Topics: Speakers, College of Communication Information and Media, Emerging Media, Immersive Learning
March 15, 2011
J. Carl Ganter, a renowned multimedia journalist whose expertise on the economy and natural resources has put him at the forefront of international solutions to the global freshwater crisis, will deliver this year's Bracken Environmental Lecture at Ball State University.
Ganter, co-founder and director of Circle of Blue, will describe the environmental dimensions and economic consequences of a global water crisis that is simultaneously producing record levels of flooding and drought-influenced scarcity.
Ganter's lecture on March 22, "Our Water Future: Meeting the Challenge of the Century," starts at 7:30 p.m. in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center, Cardinal Hall. It is free, and the public is invited to attend.
Widely regarded in the United States and around the world as setting new standards in online multimedia journalism, Ganter has reported on the global water crisis from six continents.
As director of Circle of Blue, the premier news organization in the world covering freshwater issues, Ganter and his staff have gained fresh and penetrating perspectives on a crisis that affects billions of people and has dogged national leaders in more than 100 countries, including the two largest economies — the United States and China.
Ganter also has developed state-of-the-art techniques for disseminating Circle of Blue's reporting to a growing online global audience.
As part of its trend-setting work, Circle of Blue has partnered with a select team of Ball State students for a comprehensive multimedia reporting project focused on how China's demand for energy is outpacing its freshwater supply. The venture joins Ball State's immersive learning program in multimedia journalism with Circle of Blue's staff of reporters, data researchers and communications designers.
Ball State students and Circle of Blue staff have been producing path-breaking interactive graphics and on-the-ground reporting about the growing confrontation between water, energy and climate interests that are pulling at the United States and China. The team is under the direction of Jennifer George-Palilonis, George and Frances Ball distinguished professor of multimedia at Ball State.
Ganter is a photojournalist, writer, and broadcast reporter, and his work has appeared in major news magazines and newspapers as well as on television and radio. He has delivered keynote speeches and other presentations at some of the world's most prestigious ideas conferences, among them the Aspen Institute Aspen Ideas Festival, World Economic Forum, Aspen Environment Forum and the Clinton Global Initiative.
He earned his master's degree in investigative reporting and magazine writing at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism after graduating with honors from the university's American studies program.
By Marc Ransford, Senior Communications Strategist