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Media School Speaker Series features investigative and international journalists, film/TV director

For Immediate Release Sep 18, 2018

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Media School at Indiana University will feature three people who have played prominent roles in film and journalism in its fall speaker series. Investigative journalist and author James Neff, director and producer Michael Schultz, and international correspondent and documentary filmmaker Elena Volochine will give a series of free public lectures.

The Media School Speaker Series takes place in the fall and spring semesters, bringing media experts to campus to discuss their careers and today’s industry.

The fall semester speakers are:

  • James Neff, investigative journalist and author: 6 p.m. Oct. 25, Franklin Hall commons.
  • Michael Schultz, film director: 7 p.m. Nov. 9, IU Cinema.
  • Elena Volochine, international correspondent and documentary filmmaker: 6 p.m. Nov. 27, Franklin Hall commons.

James Neff

James Neff
James Neff.Photo by Jessica Griffin

Neff, an investigative journalist and author, serves as deputy managing editor of the Philadelphia Media Network. Throughout his career, he has worked at the Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Seattle Times and has served as board member and president of Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Neff has edited three Pulitzer Prize-winning stories and was a finalist himself for the 18-part series “The Terrorist Within” in 2003. In 2017, he served as chair of the jurors selecting the Pulitzer Prize winner in investigative reporting. He is the author of several books, including “Vendetta: Bobby Kennedy versus Jimmy Hoffa.”

Neff’s lecture is also the keynote speech for the Roy W. Howard Archive Symposium, a two-day event commemorating the digitization of letters, photographs and other documents related to Howard, the former president of United Press and former chair of Scripps Howard Newspapers.

Michael Schultz

Michael Schultz
Michael Schultz

Schultz is a director and producer of television, film and theater. Between 1970 and 1990, he directed more than a dozen feature films, including “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” and “Car Wash.”

He also has extensive television credits, directing episodes for popular series such as “Black-ish,” “The O.C.” and “Arrow.” He has been recognized by the American Black Film Festival and Cannes for his film work.

This onstage Q&A will be followed by a screening of Schultz’s 1985 film “Krush Groove.” The event is part of a five-part film series to celebrate Schultz’s 50 years of media work. It is part of IU Cinema’s Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Series and is co-sponsored by The Media School’s Black Film Center/Archive.

Elena Volochine

Elena Volochine
Elena Volochine

Volochine is an international journalist and documentary filmmaker and the Moscow bureau chief for France 24, a Paris-based news operation that broadcasts in French, English and Arabic to 250 million households around the world. She has produced reports and feature stories for several francophone TV and radio stations, covering Russia and the former Soviet Bloc.

In 2016, Volochine co-directed “Oleg’s Choice,” a film that gave the personal perspective of two young Russian volunteers during the conflict in the Ukraine. Volochine will speak about propaganda and the war on media. Her lecture is co-sponsored by the Russian and East European Institute, the IU Russian Studies Workshop, IU Cinema and the Center for Documentary Research and Practice at The Media School.

Since its inception in 2006, the Media School Speaker Series has brought many top names in media to the IU Bloomington campus, including NPR television critic Eric Deggans, PBS Newshour’s Margaret Warner, Sage Steele of ESPN and author Gay Talese.

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