Soledad O'Brien to Speak at UA on April 19

Akron, Ohio, Feb. 10, 2006 - Soledad O'Brien, TV journalist and CNN co-anchor, will deliver the 2006 John S. Knight Lecture at 7:30 p.m. on April 19 at The University of Akron's E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall. Tickets for “An Evening With Soledad O'Brien” are free, but must be picked up in person at the Thomas Hall Ticket Office.

Sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, O'Brien is visiting Akron as part of the university's 2005-06 Forum Speaker Series. A capacity crowd is expected.

O'Brien anchors CNN's “American Morning” with Miles O'Brien. In December 2004, she was among a handful of CNN anchors sent to Puhket, Thailand, to cover the disaster and aftermath of the tsunami. In fall 2003, she was the only broadcast journalist permitted to travel with first lady Laura Bush on her trip to Moscow.

Prior to joining CNN in July 2003, O'Brien was at NBC News, where she had anchored the network's “Weekend Today” show since July 1999. During that time, she contributed reports for the weekday “Today Show” and weekend editions of “NBC Nightly News,” and covered such notable stories as John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane crash and the school shootings in Colorado and Oregon.

O'Brien has received several honors, including a local Emmy for her work as a co-host on Discovery Channel's “The Know Zone.” In 1998, she was named to Irish America magazine's “Top 100 Irish Americans” list. In 1997, she was awarded the Hispanic Achievement Award in Communications.

The University of Akron Forum is in its 11th year. The lectureship brings distinguished writers, politicians and other international figures to the UA campus and the people of Northeast Ohio.

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