2011 Lecture

THANK YOU VERY MUCH...

TO BE ASKED TO SPEAK IN THE NAME OF HERB BLOCK IS... FOR ME... THE ULTIMATE HONOR...

THERE WAS ONLY ONE HERB BLOCK... AND ONLY ONE HERBLOCK...

BOTH WERE ONE OF A KIND... AND THAT THEY WILL ALWAYS...

I MEAN, OF COURSE. HERB BLOCK... TWO WORDS... THE PERSON...

AND HERBLOCK... ONE WORD... THE PROFESSIONAL...

AT BOTH... IN BOTH... THEY WERE CLASS ACTS...

ON THE PERSONAL....

THE FIRST TIME I MET HIM NEARLY THIRTY YEARS AGO...HE TREATED ME LIKE I WAS SOMEBODY WHO MATTERED...

TRUST ME... I WAS NOT SUCH A PERSON...

BUT HE NOT ONLY SMILED AT ME... AS ONLY HERB COULD DO... HE ACTUALLY SPOKE WORDS IN A WAY THAT WAS WARM, DIRECT... AND FRIENDLY...

I WENT ON TO DISCOVER... ON MY OWN... THAT HE DID THAT WITH EVERYBODY...

HE WAS HERBLOCK, THE GREATEST EDITORIAL CARTOONIST OF HIS TIME... AND ALL TIME...

BUT HE WAS ALSO HERB BLOCK, THE NICEST OF MEN OF HIS TIME... AND ALL TIME...

OF COURSE... I KNEW HIM BETTER PROFESSIONALLY THAN I DID PERSONALLY... SO DID EVERYBODY ELSE WHO READ THE WASHINGTON POST...

IF I HAD A NICKLE FOR EVERY EARLY MORNING TIME I LAUGHED OUT LOUD AT SEEING AND READING A HERBLOCK... I'D BE EVEN RICHER THAN I'VE BECOME FROM WORKING FORTY YEARS IN NON-COMMERCIAL PUBLIC TELEVISION...

TWO CHARACTERISTICS OF HERBLOCK... AND HERB BLOCK... ARE AT WORK ON ME TONIGHT...

INFLUENCING, AT LEAST, WHAT I PLAN TO DO FOR THE NEXT FEW MINUTES...

BREVITY WAS HERB'S MIDDLE NAME... HE SPOKE QUICKLY AND BRIEFLY...

IT WAS ALSO THE HALLMARK OF HIS CARTOONS...

A PICTURE AND A FEW WORDS SAID OH, SO MUCH... SAY AS MUCH AS MOST PEOPLE CAN SAY WITH MILLION WORDS AND PICTURES AND MUSIC AND ALL THE REST...

SO, IN HERB'S HONOR... I WILL NOT KEEP YOU LONG...

SECONDLY...

HERB NEVER STRUCK ME AS MUCH OF THE LECTURE TYPE...

HE NEITHER DELIVERED LECTURES NOR PARTICULARLY ENJOYED HAVING ONE DELIVERED AT HIM...

SO...

PLEASE THINK OF MY FEW REMARKS AS... A FEW REMARKS... NOT A LECTURE...

ALL IN HERB'S HONOR...

MY FEW REMARKS HAVE TO DO WITH WHAT MOST OF US IN THIS ROOM ARE DEALING WITH... RIGHT NOW... AS WE SPEAK.

AND THAT IS THE INFORMATION REVOLUTIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON GOING HERE AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.... AND I MEAN THAT WITH A BIG "S"... VERY MUCH IN THE PLURAL...

JUST LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW IN THE ARAB WORLD. TUNISIA... EGYPT... LIBYA... AND YEMEN AND OMAN... BAHRAIN... SYRIA...

THESE ARE ALL REVOLUTIONS... HAPPENING OR IN THE PROCESS OR PROSPECT OF HAPPENING...

EACH COUNTRY... AND SITUATION... IS UNIQUE, OF COURSE... BUT THERE ARE SOME CONNECTING FACTORS...

