TINA BROWN: DIANA AND THE ARISTOCRACY OF CELEBRITY
TUESDAY, October 13, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
$9 for members, $15 for non-members, $7 for students & teachers, free for 1787 Society members. Reservations required. Please call 215.409.6700 or order online.
Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach
F.M. Kirby Auditorium
National Constitution Center
Independence Mall
525 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA
The Center, in support of its fall exhibition Diana: A Celebration, welcomes Daily Beast editor Tina Brown for a conversation about Princess Diana and her dramatic impact in creating the rise of celebrity culture. Lady Diana Spencer, a member of one of England’s most distinguished families, entered the public stage at a moment when British media was entering a racier age. The paparazzi found a willing subject in the young aristocrat, and Diana proved to be gifted at manipulating the media and gaining power from publicity.
In her bestselling book, The Diana Chronicles, Brown writes: “She was way ahead of her contemporaries in foreseeing a world where celebrity was, so to speak, the coin of the realm.” She leaked tips and planted stories but, by opening her personal life to the press, the Princess destroyed every last claim a celebrity could make to privacy. “An aristocrat herself, Diana knew that the aristocracy of birth was now irrelevant. All that counted now was the aristocracy of exposure,” concludes Brown. This program is being presented as part of the Knight Constitutional Conversations series.
Tina Brown is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. She is the author of the 2007 New York Times bestseller The Diana Chronicles. Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Talk magazines and host of CNBC's Topic A with Tina Brown.
Todd S. Purdum moderates. An award-winning journalist, Purdum joined Vanity Fair as national editor in 2006. Purdum had spent the last 23 years at the New York Times, where he started as a copyboy in 1982. He was most recently a correspondent in the Washington bureau, where he also served as a diplomatic and White House correspondent. From 1997 until 2001, Purdum was the Los Angeles bureau chief. He also held the positions of metropolitan reporter and city-hall bureau chief in New York.
From October 2 through December 31, 2009, Diana: A Celebration will come to Philadelphia, showcasing the life and work of the Princess of Wales. The 10,000 square foot exhibition explores Diana's childhood, her engagement to HRH Prince Charles, their royal wedding, their children, and Diana's life and works as a global humanitarian.
The Knight Constitutional Conversation series has been generously underwritten by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of the U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects with the potential to create transformational change. For more, visit http://www.knightfoundation.org/.
A book sale and signing will follow the program courtesy of Joseph Fox Bookshop. Parking for this event is available for $7.00 at the National Constitution Center garage located at the rear of the building on Race Street between 5th and 6th Streets. Parking availability is subject to change, so please call the Constitution Center on the day of the program or check our web site for more information. Please also see our directions by public transportation.
For reservations please call 215.409.6700 or order online. Programs at the National Constitution Center begin promptly and latecomers may not be admitted to the program. Please note that this program is subject to change.
Related Links:
Diana: A Celebration
TheDailyBeast.com
