NewsLab founder to give fall commencement address

Deborah Potter, former network correspondent and founder of NewsLab, will give the school's fall commencement address on Sunday, Dec. 20, at 10 a.m. in the Carroll Hall auditorium.

Her speech is titled "A View From the Future."

Potter, a graduate of UNC, is a veteran television reporter who spent 16 years as a correspondent for CBS News and CNN. She is currently a contributing correspondent to the PBS program Religion and Ethics Newsweekly and a columnist for American Journalism Review.

Since 1998, Potter has been president and executive director of NewsLab, providing training and online resources for journalists.  She leads workshops across the country and around the world for professional journalists and students on topics ranging from multimedia storytelling to ethics.

At CNN, Potter anchored news programs and reported on national politics and environmental issues. She joined CNN in 1991 after 13 years at CBS News, where she served as White House, State Department and Congressional Correspondent. After leaving CNN, she hosted the PBS series In the Prime. 

Potter is the author of “Advancing the Story: Broadcast Journalism in a Multimedia World,” RTNDF's “Ready, Set, Lead: A Resource Guide for News Leaders,” and the “Handbook of Independent Journalism,” among other publications. She is a former faculty associate at the Poynter Institute, where for three years she led writing, reporting, management and ethics seminars. She is also past executive director of the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation.

Before joining CBS News, Potter worked as a news anchor for KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia; as a reporter for the Voice of America in Washington; and as a news producer for the ABC television affiliate in Washington. She holds a master's degree from The American University.