Washington State University - Chinook Yearbook (Pullman, WA)

Page 29 text:

9' X ' I 1 V 'Q 1'

Page 28 text:

Edward Bi. Murrow Television executives, network presidents and correspondents, communication scholars and friends of Edward R. Murrow gathered here at his alma mater for the Mur- row Symposium to discuss the legacy of the famous broadcaster, and to speculate on what he might have thought if he could see the press as it is today. Commemorating what would have been Murrow's 75th birthday, the symposium was held in late April, and featured four sessions focusing on the theme The Murrow Heri- tage, A Challenge for the Future. Diane Sawyer, co-anchor of the CBS Morning News, was on hand to give the keynote address at Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. Before an audience of about 2500, she said that although media technology may change, the standards set by Murrow will not. Because after all the satellites, and all the dazzle, in the end, and these are Murrow's words, we will still be confronted with the age old problem of what to say and how to say it. At the opening ceremony in Bryan Audi- torium, symposium participants also recalled Murrow's importance as the standard setter of broadcast journalism. For us, Edward R. Murrow represents the standard of excellence through which we measure our own work, said Dean Mell, president of the RadiofTelevision News Directors Association. Others recalled Murrow's earlier days as a student at WSU. I don't think any of us foresaw Ed's future, but I do know we are proud of everything he did, said Paul Coie, a classmate of Murrow's, now a Seattle lawyer. Janet Murrow, the widow of the late broadcaster, also spoke at the opening cere- mony. Following the opening ceremony, the well-attended first session of the symposium brought together every president of CBS News since Murrow held that post following World War ll. Current CBS President Van Gordon Sau- ter joined former Presidents Fred Friendly, William Leonard, Sig Mickelson and Richard Salant in a panel discussion of The Impact of the Murrow Heritage. He understood the grammar of broadcast journalism. He invented it, said Friendly of Murrow and his contribution to broadcasting 28 as a pioneer in a new field of communica- tions. Mickelson agreed, He was the first act of broadcast journalism. The second session, with a panel of schol- ars and correspondents, took on the equally important topic of the public's right to know in times of crisis. Bob Faw, CBS Israel correspondent, who participated in the discussion, said, I think the American public does have a right to know it is seeing Israel through rose-colored glasses. Panelist Clete Roberts, who was a corres- pondent during World War ll, said another problem facing the press is that the public does not care about their right to know. john D. Stevens, a journalism professor at the University ofMichigan, also participated in the panel discussion. The third session, entitled 'AThe News and the Messenger: Yesterday and Today, fea- tured an impressive panel of Charles Kuralt, CBS correspondent and commentator, joe Wershba, producer of U60 Minutes , and William Small, president of United Press ln- ternational. The panel discussed issues of technology and its influence on reporting. Concluding the symposium, Friendly led a panel in a 'Khypotheticalf' a format which he uses on public television and at Columbia University seminars. SYMPOSIUM '83: Focusing on the adversary relationship be- tween government and press, Friendly set the scene of the discussion in the year l994 with the United States involved in a crisis. He then quizzed the panel of journalists, lawyers and network decision makers on what they would do in various situations en- countered while collecting news during a na- tional emergency. Throughout the symposium, students were given opportunities to meet the partici- pants, about 200 students working as per- sonal escorts, drivers, tour guides and ses- sion hosts. - Leslie English Y in

Page 30 text:

ff 'x5L,:Y'S5ffVV ny - ajg,g,F,r-' V 'L -,.',,L 'Wi , ' ,,,i -M ' - f - -Y 'k-f- 'W ,, My ww, 19335151 ' 8 15 W :rua ,V Mn . 31E fm, '- fw 'W , Q