Gainesville, Fla., – Lee Rainie, director of internet, science and technology research at Pew Research Center, has been selected as the 2017 Annual Distinguished Lecturer for the Institute for Public Relations Annual Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner on November 29 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. His lecture is titled, “Truth, Politics and Culture in a Hyper-Connected World.”
Created in 2004, Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. Under Rainie’s leadership, the Pew Research Center has issued more than 600 reports based on its surveys and other data that examine people’s online activities and the internet’s role in their lives. He also directs the Center’s new initiative on the intersection of science and society.
“We are thrilled to have Lee Rainie at the Pew Research Center as our 2017 guest lecturer,” said Leslie Gaines-Ross, Chief Reputation Strategist at Weber Shandwick and IPR Board Member. “Lee has spoken extensively about the changing media ecosystem, shifting public opinion and eroding trust in institutions and society. I am confident that his deep insights will also illuminate how the internet and social media are shaping our understanding of the world today, for better or for worse.”
Started in 1961, the annual Distinguished Lecture helps celebrate those who have made lifetime contributions to the profession as well as research that matters to the public relations profession. Past speakers have included Geoff Colvin, senior editor-at-large of Fortune Magazine; Harold Burson, founder of Burson-Marsteller; and Dana Perino, former White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush, now a political commentator at Fox News.
Rainie is co-author of Networked: The New Social Operating System as well as five books about the future of the internet, drawn from the Center’s research. In 2014, the American Sociological Association gave Rainie its award for “excellence in the reporting on social issues,” and described his work as the “most authoritative source of reliable data on the use and impact of the internet and mobile connectivity.”
Prior to launching Pew Research Center’s technology research, Rainie was managing editor of U.S. News & World Report. He is a graduate of Harvard University and has a master’s degree in political science from Long Island University.
Tickets for the Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner are available for $500 each. Tables of 10 can be purchased for $5,000 and premium tables of 10 are available for $10,000. The price includes a networking cocktail reception (sponsored by the UF College of Journalism and Communications), the awards dinner, and Rainie’s lecture.
About the Institute for Public Relations
The Institute for Public Relations is an independent, nonprofit research foundation dedicated to fostering greater use of research and research-based knowledge in corporate communication and the public relations practice. IPR is dedicated to the science beneath the art of public relations™. IPR provides timely insights and applied intelligence that professionals can put to immediate use. All research, including a weekly research letter, is available for free at instituteforpr.org.
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