“Five Questions” Video Series Focuses on Journalism

Stony Brook’s video series “5 Questions With …” has released three new interviews with leaders in the field of journalism.

Speaking to the importance of journalism in a rapidly changing world are Dean Baquet, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Executive Editor of The New York Times; Corey Flintoff, recently retired international correspondent for National Public Radio; and Dan Slepian, an award-winning investigative producer for Dateline NBC and a Stony Brook alumnus. They are featured in thoughtful, compelling interviews, available on a browsable website as well as a YouTube playlist.

The ongoing series, part of the “In The Know” offerings created by SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications, spotlights the university’s role in global thought leadership. Interview subjects are affiliated with or have visited the campus for student and community enrichment events and activities.

More on this month’s luminaries:

• Dean Baquet is the Pulitzer Prize-winning Executive Editor of The New York Times, and the first African-American to be named to that position. Previously, he was the managing editor ​of The Los Angeles Times and reporter for The Chicago Tribune and The Times Picayune​ in New Orleans. While at The Chicago Tribune, Baquet served as associate metropolitan editor for investigations and was chief investigative reporter, covering corruption in politics and ​in ​the garbage-hauling industry. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in March 1988 when he led a team documenting corruption in the Chicago City Council. Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism hosted him in February 2017 for the “My Life As” speaker Series. Baquet spoke about covering the Trump White House, the future of journalism and fake news. 

• Corey Flintoff is the recently retired international correspondent for National Public Radio and former bureau chief in Moscow. A newscaster on NPR’s All Things Considered, Flintoff was a reporter at NPR for more than 25 years, covering pirates in Somalia, the earthquake in Haiti, and Egypt during the Arab Spring, among other topics. During his four-year stay in Russia, Flintoff was able to report in an environment where the national government heavily influences and controls the media. In 2016, the former correspondent gave a first-hand look at a resurgent Russia, Vladimir Putin, and America’s biggest challenge, as part of the “My Life As” speaker series hosted by Stony Brook University’s School of Journalism. Flintoff discussed a number of timely topics, including the Trump presidency, the Russian media and whistleblower Edward Snowden. He also addressed the hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s email server. 

• Dan Slepian is an award-winning investigative producer for Dateline NBC and a Stony Brook alumnus, ’92, who has investigated and produced documentaries about wrongful convictions for more than a decade. His latest work, Conviction, is an original, 12-part digital series and the first of its kind from NBC News. Filmed over two years, it follows Slepian as he investigates the case of New York State inmate Richard Rosario, who was convicted of murder in 1996, yet has always insisted he is innocent. During his days at SBU, Slepian served as the Student Government President from 1990 to 1992 and continues to stay connected through his role on the professional board of advisors for the School of Journalism. In 2016, he shared his experiences with current students as part of the “My Life As” speaker series.