Bob Schieffer of CBS News is an acclaimed journalist who has moderated presidential debates, covered every U.S. president since Richard Nixon, and is one of the few who has covered all four major Washington assignments - the White House, Congress, State Department and the Pentagon.
Schieffer was on the campus of the University of Kansas yesterday participating in William Allen White Day, an annual celebration of the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. And, the above quote is his - it was his response to a question about what advice he would give young journalists.
First off, for those not familiar with White, he was a newspaper editor, politician and leader of the Progressive movement. He also became the spokesman for middle America in the early 1900's through his death in 1944.
White was a Kansan and became editor of the Emporia Gazette in 1896. It was in that year that he gained national attention with his attack on William Jennings Bryan, Democrats and Populists via an editorial titled "What's the Matter with Kansas?" He ridiculed Populist leaders for letting his state slide into economic stagnation and for not keeping up with neighboring states because of anti-business policies.
He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1923 for his editorial, "To An Anxious Friend," published in July 1922 after he was arrested in a dispute over free speech. He had objected to the way that Kansas handled the men who participated in the great railroad strike of that year.
Each year, the KU School of Journalism and the William Allen White Foundation honors an individual for outstanding journalistic service. Past recipients of the National Citation include Seymour Hersh, Walter Cronkite, Arthur O. Sulzberger, Charles Kuralt, Bob Woodward, Molly Ivins, Frank Deform and Gwen Ifill, among others.
This year's recipient was Charlie Rose of CBS This Morning and Charlie Rose: The Week. Due to his recent heart surgery, Rose was unable to travel and Schieffer, his good friend, accepted in Rose's honor.
While disappointed that I would not get to see and hear Rose, I was delighted at the chance to hear Schieffer - and he did not disappoint. Scheffer was interviewed by one of Kansas' journalism students before a crowd of about 400 people yesterday but it was less an interview and more of Schieffer taking off and riffing on the news of the day and his views on the current state of journalism.
I took away several nuggets from his 30 minutes of remarks:
- "Walter Cronkite was the single most curious person I've ever known." (Cronkite was Schieffer's mentor early in his CBS career.)
- His one piece of advice to students? "Show up on time."
- Not surprisingly, Schieffer said that the recent presidential campaign was the oddest campaign of any kind that he's covered in his career that spans some 50+ years. He cited the oddity of Jeb Bush raising $115 million yet being a non-factor in the Republican primaries and the tone deaf response ("That's what they were willing to pay") of Hillary Clinton when asked about the $600,000 she had amassed in speaking fees.
- He called current technology the greatest and most impactful communications invention since the printing press.
- Schieffer is very, very concerned about the impact of this presidency on the future credibility of the White House and thinks that we are in "dangerous times" - the "most dangerous since the Cuban Missile Crisis" of 1962.
- He also opined about the role of journalism in America, using the comparison of a totalitarian political system ("where there is one source - the government") to a democracy, where citizens have information and can compare, and where the media's job and role is to "question the message."
- Schieffer would welcome the chance to interview Donald Trump - again - and suggested that the President understands management but lacks leadership, the key skill needed to serve in our nation's highest office.
- On his good friend, Rose, he had this to say, "Charlie is the best interviewer I know because he allows people to answer his questions."
- And, asked what advice he would give young journalists, Schieffer said "Don't be afraid to ask the question. The biggest mistake you can make is assuming that you know the answer - when in reality that is when you get your best story."
My immediate reaction to his response was "can't we all learn by asking the question?" How often do we assume only to learn later that our assumption was wrong on the question left unasked?
As I listened to Schieffer, I couldn't help thinking of White and his common sense principles and approach to journalism. As much as I applauded the selection of Rose for KU's National Citation award, I think that Schieffer would have been just as deserving a recipient - his values and journalistic integrity closely mirror the man who's name is on this prestigious award.
Editor's Note: Mike Goff is a member of the William Allen White Foundation's Board of Trustees.
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