Groundbreaking narrative journalist Gay Talese will be appearing as a special guest at the annual Power of Narrative Conference, Boston University’s College of Communication announced Wednesday. The conference will take place from April 1-3, 2016, and will welcome more than 500 attendees from around the world.
The Power of Narrative Conference aims to provide students and mid-career journalists with the skill set they will need to craft innovative and effective stories, according to an email sent to COM students. The event will feature more than 40 speakers, in addition to Talese, including authors Mary Roach and Hampton Sides, as well as award-winning journalists from both The New York Times and The Boston Globe, the email stated.
Sarah Kess, an administrator in COM’s journalism department, said Talese has the ability to demonstrate the significance of storytelling and that he will offer a valuable perspective for young journalists.
“Just as everything in journalism has changed, the conference has changed as technology has become more and more important in the field of journalism,” Kess said. “At the same time, we want to remember that stories are important and the foundation of your story still needs to be strong … Gay Talese is the expert on that, so he does take us back to what we are trying to do at our core.”
Professors within COM shared Kess’ enthusiasm and said Talese will do an excellent job of speaking to the future of journalism, while also preserving skills that remain timeless in the field.
Journalism professor Dick Lehr, a speaker at this year’s conference and a veteran of The Boston Globe, said the sensibility and imagination that Talese incorporates into his writing will offer insight to attendees of all ages.
“For writers like me who have been around for a while, it’s always great to hear something from the master and he is a master of the craft,” he said. “For younger, up-and-coming writers, it’s a chance to hear from someone who was really at the cutting edge a couple decades ago when newspaper journalism began to push the narrative form.”
Mitchell Zuckoff, a journalism professor who has been heavily involved in the planning of the conference, said Talese epitomizes the message that Power of Narrative aims to convey.
“It’s wonderful that BU and the College of Communication supports this conference as strongly as they do, because to me this is really the future of journalism,” Zuckoff said. “This is telling stories across platforms, and being a leader in that field is really what we do at the heart of the College of Communication.”
Several students said they support Talese’s appearance as a speaker and said the conference will equip writers will many tools to help them succeed.
Viha Vig, a freshman in the College of Arts of Sciences, said there are several new ways for writers to tell stories, and journalists should be able to adapt to different platforms as technology advances.
“There can be different kinds of storytelling,” Vig said, “like people speaking on the news, that’s a form of storytelling, as well. So considering all that, I think it’s really important in today’s world to be able to use different platforms and bring about different perspectives.”
Alice Yih, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, said the conference will enable attendees to develop skills that will increase their chances of being successful on whatever career path they choose.
“Now that these fields are becoming more competitive, everyone really needs to take advantage of the tools around them to help them out so they can be as competitive as possible,” Yih said.
Jessica Petro, a freshman in the COM, said she appreciates the opportunity to hear from such an impactful writer.
“I think it’s great that COM is hosting this event. Gay Talese has been so influential in journalism and the way he tells stories is entirely unique,” she said. “I think he will really inspire people attending the conference to approach writing in new ways and use imagination to make their stories come alive.”
