Lee Thornton | Philip Merrill College of Journalism

Lee Thornton
Richard Eaton Professor in Broadcast Journalism
Ph.D., Northwestern

Office: 2209 Knight
Phone: 301-405-2383/301-405-5292
E-mail: lthornton@jmail.umd.edu

Lee Thornton holds the College's Richard Eaton chair in Broadcast Journalism. She is a former CBS News White House correspondent and CNN program producer. As a National Public Radio show host she won the prestigious gold "Cindy." She has worked in local radio and television and is a longtime, award-winning media production consultant to government and industry. Since 1998, her students have more than 50 regional and national citations from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Hearst Foundation. For documentary filmmaking, her students have won numeris ICA and Telly Awards. Prof. Thornton created the award-winning "Front & Center: Journalists on Journalism," and "Changing Media" programs on UMTV and the Research Channel. Those programs, which she hosts and produces, have also received numerous citations, including the prestigious Telly. Maryland's Center for Teaching Excellence named her an Outstanding Teacher in 2000. Her more than two decades of work as a scholar-contributor for Worldbook Encyclopedia includes the biography of former President Bush. Thornton has lectured widely on minorities in the media, women in the media, and journalism education issues. She is the first woman to officiate at the nation's annual Veterans Day observance, a role she repeated throughout former President Clinton's administration.

Courses Taught: TV News Reporting and Producing Longform Production Broadcast Performance for Print Journalists Seminar in Broadcast History and Issues

Expertise: Television News Reporting and Producing

Campus Committees: Chair, Promotion and Tenure Faculty Advisory Salary Review Curriculum Appointments/Various Search Committees Various University Committees

Affiliations: SDX Board Member Scripps Howard Advisory Board Dart Advisory Board DC RTNDA (Past Board Member-Elected) DC SPJ (Past Chapter President)