School of Journalism director Geneva Overholser will give the 44th Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture tonight at 7:30 p.m. in UC Riverside’s University Theatre.

Overholser spoke at the lecture 20 years ago, and is the first person to be invited back to speak again. Her speech is titled “Better Days to Come: Seeing the promise in journalism’s upheaval.” (Read Overholser's prepared remarks here.)

The lecture series serves as an opportunity to discuss journalism and media issues. Overholser will discuss the evolution that has occurred within journalism in the past two decades. Despite the economic and structural changes that have transpired, Overholser said this is not the end for journalists.

“Among the exciting new developments in the emerging landscape, there is great promise for a more inclusive, more engaged democracy. An astonishing amount of change has occurred in the journalism world in 20 years, and I will be drawing on that as I return to this important podium,” Overholser said in a UC Riverside press release.

During Overholser’s first lecture at the university, she emphasized the need for news organizations to defend themselves against public opinion and harsh criticism.

“She was sure right about that,” Nels Jensen, the editor and vice president of the Press-Enterprise said. “So it will be interesting to see how she views journalism for the next 20 years.”

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