Top 25 Journalism Speakers
- By Aaron Peterson
- Aug 29, 2023
Journalists play an incredibly important role around the world. Not only must the information they provide be accurate, but it needs to also hold those in powerful positions accountable for their actions or lack of actions. If you go back to The Journalist’s Creed from 1914, journalists must among other things:
● Be responsible as a “trustee of the public”
● Use clear thinking, clear statement accuracy, and fairness
● Never suppress news unless it’s for public welfare
● Always write with integrity and not accept bribes
● Ensure that news, editorials, and advertising serve the public’s best interests
The Seven C’s of Journalism are simpler: Be clear, correct, complete, concise, considerate, and courteous. Journalists need to be impartial and accountable.
When you hire one of our top 25 journalism speakers, you’re getting a professional who reports news and current events with integrity and accuracy.
1. Bob Woodward
He is one of the biggest names in political investigative journalism, and most people will know him by name. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered the Watergate scandal. Since 1973, he’s continued to report on the inner workings of the government in an impartial, factual way. He’s the author of 22 bestsellers, 16 of which reached #1, and has won two Pulitzers and many other journalism awards.
2. Katty Kay
Katty Kay has been with BBC for close to three decades as both a reporter and lead anchor. She reports on U.S. and world politics and reported on six U.S. presidential elections. Some of her popular keynotes are: “America From a Different Angle” and “A Global Update.”
3. Jay Schadler
Jay Schadler has won two Emmy Awards for journalism. He’s a news correspondent and anchor for ABC News, known for his ABC News Special “Looking For America” where he hitchhiked around the nation interviewing everyday people.
4. Tom Rinaldi
Since 2002, Tom Rinaldi has been an ESPN correspondent. He’s one of the main contributors to College Gameday and is a popular sideline reporter for college’s biggest football games and golf events like the Masters. He has a dozen Sports Emmy Awards and half a dozen Edward R. Murrow Awards.
5. Doris Burke
For almost 30 years, Doris Burke has been one of ESPN’s top sports commentators. She’s a lead NBA sideline reporter for ESPN and has won several awards for her sports journalism, including the WISE Woman of the Year.
6. Amy Nutt
Amy Nutt is a science writer for The Washington Post. She holds a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist who offers keynote speeches, writing workshops, and custom experiences.
Kate Andersen Brower covered the Obama administration for Bloomberg News. Since then, she’s seen regularly on CNN. She wrote a children’s book on the White House and wrote several other books, including two bestsellers.
As a longtime sports columnist for The Washington Post, Michael Wilbon is one of our most noted sports journalists. He’s a co-host of Pardon the Interruption and on SportsCenter and the GMC NBA Sunday Countdown. He’s one of the rare sports journalists to start in newspapers and continue into radio and television.
After joining ESPN in 2009, Adam Schefter’s work as an NFL Insider has landed him on several programs including Monday Night Countdown, NFL Insiders, NFL Live, SportsCenter, and Sunday NFL Countdown. He’s also a contributor on ESPN Radio and ESPN.com. Adam was Sports Illustrated’s “2014 Media Person of the Year” and PeerIndex named him “The Most Influential New Yorker on Twitter” that same year.
10. Hollie Mckay
Hollie McKay was an investigative international affairs/war journalist for 14 years at Fox News Digital. Her work brought her to the frontlines in several war zones. She holds a permanent press pass to the United Nations and helped “Call of Duty” Modern Warfare’s” creative team as a human rights and cultural consultant advisor.
11. Harry Broadman
Harry Broadman is an expert on business growth, corporate governance, innovation, and risk mitigation. He uses his expertise in those fields to write columns for Forbes, Gulf News, and Newsweek. Harry is available for custom experiences and keynote speeches.
12. Marty Smith
Marty Smith is a sports journalist for ESPN and host of “Marty Smith’s America” which aired on ESPN2. Most recently he started his own podcast, “The Masters: Fore Please!” He’s open to appearances and custom experiences.
