EUGENE S. PULLIAM DISTINGUISHED VISITING
PROFESSOR OF JOURNALISM
2008-14

Robert M. Steele, Eugene S. Pulliam Distinguished Visiting Professor of
Journalism and Professor of Communication and Theatre

A 1969 graduate of DePauw, Robert M. Steele joins the faculty after serving as the Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values and a senior ethics faculty member at The Poynter Institute, a school for journalists, future journalists and teachers of journalists where he led the Institute's initiative in strengthening sound values in the practice of excellent journalism.

While at the Poynter Institute, in addition to teaching practical applications to values challenges, Steele advised media leaders and mentored journalists on real-time values and ethics dilemmas, connected the Poynter Institute with senior executives on issues of journalism and business values and facilitated strategic thinking and planning sessions. He also researched, reported and wrote about values issues and the choices faced by media leaders.

While directing the Poynter Institute's ethics programs for 14 years, he led ethics, values and critical thinking workshops for more than 75 newspapers, television stations and media groups. The author of numerous articles, columns, case studies, guidelines and book chapters on journalism ethics and on values and leadership, Steele coauthored discussion guides and ethics workbooks for the American Society for Newspaper Editors and the Radio Television News Directors Association and Foundation and also coauthored Doing Ethics in Journalism: A Handbook with Case Studies (1998), used in newsrooms and classrooms. He was the chair and principal author for the Society of Professional Journalists' national task force that examined the role of the media in covering the standoff between the Branch Davidians and federal officials near Waco, Texas.

Steele earned a B.A. degree in economics from DePauw, M.S. degree in television/radio at Syracuse University in 1973 and Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Iowa in 1990 with his dissertation written on journalism ethics. He taught Reporting, Media Law and Ethics at the University of Maine for five years and has 10 years of experience as a television reporter, executive producer and news director. He also produced and hosted a series of 16 half-hour television programs for Maine Public Television Network that focused on media issues.

At DePauw, Steele was a member of the Eugene S. Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media Board of Advisors from 2000-06; was a speaker at DePauw Discourse 2004: Issues for America and partici­pated in a discussion with John E McWethy '69 on "The Ethics of War Journalism: Are Embedded Journalists in Bed with the Military?" sponsored by the Media Fellows program. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Journalism degree from DePauw in May 2007.