Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dean Baquet to headline Brandeis journalism event on polarization and the media
February 28, 2025
Dean Baquet, former Executive Editor of The New York Times, now runs the Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship.
Waltham, Mass. — Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dean Baquet, the pioneering former executive editor of The New York Times, will headline “The Media in a Divided America,” a timely event that will take place at Brandeis University on Tuesday, March 4. Organized by the Brandeis Journalism Program, this two-part public forum will explore the urgent challenges facing the media today as well as journalism’s role in political and social polarization.
A luminary in the media world, Baquet led the New York Times’ coverage of society’s most pressing and contested issues over the last decade, including class, immigration, race, #MeToo, gender identity, misinformation, news deserts, threats to democratic norms, and wars in Ukraine, Afghanistan, the Middle East and elsewhere. He made history as the first Black top editor in New York Times history, after previously holding the same distinction at the Los Angeles Times. The late actor Andre Braugher played Baquet in the 2022 film “She Said,” which chronicled the groundbreaking investigation he oversaw into sexual abuse by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Baquet will be joined on the Brandeis campus by two leading scholars: University of Cambridge historian Gary Gerstle, author of the acclaimed book “The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order;” and Tufts sociologist and digital abuse expert Sarah Sobieraj, author of “Credible Threat: Attacks Against Women Online and the Future of Democracy.”
The first panel, which will begin at 4 p.m., will focus on the dramatic changes to the journalism landscape that took place on Baquet’s watch. Leading Baquet in that discussion will be Brandeis journalism faculty members Ann Silvio and Adriana Lacy. The second panel – which will begin at 7 p.m. and feature Baquet, Gerstle and Sobieraj – will explore the deeper roots of polarization and how we might find a way forward. Neil Swidey, director of the Brandeis Journalism Program, will moderate that conversation. Both events will be held in Rapaporte Treasure Hall on the Brandeis campus in Waltham.
“At a time when too many people turn to their news sources less for information than for affirmation of their ideology, it’s critical that we all find a way out of the paralysis of hyper-polarization,” Swidey said. “We’re thrilled to have Dean Baquet, one of journalism’s brightest lights, on campus to engage with our students about these critical issues. And we’re delighted to be able to widen and deepen that discussion with brilliant scholars Gary Gerstle and Sarah Sobieraj.”
This Brandeis Journalism Program event is the 2025 Elaine Wong Distinguished Lecture Program, sponsored by the Dean of Arts and Sciences and named in honor of Brandeis’ former longtime senior associate dean. The International and Global Studies, Politics, and Sociology Departments are cosponsors.
Admission is free, but space is limited. Attendees should RSVP in advance.
For inquiries, please email Brandeis Journalism Assistant Director Adriana Lacy at adrianalacy@brandeis.edu or Associate Professor of the Practice Ann Silvio at asilvio@brandeis.edu.
Event Details
Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Location: Rapaporte Treasure Hall, Brandeis University
Panel 1: The Role of Media in Shaping Polarization
Time: 4 – 5:20 p.m.
Dean Baquet will participate in a keynote conversation moderated by Brandeis Journalism Professors Ann Silvio and Adriana Lacy, with help from Sociology Professor Paul Anskat. The discussion will explore how media narratives contribute to polarization and what journalists can do to mitigate its effects. Opening remarks will be given by Interim President Arthur Levine.
Panel 2: The Roots and Evolution of Polarization
Time: 7 – 8:20 p.m.
This discussion will examine the historical and social forces behind polarization. Dean Baquet will be joined by Gary Gerstle, University of Cambridge historian and author of “The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order,” and Sarah Sobieraj, Tufts sociologist and expert on digital abuse and extreme incivility. Journalism Professor of the Practice Neil Swidey will moderate, with opening remarks from Dean of Arts and Sciences Jeffrey Shoulson.
Admission is free, but space is limited. RSVP in advance.
About Dean Baquet
Dean Baquet currently serves as executive editor of The New York Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship, helping journalists from around the country tackle high-impact investigative work in their communities. He served as executive editor of The New York Times from 2014 to 2022, overseeing its news operations across all platforms. Baquet has also held leadership roles at the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. He won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 1988 for exposing corruption in the Chicago City Council.
