Five distinguished journalists and scholars will spend the fall term at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government. During their resident fellowships, they will share their experiences in the field of press/politics and participate in and contribute to the intellectual life and research activities of the Center.

"I am pleased and proud that such distinguished people can join us for a semester and share their special insights with students and scholars," said Marvin Kalb, director of the Shorenstein Center. "Each fellow will research and write a paper on a press/politics subject. We couldn't be happier that they have chosen to spend some time with us."

The five fellows are: John Dancy, former Moscow correspondent for NBC News, who is doing a case study on the question of television network news as an instrument of public policy; Nachman Shai, director general of the Second Television and Radio Authority in Jerusalem, who is researching national security and the press in a time of peace in Israel; Richard Sobel, faculty associate at the Center of International Studies, Princeton University, who is examining how the media and political debates portray public support and opposition for U.S. involvement in Bosnia; Bartholomew Sparrow, assistant professor of government at the University of Texas, who is studying the news media as a political institution; and Fred Wertheimer, former president and chief executive officer of Common Cause, who is investigating the impact of the communications revolution on American democracy.

At NBC since 1965, John Dancy, NBC News's most senior correspondent, has covered every major beat in Washington. He served as chief diplomatic correspondent during the Bush administration; covered Congress during the Reagan administration; and was senior White House correspondent during the Carter administration. Dancy has anchored NBC Nightly News, NBC News at Sunrise, and Meet the Press. He served as a foreign correspondent in Europe and the Middle East. In covering the diplomatic beat, Dancy has traveled with Secretaries of State George Shultz, James Baker, and Warren Christopher. He took a brief hiatus from foreign policy in 1992 to cover the general election campaign, traveling extensively with Democratic candidate Bill Clinton. In 1994, soon after being assigned to Moscow, Dancy covered his fourth war, involving Russian Army troops and Chechen rebels.

Nachman Shai began his career in journalism as a military correspondent for the Bechmachane Nahal magazine. During his more than 30 years in journalism, he has been a reporter and editor for Kol Israel (Israel Radio); senior reporter and editor for Israel Television; press secretary for the Israel delegation to the U.N.; press adviser to the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C.; communications adviser to the Minister of Defense at Israel's Ministry of Defense; and commander of Galei Zahal (IDF Radio) and IDF spokesman.

At Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School, Richard Sobel organized and edited the book from the Conference of Decision Makers on Public Opinion and U.S. Central America Policy, and was a lecturer in the Wilson School and then in history. As a

research associate at the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut, he taught political science and public policy. He has written and spoken widely about the public's role in American foreign affairs. His edited volume, Public Opinion in U.S. Foreign Policy: The Controversy Over Contra Aid, along with articles in Public Opinion Quarterly and Political Science Quarterly, examines U.S. involvements in Central America. Sobel is working on a book about Public Opinion and American Foreign Policy: From Vietnam to the Nineties.

Bartholomew Sparrow is the author of From the Outside In: World War II and the American State and has contributed to the American Political Science Review, The Presidency and the Political System (4th ed.), and other journals and edited volumes. His research and teaching interests include executive branch politics, political communication, organizational and institutional theory, and U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Some of his writings have examined the news media and the Gulf War, the news media as a fourth branch of government and a political institution, and the role of the yellow press in the Spanish American War. Sparrow is currently working on a book on the news media as a political institution.

Fred Wertheimer stepped down as president of Common Cause in 1995, where he began as a lobbyist in 1971. He served as legislative director and vice president for program operations before becoming president in 1981. He was responsible for the organization's legislative and grassroots activities, its policy development, its finances, and its public communications. Wertheimer also helped create Common Cause Magazine. Prior to joining Common Cause, he served as legislative counsel to the late Representative Silvio Conte and to the House Small Business Committee, and as an attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was a fellow at Harvard's Institute of Politics in 1973.

The fellows and visiting faculty will introduce themselves and discuss their research at a roundtable discussion on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 4:30 pm in Room 275 of the Taubman Building (access from Eliot Street), at the Kennedy School of Government. The public is invited to attend.