Diverse News 2008®

NEWS FEEDS
From Front Porch to Webcast: The History and Impact of Spouses in Presidential Campaigns
    CANTON, Ohio, April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 17, the National First
Ladies' Library will host an array of esteemed historians and journalists,
including keynote speaker Eleanor Clift of Newsweek, for a symposium
focused on the importance of spouses on the campaign trail in past and
current U.S. presidential elections.

    "We are extremely excited to host Eleanor Clift and other nationally
renowned experts who can help the public explore the important
contributions spouses have played in elections throughout history," said
Mary Regula, founder of the National First Ladies' Library. "The symposium
helps us continue to achieve our mission to educate everyone, from school
children to scholars, on the important -- and often overlooked -- role of
First Ladies in our history."

    The symposium, "From Front Porch to Webcast: The History and Impact of
Spouses in Presidential Campaigns," is the second in a series of biennial
symposiums sponsored by the National First Ladies' Library. This series
focuses on exploring the importance of America's First Ladies within the
broader context of presidential, political, gender, media, and general
social American history and related contemporary issues. Two panel
presentations will explore a more accurate understanding of how the media,
politics, and gender roles transect in contemporary American life, as well
as the role spouses play in current and historic presidential campaigns.

    "This year's panelists include respected historians and journalists
with unparalleled experience covering and studying spouses during elections
-- in one case, even experiencing life as a spouse on the trail firsthand,"
said Carl Sferrazza Anthony, panel moderator and historian with the
National First Ladies' Library. "We are incredibly proud to host this event
examining an important aspect of political campaigns in Ohio, one of the
most important political states during this election cycle."

    The symposium will feature keynote speaker Eleanor Clift, contributing
editor for Newsweek magazine, political analyst for Fox News, and regular
panelist on The McLaughlin Group; as well as Karen Tumulty, national
political correspondent with Time magazine; Evan Cornog, publisher of the
Columbia Journalism Review; Mary Finch Hoyt, former press secretary to
Rosalynn Carter, Jane Muskie, and Eleanor McGovern; Connie Schultz,
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist from the Cleveland Plain Dealer; and many
more esteemed guests.

    Those registered also are invited to attend an opening reception with
the panelists the evening of Friday, May 16, at the historic Ida Saxton
McKinley House. In addition to mingling with some of the world's foremost
historians and journalists, attendees will be free to tour the home with
docent guides on hand to answer questions.

    The symposium runs from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., May 17. For more
information or to listen in on a free Webcast, please visit:
http://www.firstladies.org.

    About the National First Ladies' Library:

    As the first and only facility of its kind, the National First Ladies'
Library (NFLL) serves as a unique national resource for patrons from school
children to serious scholars. As a national archive devoted to educating
people about the contributions of First Ladies and other notable women in
history, the library's collection fills an informational void that has long
frustrated academicians and armchair history buffs alike. The library
fulfills this mission by serving as a physical educational facility and an
electronic virtual library, in an effort to educate people in the United
States and around the world.
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