News Release

By DEAN E. MUNDY
UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication

CHAPEL HILL — Wall Street Journal executive Penelope Muse Abernathy will discuss the challenges media companies face in covering international news during an April 6 talk at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"Circling the Globe: No Cakewalk for the Media" will be the title of her free, public address at 4 p.m. in Carroll Hall auditorium. The talk is part of the Roy H. Park Distinguished Lecture Series in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Abernathy, a native of Laurinburg, was named senior vice president of The Wall Street Journal last October. She manages business operations of the company’s international publications and oversees Dow Jones International Marketing Services. Abernathy also is responsible for development at the Journal, which includes planning the Weekend Edition scheduled to begin in September.

Before joining the Journal, Abernathy was group publisher and general manager of Harvard Business School Publishing Co., publisher of the Harvard Business Review. She also spent 13 years with The New York Times Co., where her positions included president of The New York Times News Service, senior vice president for strategic planning and human resources, and business manager for the news department. Earlier, Abernathy worked for the Dallas Times Herald and The Charlotte Observer.

Abernathy was inducted into the N.C. Journalism Hall of Fame, which is based in the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication, in 1998. She earned a bachelor’s degree from UNC-Greensboro and two master’s degrees from Columbia University.

Abernathy’s speech will be the 12th in the Park series, which features outstanding mass communication professionals. The Triad Foundation of Ithaca, N.Y., funds the lectures to enhance its Roy H. Park Fellowship Program in the school. Each year the Triad Foundation provides fellowships for 14 new master's and eight new doctoral students to enter the school's graduate program. In fall 2005, the ninth class of Park Fellows will begin its studies.

The lecture series is named for the late Roy H. Park, who was founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Park Communications Inc., a multimedia company with broadcast and print properties throughout the United States. Park had a longtime affiliation with the school, serving on its foundation board of directors in 1981-93 and its board of visitors in 1989-93. In 1989, he received the North Carolina Award, the state's highest civilian honor. He was inducted into the N.C. Journalism Hall of Fame in 1990.

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Contact: John Kuka, 966-3323, jkuka@email.unc.edu

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