Former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers will speak at UNLV on March 1 as part of the Barbara Greenspun Lecture Series.
"The Press and the Presidency" will be the topic of her 7:30 p.m. talk at Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall. The event is free, but tickets are required. Tickets may be picked up at the Performing Arts Center box office at Ham Concert Hall beginning Feb. 18.
Myers, who served as press secretary for the Clinton Administration until December, was the youngest person and first woman ever to hold that job.
As the chief spokesperson for the president and the White House, Myers was charged with explaining policies on a wide variety of issues. In her daily press briefings, she fielded questions on topics ranging from Bosnia to the budget, and from international trade to health care.
Asked how she dealt with an often combative press corps, Myers said, "Never take it personally, and never lose your sense of humor."
Clinton's attitude first attracted Myers to his campaign in 1991 when its headquarters were in a Little Rock paint store. "It was a whole new language," she said. "I thought, `This is a Democrat who can reach out in a new direction and think of ways to solve problems Democrats always have avoided.'"
Myers' first campaign experience came in 1984 when she worked for Vice President Walter Mondale's presidential campaign. Later she worked on the 1988 presidential campaign of Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis and on the 1990 California gubernatorial campaign of Dianne Feinstein, now a U.S. senator. Myers also served as press secretary to Los Angles Mayor Tom Bradley.
The Barbara Greenspun Lecture Series is sponsored by UNLV's Greenspun School of Communication in honor of Las Vegas Sun publisher Barbara Greenspun. The school is named in honor of her late husband, Sun founder Hank Greenspun. The Barbara Greenspun Lecture Series is devoted to bringing renowned journalists to UNLV each year.
For additional information on Myers' presentation at UNLV, call 895-3801.
