ABC News commentator George Stephanopoulos recounted his experiences as both a policy maker and a journalist before a crowd of 200 participants at “Dangerous Intersection: Where the Media and Public Policy Collide”, the debut conference of the Center on Media and Society at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

In other discussions throughout the day at the UMass Boston Campus Center, UMass Poll Director Lou DiNatale released the results of a survey of Massachusetts voters that predicts increased voter turn-out from a reinvigorated electorate in 2004.

Sponsored by Fleet Bank, a Bank of America company, and UMass Boston’s John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, the conference unveiled the new Center on Media and Society and its Ethnic Journalism Initiative, which will analyze and evaluate ethnic and community journalism in Eastern Massachusetts.

“We are proud to announce the addition of the Center on Media and Society to the public policy line-up that for so many years has been an area of excellence for UMass Boston,” said Chancellor Jo Ann M. Gora. “The center will complement our existing centers and institutes, which already focus on policy areas including homelessness, local government, social services, the Latino community and women in government.”

The center, which intends to strengthen the connection between UMass Boston and the world of media and communications practice, is directed by Ellen Hume, a former White House correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, who is now a senior research fellow at the McCormack Graduate School. In addition to her duties as a journalism instructor, Hume has organized the April 7 conference.

The conference kicked off the partnership between the center and the McCormack Graduate School and took place in the new UMass Boston Campus Center. Stephanopoulos, a former White House media advisor, appeared in a conversation with political columnist David Nyhan. Other forums include:
· “Ethnic Journalism: Finding a Common Ground”, from 10:30 a.m. – noon, featured remarks by Sandy Close, creator of the New California Media project, who will help launch the center’s Ethnic Journalism Initiative, which will focus on this vibrant sector of the Boston media market.

· “The Massachusetts Voter: Good News or Bad News” followed from noon to 2 p.m., featuring DiNatale and the results of a new survey of Massachusetts voters’ views on the media and politics. DiNatale is the director of the Center for State and Local Policy and a research fellow at the McCormack Graduate School.

· “Media, History and Identify” took place from 2:30 to 4 p.m., featuring Adam Strom of Facing History and Ourselves, speaking about how media treatment of ethnic identity throughout history can offer powerful classroom lessons. He showed clips and talked about two Hollywood blockbuster films, “Birth of a Nation” and “The Passion.”

“We need a way to build a bridge between the academic community and the world of professional journalism and communication,” said Hume, a former executive director of the Shorenstein Center on the Press at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. “For starters, the Center on Media and Society will provide access and the tools our students need to understand the role of the news media.”

The conference fits with the unique contributions Hume hopes the Center can make to the community at large, not only locally, but nationally and internationally. “We hope to encourage productive conversations among politicians, citizens, academics and journalists about the standards, ethics and impacts of the news,” Hume said.

Hume and American Studies Professor Mark Schlesinger are also reviewing the possibility of developing a Media and Communication Studies major with a focus on similar issues of theory and practice.

UMass Boston journalism students will also be able to participate in a partnership Hume has created with Harvard University’s Nieman program for journalists to produce a special daily newspaper during the Democratic National Convention in Boston from July 26 to 29. The UMass Boston-Harvard newspaper project will focus on the media’s role at the convention, along with other political news. Nieman official Seth Effron, assisted by Hume, will edit the newspaper, which will be distributed free to the participants in the convention.

“It will be a real boot camp for student journalists,” said Hume. “We teach about theories and case studies in the classroom, but I also want interested students to get a taste of the challenges of daily journalism.”