13. Celeste Headlee
Celeste Headlee is a noted TEDx speaker and Executive Producer of “On Second Thought” with 20 years in public radio before those accomplishments. She’s been an anchor on “Talk of the Nation,” "Tell Me More,” and several other Georgia Public Broadcasting shows and Newsweek’s “Debate” podcast. In 2019, she won the Media Changemaker Award.
Shabnam Mogharabi is one of the youngest winners ever of the Jesse H. Neal Award for her work in many publications including HuffPost, People, and Sunset. She received a B.A. in journalism from the University of South California and went on to become the youngest Editor-in-Chief at Hanley Wood Business Media. In addition to live or virtual keynotes, she’s available for podcast interviews, appearances, and custom experiences.
15. Andrew Revkin
Andrew Revkin is an experienced, notable journalist in the areas of the environment and sustainability. He created and hosts the “Sustain What” webcast, which has more than 2.5 million viewers. He’s written on global environmental change for The New York Times and was an environmental journalism advisor for the National Geographic Society. He’s won several science journalism awards, including a Columbia Journalism School’s John Chancellor Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
16. Pablo Torre
Pablo Torre attended Harvard and then Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He started as a staff writer at Sports Illustrated before moving to ESPN to become one of the network’s most prominent panelists on shows like “Around the Horn” and “Highly Questionable.” He won a Sports Emmy Award in 2018 for his coverage of the NFL player protests.
17. Jeff Passan
Jeff Passan joined ESPN in 2019 appearing on “Baseball Tonight,” “Get Up!,” and “SportsCenter.” He’s a sports writer for ESPN and also an on-field reporter for the MLB. As a sports journalist, he’s also written two books, including the bestseller “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports.”
18. Michelle Beadle
She’s the host of ESPN’s “Get Up!” and ABC’s and ESPN’s “NBA Countdown.” With a long career with both ABC, NBC, and ESPN, Michelle Beadle has a lot to say. If you’re looking for a dynamic speaker on sports journalism and entertainment journalism from her time with “Access Hollywood,” she’s a great choice.
19. Brian Kenny
Brian Kenny is a noted baseball journalist appearing on MLB Network’s MLB Now and MLB Tonight. Sports Illustrated named him “Media Person of the Year” in 2004 and he won the Sam Taub Award from the Boxing Writers Association of America a year later.
20. Dan Le Batard
Cuban-American Dan Le Batard is a sports journalist for ESPN Radio and ESPN's “Highly Questionable.” He’s won several journalism awards, including to National Sports Emmy Awards, and doesn’t back away from controversial topics like race and politics in sports.
21. Sarah Spain
She’s the host of ESPN Radio’s “Spain and Company.” She’s also a SportsCenter reporter and hosted the first all-woman program on ESPN Radio. Sarah Spain is a talented sports reporter with a lot to say about female empowerment and gender disparities in sports.
22. Kimberly Wehle
Kimberly Wehle is an ABC News legal analyst and expert on constitutional law. She’s an expert commentator on topics like presidential powers and the criminal implications of certain events that have made the news in past presidencies. One of her most popular speaking topics is “The Foundation of Our Democracy – Why Civic Engagement Matters Now More Than Ever.”
23. Emily Kaplan
In the past, Emily Kaplan has been a sports reporter for the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Sports Illustrated. She’s currently a national NHL reporter for ESPN. She’s just as comfortable talking about the NHL as she is about women in sports.
24. Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton is a gossip columnist gaining more than 300 million hits per month on PerezHilton.com. He’s been featured in just about every entertainment magazine imaginable and many major papers like the L.A. Times and The Wall Street Journal.
25. Laura Shin
Laura Shin was the first mainstream journalist to provide full-time coverage on crypto. As a leading crypto journalist she shares her insights on the news website “Unchained,” and with the help of her sources, she believes she knows who is responsible for the 2016 DAO attack on Ethereum. She offers custom experiences and keynote speeches.
Whether you’re looking for a speaker for your journalism class or school newspaper or want to encourage your news team, we can help. Our top 25 journalism speakers are award-winners with amazing public speaking skills.
