and place within the scholarly community. The exhibitions give some background of the events and people behind their founding, and the physical spaces they have occupied over the years.