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September 27, 2005

Charles Francis Adams Lecture Series: Veteran Journalist Daniel Schorr Discusses Public Diplomacy with Fletcher Community

Legendary journalist Daniel Schorr addressed The Fletcher School community on September 20, sharing his thoughts on the development of journalism in the last half-century, his own career, and the legacy of Edward R. Murrow, one of the pioneers of US public diplomacy. Schorr visited Fletcher as a speaker in the Charles Francis Adams Lecture Series.

Appropriately, the lecture was co-sponsored by Fletcher’s Edward R. Murrow Center, which houses Murrow’s professional papers and promotes research and dialogue in the field of public diplomacy. Murrow played a crucial role in the development of Schorr’s career, hiring him as a CBS reporter in 1953. Schorr is one of the last remaining members of the influential team of correspondents known as “Murrow’s Boys.”

Now an NPR commentator with more than five decades of experience in print and broadcast journalism, Schorr delivered a speech entitled “Forgive Us Our Press Passes” with a keen ear for a story and a wry sense of humor.

Recalling his awe when he first witnessed the tricks and illusions used in television reporting, Schorr warned the audience that things on the television news are not always what they seem. “We could create a reality of our own, and I can assure you that it’s gotten worse, not better, since I left television,” Schorr said.

Schorr also described what was perhaps the most infamous moment of his career: his inclusion on President Richard Nixon’s “Enemies List,” a compilation of 20 names that the president deemed a danger to his administration. “I was number 17 on the list, and Paul Newman was number 18,” Schorr recalled with pride, eliciting a laugh from the audience.

Schorr earned his place on Nixon’s list by investigating the Watergate break-in as a Washington correspondent. He shared his incredulity at the unwarranted investigation into his private life that followed, which was later included in the articles of impeachment as an example of Nixon’s abuse of power.

Turning to issues in contemporary journalism, Schorr commented on the controversial topic of protection of sources. “I think it’s fair to say that the promise of confidentiality is based on the assumption that what you’re being told is true,” he said. “If someone lies to you, he deserves no support.”

Schorr also lamented the manipulation of truth in what he called an “age of virtual reality.” Instead of straight facts, he said, journalistic embellishment has become almost expected. “Something has happened to what we used to call reality,” Schorr said. “We’ve developed a generation of journalists who believe that as long as it’s interesting, people will care.”

As for Murrow’s legacy in the next generation, Schorr shared a message of hope for Fletcher students as they become ambassadors of public diplomacy in the world.

“You have to do what Murrow, alas, did not have time to do – that is, to equate America with reality and truth and to get people overseas to believe that,” Schorr said. “Inspired here by Murrow, and, from what I take it, is a great faculty, you will learn to practice public diplomacy by making sure you are in reality.”

The lecture was followed by an intimate dinner attended by Fletcher faculty, students and alumni, as well as members of the local press. Dean Stephen W. Bosworth presented Schorr with a Fletcher globe and a special issue of The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, the school’s foreign policy journal, produced entirely by Fletcher students.

“Now I know what I’m doing later tonight,” Schorr said with a laugh, holding his copy of the Forum.

Article by Stacy Reiter Neal, MALD '07

Posted by jessica at September 27, 2005 01:55 PM