Lawrence Laurent
Adjunct Professorial Lecturer

Phone: (202) 994-6227
Fax: (202) 994-5806
E-mail:
Office: MPA 425

Expertise

Courses Taught

JOUR 135, Critical Writing and Reviewing

Selected Works

Background

Lawrence Laurent is a pioneer television critic in American journalism, who took up college teaching on orders from his managing editor at The Washington Post. He came to The George Washington University in 1982 as a visiting professor where he has remained as a professorial lecturer in critical writing and reviewing.

Laurent started teaching in 1964 at American University (AU), where he first lectured on television programming and later on the history of broadcasting and film. In 1978, he received AU's Distinguished Teacher Award. Over the years, he has lectured at more than 100 colleges and universities including a stint as guest professor at Syracuse University in 1966 and as visiting professor at the University of Detroit in 1967.

A reporter for The Washington Post for more than 31 years, Laurent spent 28 of those years as a nationally-syndicated television critic. While at the Post, he was assigned to study press association and TV network coverage of the 1962 national elections in his book Broadcast Century. Washington Post publisher Philip L. Graham used the results of his study to form the National Election Service, a cooperative of press associations and broadcast networks, to provide improved coverage of national elections.

When he retired from the Post, Laurent joined the staff of the Association of Independent Television Stations (INTV), representing the nation's 400 non-network affiliated television stations. He became INTV's Vice President of Communications and retired a second time in 1991.

Among other accomplishments, Laurent spent 10 years as chair of the editorial board of the Television Quarterly, a magazine published by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Syracuse University. Under his supervision, the magazine was recognized as the "best publication about television in the world," and won the Golden Lion of the Venice Film Festival in 1965. He also received a Front Page Award from the American Newspaper Guild for covering the Congressional investigations into the broadcast audience measurement services, also known as "ratings."

Education

Radio, U.S. Naval Training School, University of Colorado, 1943
Economics, University of Virginia, 1949