Stephen Burgard

Stephen Burgard, former member of the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times, is director of Northeastern University's School of Journalism. Born and raised in Cambridge and with strong ties to the City of Boston and to the Boston media, Burgard regards an emphasis on ethics and standards as part of his program to move "Northeastern's journalism program forward into the future, while addressing all media challenges of this 21st century." Burgard's areas of interests include religion, ethics, democracy, local area politics and sports.

At Northeastern, he teaches journalism ethics and standards to both undergraduate and graduate students. He is interested in moral decision-making in newsrooms and media environment. He can help news and media organizations develop or fine-tune codes of ethics, and is available for consultation on questions of fairness, standards and balance in the coverage of different groups and events. He has a keen understanding of the differences between news and opinion for print and broadcast facilities.

Burgard's most recent position was as editorial page editor of the Orange County Edition of the Los Angeles Times, where he has also been editorial board member since 1990. While in California, Burgard was also a part-time journalism professor at California State University, Fullerton. Before making the move westward, he was editorial page editor for the Stamford Advocate in Connecticut, editor and reporter for the Westchester Rockland Newspapers and editor at The Daily Argus in Mount Vernon, NY. Burgard graduated from Brown University with a bachelor's degree in American History. After serving in the United States Navy from 1971-1973, he graduated with a Master's degree from Boston University College of Communication in 1976. In addition, Burgard has won numerous editorial writing awards and is the author of Hallowed Ground, which appeared on the Amazon.com's "Religion Top 10" list in 1997.