Veteran CBS news anchor Bob Schieffer cannot recall a more challenging time for journalists. "People either accuse us of being government lapdogs or elitist liberals who want the country to fail," he said.
Schieffer said people even debate what journalism is. "I'll tell you what it is. It's the pursuit of truth…Get the truth and report it in language people can understand."
Quinnipiac's School of Communications presented Schieffer with the Fred Friendly First Amendment Award on May 16, 2006, during a luncheon at the Metropolitan Club in New York City.
More than 150 members of the media joined communications professors, alumni and several members of the University's board of trustees in honoring Schieffer, moderator of "Face the Nation," CBS Washington correspondent for 30 years and anchor of the "CBS Evening News" for the last year.
Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite came to honor his friend, as did Tom Brokaw, former NBC anchor and former Fred Friendly recipient.
Other members of the national media present:
- Ann Curry, "Today" show news anchor
- Gregory Hunter, CNN correspondent
- Susan Koeppen, "CBS News" correspondent
- Lara Logan, CBS correspondent
- Melinda Murphy, CBS "Early Show" correspondent
- Charles Osgood, "CBS News Sunday Morning" host
- Richard Schlesinger, "48 Hours" correspondent
- Brian Williams, anchor of the "NBC Nightly News"
- Paula Zahn, anchor for CNN's "Paula Zahn Now"
Rome Hartman, executive producer, and Sean McManus, president of CBS News, also attended.
Members of the New York media included anchors:
- Jodi Applegate, WNYW
- Sade Baderinwa, WABC
- Chuck Scarborough, WNBC
- Linda Schmidt, WNYW
- David Ushery, WNBC
- Diana Williams, WABC
"To me, Bob Schieffer is reminiscent of the Walter Cronkite era of broadcast news. They share the same credible delivery and clarity in their reports, things that at times seem to be missing from today's news, which can be more of an entertainment spectacle," said Terry W. Goodwin '67, a Quinnipiac trustee.
Diana Williams, co-anchor of ABC Eyewitness News, described Schieffer as "folksy and very real …the same on the air as he is off the air. I trust him and I believe him." Her co-anchor, Sade Baderinwa, said, "He knows his facts, knows the issues inside and out."
Ruth Friendly, the widow of the crusading journalist for whom the award is named, said, "Bob Schieffer is quite simply a good guy and great journalist who identifies with the average American, makes complicated stories understandable and has a knack for accessing a story and getting his foot in the door."
Before presenting the award, Quinnipiac President John L. Lahey thanked the assembled journalists for supporting the School of Communications, for the valuable internships they provide and the job opportunities they extend to graduates.
Schieffer, in his remarks, indicated that journalists should focus on one thing: "Find out what happened. If we do that, then the people will decide what to do." He said that motto guided "Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as they investigated the Watergate incident, and he wishes it were posted on the door of every newsroom in America.
Schieffer observed that as the media has become more sophisticated in managing information, the government has become more secretive. "Some people ask me if the current administration is the most secretive and I say ‘yes,' but the last one was more secretive than the previous, and each learns from its predecessor."
He said a democracy, by definition, means openness. "If every time a reporter offends the government of the moment, that reporter is brought before a grand jury, then we simply cannot perform that vital role as an independent source of information. Our founding fathers knew enough about human nature to know that government would always cover up its mistakes if it operated in secret," he said.
Schieffer thinks more attention should be paid to what is leaked, rather than tracking who leaked it. "Do you think anyone would have known about what was going on at Abu Ghraib prison if it had been left to the government to announce it?" While some would argue that those revelations hurt the cause, Schieffer would argue the opposite. "Bringing mistakes to the fore is a strength, not a weakness."
Technology may change the way people get their news, but one thing will remain the same, according to Schieffer. "Our success in remaining a relevant and vital part of democracy still rests on the same thing it did in Fred Friendly's day–the personal integrity and courage of each reporter who is sent out with those simple instructions: 'Find out what happened.'"
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| From left, Bob Schieffer, CBS anchor; Fred Friendly Professor of Broadcast Journalism Lou Adler; Ruth Friendly; and David Donnelly, dean of the School of Communications. | Paula Zahn, anchor for CNN's weeknight primetime evening program, "Paula Zahn Now." |
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| From left, Marlon LeWinter '03, assistant account executive at Alan Taylor Communications; Schieffer; and Jamie McCarty '04, assistant to Robin Roberts, co-anchor of "Good Morning America." | From left, President John L. Lahey, Schieffer, Ruth Friendly, trustee Mary-Jane Foster JD '95 and Terry W. Goodwin '67, chairman of Quinnipiac's board of trustees. |
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| From left, Don Weinbach, vice president for development and alumni affairs; Murray Lender '50, vice chairman for Quinnipiac's board of trustees; and Schieffer. | Walter Cronkite, former "CBS Evening News" anchorman. |
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| Bill Schwanbeck, left, adjunct professor of journmalism; Brian Williams, anchor for "NBC Nightly News"; and Margarita Diaz, assistant professor of journalism. | From left, Karin Schwanbeck, assistant professor of journalism; Ann Curry, news anchor for NBC's "Today"; John Gourlie, professor of communications; and William McLaughlin, associate professor of communications. |
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| Linda Schmidt, anchor, Fox 5 News, WNYW, and Kenn Venit, adjunct professor of journalism. | From left, Schmidt; Jodi Applegate, anchor, Fox 5 News, WNYW; Melinda Murphy and Susan Koeppen, CBS News correspondents. |
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| Tom Brokaw, former anchor, "NBC Nightly News," and Schieffer. | Student Anthony Vindigni, Schieffer, Friendly and students Ben Oser and Mark Antonucci. |