Knight-Wallace Fellows: Hovey Lecture September 10, 2010

Gerard Ryle and his wife Kimberley Porteous, respectively news and multimedia editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia's most prestigious newspaper, will deliver the 25th Graham Hovey Lecture, “The Odd Couple: Newspapers and the Internet—Will they ever get along?” at 5:00 p.m. September 10 at Wallace house, 620 Oxford Road.

Together, Ryle and Porteus hold six Walkley Awards, the Australian equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. Ryle’s reporting and subsequent book, “The Firepower,” exposed one of the biggest business and sports scams in Australian history. His other investigations have led to more than a dozen high-profile inquiries ranging from fuel technology and land deals to blood safety and police corruption. While he was a Knight-Wallace Fellow (2005-06) his academic research focused on the trade in human body parts.

Porteous, who accompanied her husband on the Fellowship, was recently named one of the world’s most notable online journalists. She credits her experience at the University of Michigan with her subsequent success in conceiving and producing multimedia news, interactive journalism and Web documentaries.

The lecture honors alumni whose subsequent careers exemplify the benefits of sabbatical studies at U-M.

This year’s address will begin with a special memorial tribute to two people, Graham Hovey and Margaret DeMuth, who died earlier this year. Hovey is the namesake for the lecture and was director of the fellowship program from 1980 until 1986. DeMuth was program assistant until her retirement in 1989. Charles and Diane Fancher, both Fellows during the 1981-1982 year, will deliver the tribute.

The lecture is open to the public. A reception hosted by University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman will follow the lecture. For more information and to RSVP, call (734) 998-7666.