Washington Post's Dan Balz Prominent political writer to speak at SIUC

November 10, 2004

Washington Post's Dan Balz Prominent political writer to speak at SIUC

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. - - One of the nation's leading national political correspondents will provide post-presidential election analysis when he visits Southern Illinois University Carbondale on Monday, Nov. 15.

Dan Balz of the Washington Post will speak at 7:30 p.m. in Student Center Ballroom D as part of the Public Policy Institute's Morton-Kenney Public Affairs Lecture Series. Admission is free.

"Dan Balz is one of the most thoughtful, thorough, skilled and hardworking political journalists in the nation," Public Policy Institute Director Mike Lawrence said. "His visit could not be timelier. We look forward to hearing his analysis and prognosis as he discusses the implications of the presidential race and battles for Senate and congressional seats."

Balz, who joined the Washington Post in 1978, has been involved with the newspaper's political coverage as a reporter or editor during his more than 25 years at the newspaper. He covered the White House during the first Bush administration and has written extensively about Congress. He served as the Post's National Editor, and also as the paper's southwest correspondent, based in Texas. He briefly reported from London during the fall of 1997.

He is a frequent guest on PBS' "Washington Week," CBS' "Face The Nation," PBS' "News Hour with Jim Lehrer" and other programs.

Balz will spend the following morning, Tuesday, Nov. 16, speaking to Lawrence's "Critical and Persuasive Writing" journalism class.

Balz is a co-author, with Ronald Brownstein of the Los Angeles Times, of the 1996 book, "Storming the Gates: Protest Politics and the Republican Revival," describing the 1994 Republican congressional victories. He was also part of the Washington Post team that produced "Deadlock: The Inside Story of America's Closest Election," which looks at the recount battle in Florida that decided the 2000 presidential election.

Developing citizen-leaders with global perspectives is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint for the development of the University by the time it celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019.

For more information, contact the Public Policy Institute at 618/453-4009 or visit http://www.siu.edu/~ppi.