Le Moyne College is welcoming acclaimed journalist John Archibald to campus this week. Archibald is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist from Alabama, and is one of the great voices in American journalism today. He will be visiting many classes this Wednesday and Thursday, with his time in Syracuse being headlined by two events.
At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Archibald will be sitting down for a talk with Le Moyne journalist-in-residence Sean Kirst in the Grewen Auditorium. According to Kirst, a columnist with The Buffalo News, the discussion will be focusing on “how two longtime columnists, in the North and the South, built their careers — and whether we believe journalism, especially local journalism, can still thrive and matter in a time when it seems to be at threat.”
Introducing them is Declan Sommer, who will succeed Carly Nicolai as Editor-in-Chief of The Dolphin for the 2025-26 academic year. Le Moyne Professor Michael Streissguth will be moderating. Admission to the event is free. Additionally, Archibald is holding a talk and book-signing event on Thursday for his critically acclaimed memoir “Shaking the Gates of Hell: A Search for Family and Truth in the Wake of the Civil Rights Revolution.” The event will take place at 6 p.m. at Parthenon Books on South Salina Street, in downtown Syracuse.
Archibald has a career in journalism that has spanned over 35 years, cementing himself as a leading voice for the deep South, and the significance it plays in the culture and history of America. He currently serves as a columnist and reporter for the Alabama Media Group, with his work appearing in the Huntsville Times, The Birmingham News, and other Alabama-based publications.
Archibald is a two-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize award, first earning the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. In 2023 Archibald was a co-recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, for his work as the lead reporter on an investigation into abusive policing in the Alabama community of Brookside.
“He and I have been dreaming about doing a session together for almost 15 years,” said Kirst, whose journalism career began in 1974 — and who is a longtime friend of Archibald’s. “I look forward to comparing our journeys, the way we try to win the trust of a regional audience through shared experience, and whether that still works – or can work – in this fiercely divided 21st century digital landscape.”
Kirst emphasized the significance of Archibald’s visit for the Le Moyne community:
“A visit from John Archibald is a really wonderful moment not only for Le Moyne, but for Central New York. He is a great and courageous journalist, a columnist with a heart for the little guy and the guts to speak the truth, at a moment when we need it most. What a gift his visit will be for our students.”