THE MAIN ONE BEING A DESIRE OF THE PEOPLE TO LIVE IN A FREE AND OPEN ENVIRONMENT... TO HAVE THE POSSIBILITY OF THEIR DREAMS BEING REALIZED... THEIR CHILDREN BEING EDUCATED...

BUT THERE IS ANOTHER CONNECTION...

IN EACH ONE OF THESE REVOLUTIONS THERE HAS BEEN THE DISSEMINATION OF REAL AND ACCURATE INFORMATION AMONG THE PEOPLE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER...

SOME OF IT IS FROM OLD FASHIONED MEANS... WORD OF MOUTH AND IN PRINT OR ON THE RADIO OR TELELVSION...

BUT MUCH OF IT IS BEING DONE ON REVOLUTIONARY LITTLE THINGS CALLED... LAPTOPS... CELLPHONES... I-PODS... I-PADS... DROIDS... MP3'S... APPS... SKYPE... GOOGLE... FACEBOOK... TWITTER...

IT WOULD NOT BE CORRECT TO CLAIM THAT THE INFORMATION REVOLUTIONS WERE THE SOLE CAUSE OF THESE REAL PEOPLE AND POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS... BUT THERE IS NO QUESTION THEY MADE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS...

THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT THE PEOPLE IN EGYPT ACTED ON INFORMATION THEY HAD SEEN AND HEARD ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN TUNISIA...

AND LIBYANS KNOW ABOUT EGYPT... AND TUNISIA...

AS NOW SO DO THE PEOPLE OF THE ENTIRE REGION... IF NOT THE WORLD.

AND PEOPLE THINK?HEY, IF IT CAN HAPPEN THERE? WHY NOT HERE?

WITHIN SECONDS AFTER SOMETHING HAPPENS... THE WORD IS PASSED ON AND ON AND ON...

THAT IS THE WORLD AS IT IS TODAY... AND IT IS THE RESULT OF A GENERAL INFORMATION REVOLUTION THAT HAS... LITERALLY... ONLY JUST BEGUN...

AND WHEN, WHERE AND HOW IT WILL STOP... IF EVER... NOBODY KNOWS..

HERE IN THE UNITED STATES... THE FREEST AND MOST OPEN NATION OF THE WORLD... THERE ARE ALL KINDS AND SIZES OF INFORMATION REVOLUTIONS...

FULLY BLOOMING...JUST BEGINNING... OR JUST AROUND THE CORNER...

AT THE ORDINARY CITIZEN LEVEL... THERE ARE THESE LITTLE MACHINES LIKE THESE... WHERE JUST ABOUT EVERY FACT OR SEMI-FACT, LIE OR OPINION ANYBODY WANTS TO GET... CAN BE HAD IN A FEW SECONDS...

EVERYTHING FROM MOST OF ALL OUR AGES, BIRTH PLACES, PHONE NUMBERS AND HOME ADDRESSES... MUSIC AND TRAVEL PREFERENCES...

TO DIRECTIONS TO THE NEAREST TEX-MEX RESTAURANT... IT'S MENU AND A WAY TO MAKE A RESERVATION...

TO THE HEADLINES AND MOST DETAILED NEWS AND FEATURE STORIES FROM THOUSANDS OF PUBLICATIONS AND BOOKS ABOUT LITERALLY EVERY SUBJECT IMAGINABLE... IN MOST EVERY LANGUAGE IMAGINABLE...

IT IS NO EXAGERATION TO SAY... AS MANY EXPERTS ARE NOW LAMENTING... AMERICA AND MANY OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD ARE LITERALLY BEING DROWNED BY A FLOOD OF INFORMATION...

GOOD INFORMATION, BAD INFORMATION... HARMFUL INFORMATION, HELPFUL INFORMATION... INFORMATIVE INFORMATION, USELESS INFORMATION...

YOU CAN FIND WAYS TO MAKE A BOMB... AND WAYS TO DISARM A BOMB... WAYS TO GET HIGH, OR LOW... FAT OR SKINNY... WELL OR DEAD...

AND MOST ANYTHING ELSE IN BETWEEN... BELOW OR ABOVE......

