2023 Jim Hayes Symposium

American's trust in the news media is near an all-time low and deeply divided along partisan lines. What can journalists do to restore faith in honest, fair and accurate reporting?

This is among the questions that long-time ABC News reporter and Cal Poly Journalism graduate David Kerley will pose to a panel of experienced and insightful media professionals in this year's Jim Hayes Symposium, our biannual forum where media leaders talk of courage, truth and enduring values.

The goal of the Jim Hayes Symposium is to inspire a new generation of journalists, content providers and storytellers to act with integrity. It is named for a beloved Cal Poly journalism professor, chair of the journalism department and founding director of the Brock Center for Agricultural Communication, who was a staunch advocate for fact-checking, integrity and ethics.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz

Editor-in-chief, San Francisco Chronicle

Carolyn McGourty Supple

Head of public affairs, Google Public Sector

Katerina Eva Matsa

Director of news and information, Pew Research Center

Neil Chase

Chief Executive Officer, CalMatters

David Kerley

(Moderator)

Owner, Full Throttle Newsletter; Former ABC News correspondent

2023 Symposium Panelists

Emilio Garcia Ruiz

Editor-in-chief, The San Francisco Chronicle

Emilio Garcia-Ruiz is the Editor in Chief of the San Francisco Chronicle, the leading news source in the Bay Area. The Chronicle focuses its coverage on the issues critical to its readers, including health, homelessness, the post-pandemic future of the city, climate change and its deadly consequences and the area’s world-class food and wine scene.

Emilio joined the Chronicle in September 2020 after spending the last 19 years at The Washington Post. His final role at The Post was as Managing Editor for Digital, where he oversaw the development and execution of digital strategy, supervising more than 350 journalists.

He edited the 2000 Pulitzer prize-winning investigation by the St. Paul Pioneer Press that uncovered academic fraud in the University of Minnesota men's basketball program. His career includes editing at the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times.

Carolyn McGourty Supple

Head of public affairs, Google Public Sector

Carolyn McGourty Supple works with the Office of the CEO at Google to accelerate digital transformation of U.S. public institutions.

She is a recognized leader on media, technology and leadership, whose work has been featured or published in The Hill, Poynter, USA Today, Ms. Magazine, Quill, Editor & Publisher and CNN.

Carolyn co-founded the Center for Ethical Leadership in Media and served as Visiting Professor with the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, where she worked with faculty to develop an open-source curriculum on ethical leadership and management. She served as the 2021 Entrepreneur in Residence for Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures. She is a graduate of Cal Poly Journalism.

Katerina Eva Matsa

Director of news and information research, Pew Research Center

Katerina Eva Matsa is the director of news and information research at Pew Research Center, where she specializes in news habits and attitudes in the U.S. and Europe. She is an expert on the impact of technology and politics on the news and information environment and the use of multiple methodologies, including survey methods, content analysis and computational science.

Matsa has authored various studies, including on local news, social media, news consumption, and political polarization and media habits. She regularly speaks with academic, commercial, non-profit, and government stakeholders in the North America and Europe. Katerina is fluent in both English and Greek and has provided commentary to NPR, the BBC, and the World Economic Forum. She did graduate work in the communications doctoral program at American University, holds an M.Sc. in Politics and Government in the European Union from the London School of Economics, an M.A. in Communication from Georgetown University, and a B.A. degree in Political Science from Panteion University in Athens, Greece.

Neil Chase

CEO, CalMatters

Neil Chase has had a long and varied career in journalism, media, and consulting. Neil began their career in 1991 as a Graphics Editor and Page Designer for The Arizona Republic. In 1992, they became an Assistant Managing Editor for We/Mbl - Hearst Newspapers. In 1993, they began working as a Digital Media Consultant. From 1995 to 2000, they were an Assistant Professor and Director of Technology at Northwestern University, and then a Managing Editor at CBS MarketWatch. In 2005, they became a Continuous News Editor and Deputy Editor at The New York Times. From 2007 to 2016, they were a Senior Vice President of Editorial at Federated Media Publishing. From 2016 to 2019, they were an Executive Editor at Bay Area News Group. Since 2019, they have been the Chief Executive Officer of CalMatters, a nonprofit journalism venture.

David Kerley - Moderator

Journalist, Full Throttle Newsletter

David Kerley is a journalist working in both broadcasting and digital media. His newsletter, Full Throttle, explores the dramatic transportation transformation that is underway around the globe. David is also a correspondent for the Discovery Channel’s Space Launch Live programs.

As former Senior Transportation Correspondent for ABC News, David reported for World News Tonight and Good Morning America for 16 years. Prior to ABC News, David was an anchor and reporter at stations in Chicago, Seattle, Boise, and Santa Maria, CA. He is a graduate of Cal Poly Journalism.