Oprah and Obama

Oprah Winfrey's coming to town for Senator Barack Obama, scheduling a three-state tour beginning Dec. 8. Ms. Winfrey, who has been fiercely protective of her extraordinary brand, is dipping into presidential politics for the first time with a visit to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic, can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including the following (click on names for contact information):

Barbara Trish - Associate Professor of Political Science, Grinnell College - Since joining Grinnell, Trish has examined and researched the Iowa Caucus system as well as the "coordinated campaign" efforts in the Midwest. She has served as president of the Iowa Conference of Political Scientists (2000-2001) and is active in party and campaign politics.

Keith Reeves - Associate Professor, Swarthmore College - The Director of Swarthmore's Center for Social and Policy Studies, Reeves is an expert on the impact of racial politics on electoral behavior. He is the author of Voting Hopes or Fears?: White Voters, Black Candidates, and Racial Politics in America.

Ronald Lembo - Associate Professor of Sociology, Amherst College - Lembo teaches and writes about the sociology of mass media and mass culture, news and entertainment systems, media corporations. His newest book is Thinking Through Television: Viewing Practices and the Social Limits to Power.

Former CNN Analyst Says Networks Need "Reality Check"

DePauw Visiting Professor Ken Bode was a long-time political analyst for CNN. After watching CNN's Democratic presidential debate last week, Bode says somebody in the network's executive suites needs a reality check on fairness. At the same time, he says, things are no better at competitor Fox News.

Fellowship and a Ring

Fascination with J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings led Wayne Hammond, assistant librarian of Williams College's Chapin Library of Rare Books, to collect works by and about Tolkien, then to write about him. It also led him to a soulmate across the Atlantic Ocean. His ensuing fellowship with Christina Scull led to a ring and to a husband-wife collaboration that has produced Tolkien publications since 1994.