The third floor of 26 E. Pearson hosted Phil Ponce's panel discussion "The Power of Persuasion" on Wednesday, Sept. 20, featuring Chicago Tribune editorial page editor Bruce Dold, Tribune columnist Eric Zorn and Chicago Sun-Times columnist Laura Washington.
An estimated 150 people attended. Not a seat was left open and people were standing along the sides and rear of the room for the duration of the discussion.
David Eason, director of Loyola's journalism department, began the panel at 6 p.m. with a short introduction. Professor and distinguished journalist in residence Phil Ponce acted as moderator for the evening. He started by introducing the panelists and spoke of their experience and credentials.
"[These journalists] would be on anybody's A-list," Ponce said. Ponce also mentioned that they had previously been guests on "Chicago Tonight," the television news and culture show he hosts on WTTW-11.
Questions asked by Ponce addressed various topics related to journalism and opinion writing. Each panelist was given an opportunity to respond to each question and about five minutes were spent answering each question.
For the last 20 minutes of the discussion, Ponce opened the panel up to questions from the audience. Patty Mulloy, who asked the panel if they write to change people's minds or if their writing is simply to inform the public of their opinions, said that the panelists' answers were very informative.
Ponce organized the panel. He said he wanted to get the best journalists he could to participate in the discussion.
Ponce's motives in selecting the journalists were immediately recognizable as he introduced them and listed their accomplishments. Dold was given a Pulitzer Prize in 2003 for editorial writing. Washington, along with writing a column for the Sun-Times, is also featured on National Public Radio's "News and Notes" program and teaches journalism at DePaul University. She was recently on Newsweek's list of "100 People To Watch in the 21st Century." Eric Zorn wrote the first blog ever published on the Tribune's Web site.
"It was a good representation of contemporary journalism," Eason said expressing his pleasure at the success of the event.
"It seemed like they gave a realistic view of what it's like to write a column," freshman Christina Matzen said. She also said that she thought the discussion should have gone on longer due to the number of questions from the audience.
The journalism program is on the rise at Loyola, according to both Ponce and Eason, with 250 new students declaring the major this year.
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