Michael Barbaro, host of the popular New York Times podcast “The Daily,” will be the speaker at the 55th Annual Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture. 

The event is free and open to the public, and will be Monday, March 4 at 6 p.m. in the University Theatre on the UC Riverside campus. Those planning to attend are asked to register in advance.

“The Daily” is a five-day-a-week audio podcast from The New York Times. In its first year, the show built an audience of over one million listeners a day.

On stage, Barbaro frames his discussions in much the same way he describes his show: The moment demands an explanation—"The Daily” is on a mission to find it. Michael discusses the creation of the podcast and his journey, as well as his view on the state of journalism today, including the impact of cable versus the rising popularity of podcast audio. He provides audiences with an informed, nonpartisan perspective on the day’s headlines.

Launching at the dawn of the Trump presidency, it was Apple Podcasts most-downloaded new show of 2017. “The Daily” won a DuPont-Columbia University Award for audio excellence and been named a top podcast of the year by Time, Entertainment Weekly, The Atlantic, Esquire, Adweek, The New Yorker, and New York Magazine. Along with podcast success, his Twitter account @mikiebarb also boasts a substantial following.

 

Before hosting “The Daily,” Barbaro was a national political correspondent for The New York Times and host of “The Run-up,” a podcast that chronicled the 2016 election. Previously, he covered New York's City Hall and the U.S. retail industry. Upon graduation with a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale, he joined The Washington Post as a reporter covering the biotech industry, eventually joining The New York Times in 2005.

The Hays Press-Enterprise Lecture Series was established in 1966 by the late Howard H (Tim) Hays, then editor of The Press-Enterprise, in collaboration with UCR. Hays spent 51 years at The Press-Enterprise including — later — as owner and publisher for the newspaper. He was a leader in establishing a University of California campus in Riverside. In 1997, his son Tom Hays endowed the lecture and the Hays name was added to the title in honor of Tim Hays. Dallas-based A.H. Belo Corporation, former owner of The Press-Enterprise, has provided generous support for the series.

In recent years, presenters have included journalists Soledad O’Brien, formerly of CNN, and Nikole-Hannah Jones of The New York Times. This past year’s lecturer was then-Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida.

The lecture will be at 6 p.m. at the University Theatre and is open to the entire campus community and to the public. Provost Elizabeth Watkins will emcee the event, and UCR Professor of Philosophy Barry Lam will moderate a Q&A session. A reception will precede the event at The Barn at 5 p.m.

Complimentary parking is available in Lot 6.