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By KRISTA NORSWORTHY
Cronkite News Service
PHOENIX (Wednesday, Nov. 18) _ People are confusing “tonnage” with knowledge when it comes to the crush of information available today, NBC anchor Brian Williams said Wednesday.
“Facts matter less, throw experience in there too,” Williams said as he received an award from the journalism school named for legendary CBS anchor Walter Cronkite. “We are all finding it is a heck of a lot easier to voice an opinion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan than it is to go and report back home on what you find.”
Williams, who has served as “NBC Nightly News” anchor and managing editor since 2004, received the 26th annual Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He joins a list of honorees that includes PBS host Bill Moyers, former “Today Show” and “Dateline NBC” anchor Jane Pauley and Tom Brokaw, the anchor Williams succeeded at NBC.
The first person to receive the award since Cronkite’s death in July, Williams reflected for a luncheon audience of 1,200 on the differences between Cronkite’s era and today, starting with millions of blogs and Twitter accounts and “cable networks that agree with you from the moment you wake up in the morning.”
“All things civic it seems some days in this country are being replaced by all things narcissistic _ one of the changes in the time since Walter Cronkite ruled the airwaves and came into our home,” Williams said.
Williams referred to Cronkite as his “north star” as an anchor and said he draws inspiration from Cronkite’s example.
“Everything back then seemed to matter more,” Williams said. “Facts mattered more. It mattered more when people were wrong.”
Even so, Williams said he doesn’t think Cronkite could have the same influence today as he did when he guided Americans through the Cold War, Vietnam, moon landings and Watergate.
“I think there’s too much noise. There’s too much to cut through for a modest man for Missouri,” he said.
“Think about it: Walter Cronkite cried once on the air. He’d never make it today,” Williams joked.
But Cronkite was ideal for his era, Williams said.
“As icons go, Walter was unique,” he said. “He was the right man in the right job at precisely the right time.”
Williams, who met with Cronkite School students and broadcast from the school’s rooftop during his visit, said he sees one sign that more of those seeking reliable information are cutting through the clutter. His ratings are up today even over where they stood during the presidential election.
“We don’t know why,” he said. “We guess it’s because the difference is becoming sharper, and people know where to find us and they know what they’re going to get.”
And that’s where Cronkite’s values can guide journalists today, Williams said.
“It’s all there if you know the difference,” he said. “There’s journalism and there is everything ending in ‘LOL.'”
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Web Link:
_ Cronkite School: cronkite.asu.edu
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PHOTOS: Click thumbnails to see full-resolution images.
“NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams applauds at a ceremony Nov. 18, 2009, in Phoenix at which he received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. At left are Arizona Board of Regents President Ernest Calderone and Elizabeth D. Capaldi, ASU’s executive vice president and provost. (Cronkite News Service Photo by Luis C. Lopez)
“NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams speaks Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, in Phoenix after receiving the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. (Cronkite News Service Photo by Luis C. Lopez)