On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, the Gwen Ifill College of Media, Arts, and Humanities will host the 2024 Gwen Ifill Forum, our annual signature event in honor of Gwen Ifill '77, '93HD and her legacy as a ground-breaking Black woman journalist. Each year, the Ifill Forum brings together important national voices for a public conversation on key questions of the day.
This year’s event, which will be held in-person and streamed virtually, features a moderated discussion with accomplished MSNBC political analyst and host of “The ReidOut,” Joy-Ann (Joy) Reid. Reid will be honored with the Gwen Ifill Next Generation Award — presented to an individual who embodies Gwen Ifill’s commitment to professional excellence, mentoring, and the public good.
We are excited to announce that this year's event moderator is Latoyia Edwards, an Emmy Award-winning anchor on NBC 10 Boston and NECN. She was recently named one of Boston Magazine’s Most Influential Bostonians. Latoyia is a multi-talented journalist moderating political debates, field-anchoring live news events, securing exclusive one on one interviews and emceeing countless charity events each year.
She joined the NBC Boston and NECN family as a morning reporter, arriving from WWLP-22 in Springfield, Massachusetts, where she had been a weekday anchor. During her tenure, Latoyia has enjoyed success serving as a health reporter, weekend anchor, evening news anchor, before landing In her favorite role as morning news anchor alongside Raul Martinez and Matt Noyes.
Latoyia celebrates her hometown roots as a native of Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. She is a graduate of Boston Public Schools including the exam school Boston Latin Academy. Latoyia graduated magna cum laude from Emerson College with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. She began her career as a news writer for WBZ 1030-AM radio, and later reported for the Fox affiliate WICZ-TV 40 in Binghamton, New York.
The discussion will be followed by a book signing of Reid’s new book "Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America" (Harper Collins, 2024).
The 2024 Ifill Forum takes place at Simmons University on April 2, from 12 – 2 pm EST, and will also be streamed online. Registration for the virtual or in-person event is required. Please visit the Ifill Forum event page for more information.