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Two-Time Pulitzer Prize Winner In Town Tonight

By Betsy Mikel in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 15, 2010 4:20PM

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Photo courtesy of Nicholas Kristof via National Geographic Adventure.
Nicholas D. Kristof will be making an appearance tonight at Northwestern University. Who is that? And why should you care? If you've ever heard of genocide and human trafficking in Darfur, human rights abuses in Asia, or the Tiananmen Square protests, you have Kristof to thank. His reporting was responsible for bringing these issues to the public eye. He's won countless awards for his work and two Pulitzer Prizes.

According to his NYT bio, Kristof is a fearless journalist who has lived on four continents, reported on six, and traveled to more than 140 countries, plus all 50 states, every Chinese province and every main Japanese island. Along the way, he has had some terrifying experiences with malaria, mobs, and a plane crash. Needless to say, Kristof has a lot to say about a lot of things, but tonight he'll be focusing on the role of journalism in democracy, one of the recurring themes in his work.

Tonight's program at Northwestern will also include clips from the soon-to-be-released documentary Reporter. Kristof is the subject of the film, which was (shockingly) produced by Ben Affleck. Reporter follows Kristof through his reporting on the conflicts and poverty in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2007. Kristof's personal agenda was to put the crisis in the Congo on the International agenda. "The part of journalism that we can't afford to lose is the part that goes into the world and tells you about the things that nobody is telling you," said fellow NYT columnist Gail Collins. That's what Kristof was doing in the Congo, and in Darfur, and in China, and in almost every place he has reported.

To learn more about Nick Kristof and his work, check his twitter, facebook, youtube, blog, columns, or books.

Nicholas Kristof, Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave., 5:30 p.m., free with RSVP