Kati Marton - "Human Rights: Free Press and Democracy" | Press Releases

Open VISIONS Forum Lecture Series
8 p.m., Monday, November 12, 2012
Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts
Tickets: $45

Image: Kati Marton Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts presents reporter and writer Kati Marton in a lecture entitled " Human Rights: Free Press and Democracy" at 8 p.m., Monday, November 12, 2012, as part of its 2012-2013 signature lecture series, Open VISIONS Forum. This is the Annual Jacoby-Lunin Humanitarian Lectureship, co-sponsored by the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, and funded by the Frank Jacoby Foundation. Following Kati Marton's presentation, there will be an informal conversation and discussion with Professor Philip Eliasoph , OVF moderator, Dr. Michael Serazio , Fairfield University Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, and Dr. Ellen M. Umansky , the Carl & Dorothy Bennett Chair in Judaic Studies & Professor of Religious Studies at Fairfield University. Moffly Media is the exclusive magazine sponsor for the 2012-13 Open VISIONS Forum series. Single tickets are $45.

Kati Marton brings over 20 years of journalistic experience to the podium for a unique discussion of the state of global politics and human rights. She speaks candidly about the role that the U.S. government is playing in international affairs. From the Mideast to the Far East, Ms. Marton explores the position Washington must take to ensure international peace. Stressing the necessity of a free press, she discusses both the role of governments in ensuring a democratic state, and of the press itself in maintaining its own integrity.

"From Citizen's United to the Arab Spring, democracy faces tumultuous challenges both here and abroad," said Dr. Michael Serazio, Fairfield University Assistant Professor, Department of Communication. "We are fortunate to have Kati Marton's well-traveled experience and humanitarian insight into matters of journalism, geopolitics, and power onstage with us for a night."

Kati Marton has successfully combined a career as a reporter and writer with human rights advocacy. Contributing to major news organizations such as ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Atlantic Monthly, The Times of London and The New Republic , she has covered everything from terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland to the peace efforts in the Middle East. Drawing compassion from her journalistic experiences in many of the political hotbeds of the globe, Ms. Marton is actively involved in humanitarian causes and was Chief of Outreach at the United Nations, where she was the primary advocate for children in war zones for the Secretary General of the U.N.

Her latest book, Paris: A Love Story , is a candid memoir in which she narrates an impassioned and romantic story of love, loss, and life after loss, with Paris at the heart of this deeply moving account. At every stage of her life, Ms. Marton finds beauty and excitement in Paris, and now, after the sudden death of her husband, Richard Holbrooke, the city offers a chance for a fresh beginning. Ms. Marton's earlier book, Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America (2009), is a moving and brave memoir, revealing her eyewitness account of her parent's arrests in Cold War Budapest. Hailed by Barbara Walters as "a true story that is deeply moving and altogether amazing," Enemies of the People is a tour de force and an important work of history as it was lived, a narrative of multiple betrayals on both sides of the Cold War, ending in triumph and a new beginning in America. "Both of these memoirs skilfully and compellingly interweave the personal with the political," said Dr. Ellen Umansky, Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies. "Together, they offer the reader a fascinating view of Ms. Marton's childhood and marriages to two very public figures, set against the backgrounds of some of the most historically significant events of the 20th and 21st centuries."

Kati Marton's New York Times best-seller The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World , describes the journey and experiences of nine extraordinary Jewish men from Budapest to the New World - and how they changed the world. The Great Escape is a true account of human survival and triumph against great odds. Ms. Marton's book Hidden Power: How Presidential Marriages Have Shaped Our Recent History , also a New York Times best-seller, offers a compelling view of how presidential marriages affected the tone, character and even the policies of eleven administrations. The dual portraits of husbands and wives at the intersection of power and love teach us about the evolving role of women in society and their unique influence on the presidency.

Kati Marton was born in Hungary and has spent two decades writing and reporting from around the globe. She was Bureau Chief and Foreign Correspondent for ABC News, reporting from Poland, East and West Germany, Italy and Northern Ireland. She was a reporter for National Public Radio in Washington where she was involved with the development of NPR's program All Things Considered . For years Ms. Marton hosted America and the World , a weekly half-hour broadcast on international affairs for NPR.

Kati Marton is currently Chair of the International Women's Health Coalition, a global leader promoting and protecting the health and human rights of women and girls. A director and former chair of the Committee to Protect Journalists, an organization founded to monitor abuses against the press and promote press freedom around the world, she also serves on the board of directors of the International Rescue Committee, Human Rights Watch, the New America Foundation and the Central European University. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, PEN International and the Author's Guild.

Tickets are available through the Quick Center Box Office: (203) 254-4010, or toll-free 1-877-ARTS-396 (1-877-278-7396). Tickets can also be purchased online at www.quickcenter.com .

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts is located on the campus of Fairfield University at 1073 North Benson Road in Fairfield, Connecticut. Entrance to the Quick Center is through the Barlow Road gate at 200 Barlow Road. Free, secure parking is available. Access for people with disabilities is available throughout the Quick Center for audience members and performers. Hearing amplification devices are available upon request at the Box Office. Fairfield University is located off exit 22 of Interstate-95. For further information and directions, call (203) 254-4010 or 1-877-278-7396, or visit www.quickcenter.com .