Brian P. Lamb, founder and CEO of C-SPAN, the public affairs cable television network, will discuss C-SPAN and the future of public service media at the annual James L. Loper Lecture in Public Service Broadcasting on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008.

Lamb has led the public affairs channel since it was launched in 1979. Today, C-SPAN delivers public affairs programming on three television channels; C-SPAN.org and 15 other internet sites; and through C-SPAN radio. In 2007, Lamb was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. He has also been honored by the National Press Club and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The series honors James L. Loper, a respected industry executive who served as executive director of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and as president and general manager of Los Angeles public television station KCET. Loper has served on the USC Annenberg faculty since 1999 and started the School's Program for the Study of Public Broadcasting.

The Loper Lecture is presented by the Center on Communication Leadership at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The lecture is made possible through the generous support of the H. Russell Smith Foundation.

The event is open for press coverage. The event begins at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 in USC's Davidson Executive Conference Center, 3415 S. Figueroa Street in Los Angeles.

Journalists wishing to cover the program are requested to RSVP by calling 213-437-4400. For more information, visit http://annenberg.usc.edu/loper .