Leonard Downie Jr., the Weil Family Professor of Journalism at the ASU Cronkite School, was The Washington Post Executive Editor from 1991 to 2008. During his 44 years in the Post newsroom, he was also an investigative reporter, editor on the local and national news staffs, London correspondent, and, from 1984 to 1991, managing editor under then-executive editor Ben Bradlee.
As deputy metro editor from 1972 to 1974, Downie helped supervise the Post’s Watergate coverage. He also oversaw the newspaper’s coverage of every national election from 1984 through 2008. During his 17 years as executive editor, The Washington Post won 25 Pulitzer prizes.
Warren Zanes is a musician, teacher and writer whose subjects range from Jimmy Rodgers to Dusty Springfield to the history of Warner Bros. Records. He is the author of 
Claire Smith is a pioneering, female sports journalist who has been covering baseball for more than three decades, including seven years as a national baseball writer and columnist for The New York Times. She has covered baseball for ESPN since 2007.
Best-selling authors Michael Connelly (B.S. Journalism 1980, Alumnus of Distinction 2003) and James Patterson speak in the Reitz Union as part of GatorNights on February 24, 2017. The event was co-sponsored by the CJC Great Storytellers series.
Author and Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Debbie Cenziper, B.S. Journalism 1992, discussed her new book Love Wins and the fight for legalization of same-sex marriage.
Best-selling and critically acclaimed author Michael Connelly returned to his educational roots at the University of Florida on Sept. 21, 2015 to talk about the art and craft of storytelling.