Students will get the chance to have a conversation with one of the most influential people in American media tonight in Pruis Hall.
Former Nightline anchor Ted Koppel will answer students' questions tonight as part of the David Letterman Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series.
The town hall-style presentation will focus on Koppel's career and how the journalism industry has changed in the last 40 years, Lori Byers, associate dean of College of Communication, Information and Media, said
"Even though the platforms might change, [journalism and telecommunications] is all the same," she said. "It's about telling an interesting story and telling a story that's more unique than your competitors."
Roger Lavery, dean of CCIM, said Ball State University students are bound to benefit from listening to Koppel speak, even if they aren't journalism or telecommunications majors.
"Any time a leader or someone who is well respected internationally comes to campus, you should see them," he said. "You can almost always take away something of value."
CCIM was interested in bringing Koppel to Ball State because he was a pioneer in the news industry and he was able to document some of the most important historical events, Byers said.
Lavery said anyone interested in what's going on in the world and how it affects their lives could be interested in what Koppel has to say.
"Here's someone who's had a remarkable life and experienced so many events in our history like Vietnam, the Kennedy assassinations and Iraq," he said.
Former Ball State professor Steve Bell's friendship with Koppel played a huge role in getting Koppel to speak at the university, Lavery said.
Bell said he and Koppel were colleagues in Washington and have remained friends throughout the years. He was happy to ask Koppel to speak at Ball State, especially since he was supposed to in the 1990s but had to cancel, he said.
Lavery said people from journalism departments at other schools seem to be amazed that Ball State was able to bring Koppel to Muncie.
"[Koppel speaking at Ball State] raises our profile nationally," he said. "There's a lot of extra credibility to what we're doing and this says that we're a player and we're a communications college."
CCIM is expecting a large crowd and arrangements have been made to stream Koppel's appearance live in Teacher's College in case of an overflow, Lavery said.
The event is free and starts at 7:30 p.m. in Pruis Hall.
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