The McGarr Sports Journalism Symposium presents "The Illicit Quest for Excellence: Athletes and Performance Enhancing Drugs"

8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, April 20

Event: Leading authors and sports journalists from "The Dallas Morning News," "The Houston Chronicle," "The New York Daily News," "The San Francisco Chronicle" and "The Washington Post" will examine how the press has covered the growing use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs by athletes from high schools to professional sports.

Panel discussions include:

• When the Big Story is Steroids: How sports journalists cover rumors and allegations of steroid use -- and the stories they miss.

• Can baseball be saved? How steroids are destroying the great American pastime and what Major League Baseball is doing -- and not doing -- about it.

• From Ambivalence to Awareness: The role of the press in educating the public about the dangers of steroid use in sports and athletics.

This event is free and open to the public.

When: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, April 20

8:30 a.m. Coffee

9 a.m. Welcome: Lorraine Branham, director, School of Journalism

9:10-9:30 a.m. Opening remarks: John Hoberman, University of Texas at Austin professor of Germanic studies and author of several books about sports, including: "Sport and Political Ideology," "The Olympic Crisis: Sport, Politics, and the Moral Order," "Mortal Engines: The Science of Performance and the Dehumanization of Sport," and "Darwin's Athletes: How Sport Has Damaged Black America and Preserved the Myth of Race," as well as nearly one hundred sports commentaries in American newspapers and magazines.

9:30–11 a.m. When the big story is steroids. How sports journalists cover rumors and allegations of steroid use -- and the stories they miss. Panelists:

• Howard Bryant, "The Washington Post"

• Gary Jacobson, "The Dallas Morning News"

• T.J. Quinn, "The New York Daily News"

• Mark Fainaru-Wada, "The San Francisco Chronicle"

• Lance Williams, "The San Francisco Chronicle"

• John Hoberman, University of Texas at Austin professor of Germanic studies and author - moderator

Break

11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Can baseball be saved? How steroids are destroying the great American pastime and what Major League Baseball is doing – and not doing - about it. Panelists:

• Howard Bryant, "The Washington Post"

• T.J. Quinn, "The New York Daily News"

• Mark Fainaru-Wada, "The San Francisco Chronicle"

• Lance Williams, "The San Francisco Chronicle"

• Richard Justice, "The Houston Chronicle" - moderator

Lunch break

2:15–3:45 p.m. From Ambivalence to Awareness: The role of the press in educating the public about the dangers of steroid use in sports and athletics. Panelists:

• Richard Justice, "The Houston Chronicle"

• Gary Jacobson, "The Dallas Morning News"

• T.J. Quinn, "The New York Daily News"

• John Hoberman, University of Texas at Austin professor of Germanic studies and author

• Griff Singer, retired School of Journalism senior lecturer - moderator

Where: Bass Lecture Hall, LBJ School of Public Affairs (Maps of the University of Texas at Austin are available at www.utexas.edu/maps/main).

Background: Established in 1999 by University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism alumnus Cappy McGarr, the McGarr Sports Journalism Symposium brings sports journalists to campus to talk to students about issues in the highly competitive field of sports journalism.

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Contact:
Lorraine Branham
Director, School of Journalism
(512) 471-1854