ALL OF US... LITERALLY EVERYONE OF US... MUST NOW LIVE WITH ONE OF THE MAJOR NEW REALITIES THAT HAVE COME FROM THE INFORMATION FLOODS AND REVOLUTIONS...

AND THAT, OF COURSE, IS THE DISAPPEARANCE... MOST LIKELY FOREVER... OF PRIVACY...

IF YOU DARE WRITE SOMETHING MALICIOUS, SALICIOUS... OR SIMPLY STUPID OR EMBARRASSING... IN AN E-MAIL TO A COLLEAGUE, FRIEND OR STRANGER...

BE PREPARED TO HAVE IT EVENTUALLY SHARED WITH SOMEBODY... MAYBE ALL KINDS OF SOMEBODYS...

THAT INCLUDES SECRETS... PRIVATE, PUBLIC, MILITARY, NATIONAL SECURITY, INTELLIGENCE, ARTISTIC... WHATEVER KIND THEY MAY BE...

NOT JUST IN E-MAILS... BUT THROUGH VARIOUS OTHER ELECTRONIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL MEANS...

DOCUMENTS ONCE SEALED FOR WHATEVER REASONS INITIALLY... ARE MORE COMMONLY UNSEALED THAN EVER BEFORE BECAUSE OF ANOTHER WHOLE SET OF REASONS...

THE PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO KNOW IS A GROWINGLY FIERCE FORCE IN ALL OF THE WORLD... AMONG REAL PEOPLE AS WELL THE SO-CALLED WORLD OF CELEBRITIES...

THAT APPLIES DOUBLY, OF COURSE, EVEN IN CASES SUCH AS CHARLIE SHEEN, WHEN NOBODY WANTS TO KNOW ONE SINGLE THING MORE... BUT THERE IT IS TO KNOW ANYHOW... LIKE IT OR NOT...

IN SHORT... PRIVACY AS MOST OF US USED TO KNOW... REALLY IS OVER...

ALL WE CAN DO NOW IS GET USED TO IT... AND BEWARE OF IT... ADJUST TO IT...

ADJUST TO IT... MAY BE THE WHAT ALL OF US... EACH IN OUR OWN WAY... HAS TO DO WITH MANY OF THE INFORMATION REVOLUTIONS AND THEIR MANY FORMS...

AND AT THE TOP OF THE LIST, OF COURSE, ARE THOSE OF US WHO DO WHAT HERB DID SO WELL FOR SO LONG... HAVE ANYTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH JOURNALISM AND THE NEWS BUSINESS...

AT THE HEART OF OUR DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY IS THE INFORMATION THE VOTERS NEED TO DECIDE WHOM TO PUT IN CHARGE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COUNTRY... AS WELL AS OUR RESPECTIVE STATES, COUNTIES, CITIES, SCHOOL DISTRICTS, PRECINCTS... AND WHATEVERS...

THOMAS JEFFERSON TOLD HIS FELLOW FOUNDERS THAT WITHOUT AN INFORMED ELECTORATE THIS THING WE ARE CREATIING CALLED A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY SIMPLY WILL NOT WORK....

AND THAT, OF COURSE, IS WHERE WE COME IN...

IT IS THE SPECIFIC JOB AND PURPOSE OF JOURNALISM TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR BECOMING INFORMED...

AND WITHIN JOURNALISM THERE IS A REVOLUTION OF ITS OWN GOING ON IN A MAJOR WAY... AS MOST OF YOU HERE TONIGHT HAVE PROBABLY NOTICED...

I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE WHO WORKS IN OR DEPENDS ON JOURNALISM RIGHT NOW...

AND... NONE OF US NEEDS TO WATCH WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HOSNI MUBARAK AND MOAMAR GADAFFI, AMONG OTHERS, TO KNOW THAT BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF A REVOLUTION CAN SOMETIMES BE LESS THAN FUN...

THOSE NOISES WE'RE ALL HHEARING FROM NEWSROOMS... AND OFTEN FROM THEIR BOARDROOMS NEARBY...ARE SCREAMS OF PANIC...

NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION AND PROFITS ARE DOWN... SO ARE THE RATINGS OF THE NIGHTLY NEWS PROGRAMS...

SOUND THE ALARMS...

CABLE NEWS AND THE INTERNET BLOGGERS AND THE SATELLITE AND OTHER RADIO TALK SHOUTERS AND THE LATE NIGHT COMEDIANS ARE TEAMING UP WITH YAHOOS, GOOGLES, I-PODS AND MP3 PLAYERS AND OTHER STRANGE THINGS TO PUT US OUT OF BUSINESS...

BUT AS I HAVE TOLD MORE THAN ONE GATHERING OF MY FELLOW AND SISTER JOURNALISTS LATELY...

I BELIEVE WE MAY HAVE MOSTLY FEAR ITSELF TO FEAR...TO COIN A PHRASE.

I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT A FEW CRITICAL BASICS...

THE BLOGGERS ARE TALKERS... COMMENTATORS...NOT REPORTERS...

THE TALK SHOW HOSTS ARE REACTORS... COMMENTATORS?NOT REPORTERS...

THE COMEDIANS ARE ENTERTAINERS... COMMENTATORS...NOT REPORTERS...

THE SEARCH ENGINES SEARCH... BUT DON'T REPORT...

AND I-POD'S AND MP3'S ARE MERE MACHINES... AS ARE CABLE TELEVISION... AND SATELLITE RADIO...

ALL OF THEM?EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM HAVE TO HAVE THE NEWS TO EXIST...TO THRIVE...

OR TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY... IN THE BEGINNING THERE MUST ALWAYS BE THE NEWS...

DAVID LETTERMAN TELLS A JOKE ABOUT SCOTT WALKER OR SCOTT BROWN... NOBODY'S GOING TO LAUGH IF THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT WISCONSIN OR MASSACHUSETTS POLITICS...

JON STEWART REPORTS A MADE-UP NEWS STORY ABOUT SOMETHING CALLED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES...

NOBODY'S GOING TO GET IT UNLESS THEY KNOW ABOUT WISCONSIN... OR OHIO...

A BLOGGER OR A RADIO TALKER COMES UNGLUED ABOUT AN AIR TANKER CONTRACT... OR A WILD MAN FROM TRIPOLI...OR SOMETHING CALLED A CONTINUING RESOLUTION...OR A DEBT CEILING.

THEY AND THEIR VARIED READERS OR LISTENERS HAVE TO KNOW WHAT THE FUSS IS ABOUT... OR IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK...

AND, WHATEVER THE ROUTE IT MAY TRAVEL TO THE BLOGGER, THE SCREAMER, THE COMEDIAN, THE CABLE TV OPINIONATOR... THE SEARCH ENGINE, THE WHATEVER...

IT HAS TO START WITH ONE OF US REAL NEWS PEOPLE... ONE OF US BORING REPORTERS... ONE OF US JOURNALISTS WHO WAS THERE... WHO READ THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT... WHO DID THE ORIGINAL INTERVIEW... WHO GOT THE ORIGINAL LEAK... WHO DID THE WHATEVER IT TOOK TO MAKE IT NEWS IN THE FIRST PLACE... TO BRING IT TO THE ATTENTION OF ALL OTHERS IN THE INFORMATION AND REACTION FOOD CHAIN...

AND MAKE IT PART OF THE EVER GROWING FLOOD OF INFORMATION...

AND IT'S NOT ONLY ABOUT OUR REPORTING...

THERE?S ALSO EVIDENCE THAT THE ROLE OF THE NEWS GATEKEEPER IS NOT ONLY NOT GOING AWAY... IT'S COMING BACK BIG TIME...

IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THE FLOOD... THE INCREASING AMOUNT OF NEWS NOISE... AND NOISE ABOUT THE NEWS... OUT THERE IN THE BLOGOSPHERSE... AND THE SATELLITE, I-POD AND OTHER SPHERES...

