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Collins to Join Marvin Kalb on April 15 at National Press Club

Adelphi, Md. (March 21, 2019)—In 1865, Jules Verne wrote the science fiction novel “From the Earth to the Moon and a Trip Around it.” Nearly 105 years later, Michael Collins “lived” what Jules Verne could only imagine.

In July 1969, against the backdrop of the raging war in Vietnam and the social upheaval in American society, the eyes of the world turned skyward as three American astronauts roared their way toward history. In what has been described as the greatest technological achievement of the 20th century, Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s commitment to “achieving the goal, before the end of the decade, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”

On April 15, 2019, Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins will join moderator Marvin Kalb to discuss the impact of his historic mission on the nation, the world and humankind. The forum will take place in the main ballroom of the National Press Club (14^th & F Streets, NW, Washington, D.C.) at 7 p.m.

"Normally I talk to news anchors.  Now I talk to a space anchor, the man who flew to the moon, then circled it, while his two colleagues actually walked on the moon, and they all returned to earth safely—a historic, technological feat unmatched in history.  General Collins, join the Kalb capsule, and let's talk about what it was like to fly to the moon."

“The Kalb Report” series is produced jointly by The National Press Club Journalism Institute, the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center, University of Maryland University College, the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland and the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma.

For the 16th consecutive year, the series is underwritten by a grant from Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.

Maryland Public Television serves as presenting station for The Kalb Report series, which is distributed nationally by American Public Television. The series also airs on Sirius-XM Satellite Radio and Federal News Radio in Washington, D.C. Each program is streamed live at press.org.

Since 1994, the partnership has produced 97 forums in the series with guests including Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Rupert Murdoch, Diane Sawyer, Roger Ailes, Katie Couric, Bob Costas, Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, Hillary Clinton, David McCullough, and Walter Cronkite.

“The Kalb Report” was most recently honored with a Gold World Medal in the 2018 New York Festivals International Radio Awards competition for its program “Guardians of the Fourth Estate” featuring the executive editors of “The New York Times” and “The Washington Post,“ Dean Baquet and Marty Baron. This followed a Gold World Medal in 2015 for “Writing History: Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and Journalism’s Finest Hour.” In 2012, the series received both a Gold World Medal and the overall Grand Award at the New York Festivals for “Anchoring 911, The Day and the Decade” with Charles Gibson, Brit Hume, Dan Rather, and Frank Sesno.

Moderator Marvin Kalb is Edward R. Murrow Professor Emeritus at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and senior advisor to the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. In a distinguished 30-year career in journalism, Mr. Kalb served as chief diplomatic correspondent for CBS News and NBC News and moderator of “Meet the Press.” He went on to serve as the founding director of Harvard’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. Among his many honors are two Peabody Awards, the DuPont Prize from Columbia University, the 2006 Fourth Estate Award from the National Press Club and more than a half-dozen Overseas Press Club awards. Mr. Kalb has authored or co-authored 16 books including two best-selling novels. His latest book is “Enemy of the People: Trump’s War on the Press, the New McCarthyism, and the Threat to American Democracy.”

Executive Producer Michael Freedman is a senior vice president and professor of the practice at University of Maryland University College, as well as a professorial lecturer in journalism at the George Washington University, and a member of the National Press Club Board of Governors.

He is the former general manager of CBS Radio Network News and a former managing editor of United Press International. Over the course of his career, he and his teams have earned more than 85 honors for journalistic excellence including 14 Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio-Television News Directors Association.

Senior Producer Heather Date is a vice president at University of Maryland University College and former CNN producer. She received the Alliance for Women in Media’s 2011 Gracie Award as Outstanding Producer for her work on “The Kalb Report.”

Director Shelly Schwartz has distinguished himself as one of the premier producer-directors in the nation’s capital for more than 30 years. His directing credits include “The McLaughlin Group,” “The George Michael Sports Machine” and “It’s Academic.”

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