Journalist Rob Curley To Discuss Online Journalism

On March 4, George Mason University will continue its efforts to stay abreast with emerging media technologies by hosting guest speaker Rob Curley, vice president of New Media at Washington Post-Newsweek Interactive.

Tuesday’s event, the fourth of seven in the Communication Department’s spring 2008 New Media Series, will be held at 3 p.m. in SUB II, Rooms 3 and 4.

Past speakers include professionals from Gannett, USA Today and Congressional Quarterly.

Curley, a self-proclaimed internet nerd who, according to his blog-style Web site RobCurley.com, “is in love with local news and the evolution of traditional media,” has a distinguished career in the field, having worked as a political reporter, interactive technology engineer and new media director.

His work has been featured in prominent online outlets, college textbooks, industry and mainstream magazines, white papers, and on National Public Radio’s “.”

Now, as Vice President of WPNI’s new media, Curley works to create and promote innovative online news and technology solutions that keep the high-profile news source in step with today’s radically-evolving communications and media field.

“Rob will be talking about his work as Vice President for New Media at Washington Post-Newsweek Interactive and previous to that at the Lawrence Journal-World and Naples Daily News,” said Steve Klein, Mason’s Faculty Fellow for Student Media, in an e-mail. “His impact on the industry has been significant and groundbreaking everywhere he's been.”

Curley’s visit to Mason showcases the university’s on-going research into current and potential new media topics. Mason is also home to the Center for New Media, a regional force in the understanding, development, and implementation of new media technologies.

Kevin Klose, President of National Public Radio, will speak next on March 31 at 12 p.m. in Dewberry Hall. The final two events will take place in April, with visits from Andrew Nachison, CEO and founder of iFocos/WeMedia, and Kevin Goldberg, Chief Legal Counsel for the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

For more information about New Media, contact the Communication Department at 703-993-1090 or CHNM at 703-993-9277.