PEOPLE ARE BUSY... THEY WANT SOME PROFESSIONAL, UNBIASED, UN-AGENDA ASSISTANCE IN SORTING THROUGH IT ALL... TO HELP DETERMINE WHAT IS IMPORTANT... AND WHAT IS NOT SO IMPORTANT... BEFORE THEY GO OFF TO THE EDITORIAL PAGE OR THE COMMENTATORS...OR TO BE SHOUTED AT OR ENTERTAINED ABOUT IT...

THAT IS WHAT WE JOURNALISTS

HAVE ALWAYS DONE...

THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT THE NATURE, THE MACHINERY... AND CERTAINLY THE LOOKS... OF THE GATEKEEPERS MUST CHANGE...

BUT LIKE IT OR NOT... FOR INSTANCE, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A NEED FOR ANIMALS LIKE TELEVISION ANCHORS WHO ANNOUNCE THE END RESULT OF THE STORY SORTING...

THEY JUST WON'T BE MOSTLY OLD WHITE MEN ANYMORE...

THE MAJOR PROBLEM WE MAINSTREAM GATEKEEPERS HAVE NOW IS A LOSS OF THE SUBSTANTIAL CREDIBILITY AND TRUST THAT IT TAKES TO DO OUR WORK EFFECTIVELY...

OUR ARROGANCE, AMONG OTHER THINGS... HAS GOTTEN IN THE WAY...

THAT'S FIXABLE. ALL OF IT IS.

I HAPPEN TO BELIEVE...

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THE BASIC PRACTICE OF JOURNALISM IN AMERICA TODAY THAT A LITTLE HUMILITY AND A LOT PROFESSIONALISM AND TRANSPARENCY COULDN'T CURE...

ALONG WITH THE REALIZATION---OR RE-REALIZATION... THAT JOURNALISM IS STILL ABOUT THE STORY...

NEWSPAPER OWNERS AND NETWORK EXECUTIVES AND WALL STREET FINANCIERS MUST BE IN ON IT AS WELL?

IT MAY MEAN LEAVING THE HUGE PROFITS TO THE SEARCH ENGINES...

AS WELL AS THE SHOUTING TO THE SHOUTERS... AND THE ENTERTAINING TO THE CLOWNS...

I WOULD ADD A SMALL P.S. TO THIS... IF THERE WAS EVER A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHAT PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM IS... AND DOES...

THE CASE OF WIKILEAKS AND ITS LEAKED DOCUMENTS ARE IT... BIG TIME...

WHATEVER ANYBODY THINKS ABOUT THE LEGALITY AND PROPRIETY OF THE LEAKING ITSELF... IT WAS NOT UNTIL THOSE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTS WERE READ, CULLED, SORTED AND PROCESSED BY PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS THAT THEY HAD ANY REAL MEANING... POSITIVELY OR NEGATIVELY...

VERY FEW ORDINARY CITIZENS OF ANY COUNTRY WERE EVER GOING TO TAKE THE TIME TO READ ALL OF THAT RAW DATA... AND DECIDE WHAT IT MEANT... OR DIDN'T MEAN... DECIDE IF IT WAS IMPORTANT OR MOSTLY MEANINGLESS GOSSIP...

IN A GIGANTIC... VERY PUBLIC WAY... THE PUBLIC WAS ABLE TO SEE WHAT THE BASIC FUNCTION OF SERIOUS JOURNALISM REALLY IS...

WATCH... OBSERVE... READ... SORT... EDIT... PRESENT...

AND LET THE READERS, THE LISTENERS... THE VOTERS, THE CITIZENS... DECIDE WHAT TO MAKE OF IT ALL FINALLY...

AND THUS... A VERY BIG "THUS"...

WE THE BORING ONES OF JOURNALISM MUST KEEP OUR EYE ON THE BALL...

WE MUST NOT STRAY FROM SOME OF THE BASICS THAT MAKE US UNIQUE FROM ALL OF THE OTHERS...

BY GOING WITH STORIES BEFORE THEY'RE READY...

SPICING THEM UP A BIT WITH OVER-THE-LINE COMMENTARY...

RAISING THE VOLUME...

