Principia College and The Christian Science Monitor are marking 25 years of “Monitor Night Live,” a campus event that brings world news home through conversations with Monitor journalists.
Launched in 1997 by George Moffett, then president of Principia College and former Monitor correspondent, the event, sponsored by the college president’s office, has become one of the school’s most distinctive traditions.
“It’s an opportunity to sit in the same room with world-renowned reporters, [and hear] their perspectives,” said Senior Director of Alumni Relations Merrilee McFarland, who was a student at Prin when “Monitor Night Live” began.
The event falls on homecoming weekend this year, when alumni and families are visiting, and is set for 7:30 p.m., Oct 16. The event will take place in the McVay Center for the Performing Arts this year, after previously being held in Cox Auditorium and Wanamaker Hall, according to Heather Holmes, head of campus events. It will also be livestreamed for remote viewers. For those who attend in person there’s a reception with food after.
Moffett modeled the program after the Public Broadcasting Service’s “Washington Week,” which convenes respected journalists to discuss major world events. He envisioned something similar for Principia, where students, alumni, and community members could hear directly from Monitor reporters covering the front lines of global news.
“Monitor Night Live” has worked to deliver that vision, offering students and faculty not only insights into world events, but also a personal connection with the journalists reporting them. The event is one of the largest livestream production Prin hosts, drawing up to 1,468 viewers last year, including alumni and others joining remotely, according to McFarland.
Every year, the editor and president of the college, often with input from the digital media and journalism department, choose a theme they feel is relevant and timely. This year’s title is: “Above the Fray: To Think Critically, Heal the Divide, and Love the News.”
“Right now there’s so much division in the United States,” said Christa Case Bryant, current editor of The Christian Science Monitor, and “people feel like the media environment is fragmented.” She said she sees the Monitor’s role as an outlet for readers to rise above polarization and hopes to convey that at the event.
The Monitor’s mission, “to injure no man and bless all mankind,” emphasizes the importance of unbiased journalism since the publication’s founding in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, when yellow journalism was prevalent. “We’re not taking sides with one part of mankind; we’re here to bless all mankind,” said Case Bryant. That commitment to fairness guides both the publication and events such as “Monitor Night Live,” she said.
Now a Principia alum, Case Bryant first attended the event as a student in February 2003. Years later, while reporting in Jerusalem, she returned as a Monitor panelist over Skype. This year marks her third “Monitor Night Live,” now as editor.
“One thing I really want to do as the editor of the Monitor is to help kind of elevate the conversation and help people get above the fray of all that tumult,” she explained.
Each “Monitor Night Live,” the editor is joined by a few staff writers who bring their perspectives for the panel discussion.
This year, Case Bryant will be joined by Stephanie Hanes, Taylor Luck, and Stephen Humphries, each of whom has reported extensively on politically charged issues.
McFarland noted that each reporter can represent a topic that would be of interest to the five new academic centers.
Students interested in sustainability may resonate with Hanes, as she reports on the environment and climate crises. Luck may stand out to global studies majors as a correspondent in the Middle East and Northern Africa who has been working closely with Gaza correspondents. Humphries, the chief culture writer, reports on stories ranging from transgender women in sports to debates around the pandemic. Political science majors might also be interested in Case Bryant, who has reported on topics such as the U.S. Congress and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“All four of us have had a lot of experience reporting on things that have caused a lot of division or reflect a lot of division,” Case Bryant said. “We’ll be talking about how, in our work for the Monitor, we try to get above the fray ourselves and help others do that as well.”
George Moffett believed that the Monitor and Prin “are doing some of the most important work on the planet,” said former Monitor reporter Abraham McLoughlin, who now works as manager at the Christian Science Publishing Society. Moffett wanted to reflect the importance and excellence of this work, of praying for the world and seeing the good in others’ lives and experiences.
This year, in addition to the four journalists being on campus, there will also be two former Monitor editors, David Cook and Marshall Ingwerson, and Martha Moffett, the wife of former president George Moffett, as part of an effort to mark the occasion.
“I’m confident that Dr. Moffett would be pleased to know the event has continued over the years and would be proud to celebrate the milestone with us,” said Karen Eisenhauer, who was the executive assistant to then college president Moffett, in 1997 at Prin, and holds that title today.
Organizers said there will be time for audience members to ask questions and a chance to converse with the journalists during the event. And the visiting journalists will be spending Thursday and Friday morning visiting several classes.
