UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — An executive and editor with a quarter century of experience at the highest levels of journalism will present the annual Oweida Lecture in Journalism Ethics at Penn State.
The free public event featuring Patty Michalski, senior vice president of content strategy and innovation for Hearst Newspapers, will begin at 6 p.m. April 15 in 112 Chambers Building on the University Park campus.
Michalski is head of the operating group responsible for Hearst’s newspapers, local digital marketing services businesses and directories. With approximately 2,600 employees across the nation, Hearst Newspapers publishes 28 dailies and 50 weeklies. The company also operates digital marketing services and directories businesses under the LocalEdge brand.
Previously, Michalski held a variety of senior editorial and audience development roles in a more than 20-year career with Gannett. She served as executive editor of USA TODAY and director of audience of the USA TODAY Network from 2017 to 2022. Throughout her career, Michalski has led newsroom initiatives that center on digital innovation along with content and engagement strategies. Michalski’s work includes leading USA TODAY’s mobile and social media strategies.
Michalski graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and art history.
Established in 1994, the Dr. N.N. Oweida Lecture in Journalism Ethics is supported by an endowment from Margaret L. Oweida in memory of her husband, the late Dr. N.N. Oweida, a surgeon from New Kensington, Pennsylvania. The lecture focuses on journalism ethics, and previous visitors for the lecture have focused on theoretical and practical challenges that face journalists every day in regard to ethics.