AND, WORST OF ALL...MAKE ENTERTAINING PEOPLE ONE OF OUR PURPOSES...

I TELL PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME...

YOU WANT TO BE ENTERTAINED... GO TO THE CIRCUS... DON'T WATCH THE

NEWSHOUR...

I NEVER EVER WANT ANYBODY TO CONFUSE THE NEWS WITH ENTERTAINMENT...

OR ME WITH THE CLOWNS...

BESIDES... BY STICKING TO OUR JOURNALISTIC GUNS...

WE HAVE THE NON-CLOWN, NON-SHOUT, PRO-STRAIGHT-REPORTING FIELD OF JOURNALISM ALL TO OURSELVES IF WE... TO COIN A PHRASE... JUST STAY THE COURSE

AND FINALLY?

BACK TO THE PERSONAL ABOUT HERB...

I REMEMBER IN A CONVERSATION I HAD WITH HIM ONE EVENING...

HE SAID TO ME..."HEY, JIM, WHAT'S THIS BUS THING OF YOURS ALL ABOUT

I HEAR YOU GO AROUND CALLING TRAILWAYS BUSES?"

I CONFESSED...IT WAS TRUE... I EXPLAINED THAT WHILE GOING TO A SMALL JUNIOR COLLEGE IN THE 1950'S I WORKED AS A TRAILWAYS TICKET AGENT...IN A PLACE CALLED VICTORIA, DOWN ON THE TEXAS GULF COAST HALF WAY BETWEEN HOUSTON AND CORPUS CHRISTI...

AND ONE OF MY DUTIES WAS TO CALL THE BUSES ON THE P.A. SYSTEM...

I THINK IT'S ONLY FITTING AND PROPER...IN HERB'S HONOR... THAT I CLOSE BY DEMONSTRATING...

"MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE...

ALL ABOARD...AND DON'T FORGET YOUR BAGGAGE PLEASE."

AGAIN, THANK YOU... FOR THE HONOR GIVEN ME IN HERB'S NAME... BY ASKING ME TO MAKE A FEW REMARKS HERE TONIGHT...

AND TO CONGRATULATE TOM TOLES.

TWO GUIDELINES FOR YOUR QUESTIONS...

I AM NOT A PUNDIT...

AND I DO NOT HANDLE CRITICISM WELL...

FOR THE RECORD... MY COLLEAGUES AND I AT THE PBS NEWSHOUR HAVE A COURSE TO STAY WITH...

AWHILE AGO, I WAS ASKED BY THE SPONSORS OF AN ASPEN SEMINAR ON JOURNALISM IF I HAD GUIDELINES I USED IN MY OWN PRACTICE OF JOURNALISM... AND, IF SO, WOULD I MIND SHARING THEM...

HERE IS PART OF WHAT I SENT THEM:

--DO NOTHING I CAN NOT DEFEND...

--COVER, WRITE AND PRESENT EVERY STORY WITH THE CARE I WOULD WANT IF THE STORY WERE ABOUT ME...

--ASSUME THERE IS AT LEAST ONE OTHER SIDE OR VERSION TO EVERY STORY...

--ASSUME THE VIEWER IS AS SMART AND CARING AND GOOD A PERSON AS I AM...

--ASSUME THE SAME ABOUT ALL PEOPLE ON WHOM I REPORT...

--ASSUME PERSONAL LIVES ARE A PRIVATE MATTER UNTIL A LEGITIMATE TURN IN THE STORY ABSOLUTELY MANDATES OTHERWISE...

--CAREFULLY SEPARATE OPINION AND ANALYSIS FROM STRAIGHT NEWS STORIES... AND CLEARLY LABEL EVERYTHING...

--DO NOT USE ANONYMOUS SOURCES OR BLIND QUOTES EXCEPT ON RARE AND MONUMENTAL OCCASIONS. NO ONE SHOULD EVER BE ALLOWED TO ATTACK ANOTHER ANONYMOUSLY...

--AND... FINALLY... I AM NOT IN THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS...

Sun, 06/05/2011 - 12:00