WNYC and Montclair State Present “Tracking Chris Christie” on February 18

Leading political journalists will take the stage at Montclair State University to talk about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Wednesday, February 18. Tracking Chris Christie: A Conversation with Political Journalists is a free special event, produced by the Montclair State University School of Communication and Media’s Center for Cooperative Media and WNYC. The panel discussion will be held from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. in the University Hall Conference Center. 

Long considered a leading presidential candidate, Christie – whether speaking passionately about drug addiction or telling hecklers to “sit down and shut up” – is clearly one of the nation’s most colorful politicians. As he considers announcing his candidacy, a panel of journalists who have long followed and covered Christie will discuss both his appeal to voters and the obstacles he might encounter on his road to the White House.

Montclair State University Professor of Political Science and Law Brigid Callahan Harrison will moderate the conversation with the following panelists:

• Robert George is an associate editorial page editor for the New York Post, as well as a frequent political commentator. A former director of coalitions for the Republican National Committee, he has appeared on CNN, FOX, MSNBC and NPR and has written for publications such as The National Review, The New Republic and Reason.

• Matt Katz has covered Christie for more than three years. The creator of The Philadelphia Inquirer’s The Christie Chronicles blog, he currently runs The Christie Tracker podcast for WNYC and New Jersey Public Radio. His articles about Christie have appeared in The New Republic, The Washington Post and POLITICO magazine. He is working on a book about the governor that will be published by Simon & Schuster.

• Mara Liasson is NPR’s national political correspondent. Her reports air regularly on NPR’s award-winning newsmagazines All Things Considered and Morning Edition. Liasson provides extensive coverage of politics and policy from Washington, DC – focusing on the White House and Congress – as well as of political trends beyond the Beltway.

• Tom Moran is a columnist and editorial page editor for The Star-Ledger in Newark who has covered Chris Christie since his nomination as U.S. Attorney General for New Jersey in 2001. Moran has also worked as an editorial writer at The Record in Hackensack.

The event is associated with The Christie Tracker Podcast, the weekly show from New Jersey Public Radio and WNYC that explores everything you need to know about the governor. The podcast is available on WNYC.org, NJ.com, WHYY.org and iTunes. 

The event is free and open to the public and those wishing to attend may register at: Tracking Christie.

The event also will be webcast live beginning at 7:15 p.m. at montclair.edu/webcast.

For information please contact Shawn Lockwood: lockwoods@mail.montclair.edu, 973-655-3601