Rather Receives Journalism Award

With a tearful tribute to his broadcasting hero, Dan Rather, the anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News, accepted the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism last night at the ARCO Forum.

Rather dedicated his award to famed broadcast journalist and executive Fred W. Friendly, who died last week, Friendly produced for legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow and was president of CBS News during the network's glory days.

"A piece of Fred is in me and in most news rooms around the country," Rather said.

Rather invoked Friendly's journalistic integrity and ethics several times in his speech, which critiqued what many feel are crumbling news values of modern journalists.

"Fred Would ask us, 'Do you know this for certain?' Nowadays, the most important question in a news room is 'do we have video of that?" Rather said.

Making reference to the O.J. Simpson Trial, the death of Princes Diana and the more recent case involving former presidential intern Monica Lewinsky, Rather said network news broadcasts face many external pressures which frequently lead to news misjudgements.

"The networks have much to answer for, including my own," Rather said.

"When we allow these entertainment values to override our professional standards as we so often do, we are losing the ability to hold the public's attention, we are losing their trust," he said.

Rather said he himself has not always lived up to Friendly's standards.

Most recently, he said, his decision to leave the Pope in Cuba and fly to Washington to cover the presidential scandal reflected the difficult decisions that news broadcasters face. Do they cover the most newsworthy or the most sensational story?

"[We could have] let someone else do the dirty work," Rather said. "I chickened out. I went to Washington."

Rather later recounted the hour-by-hour decision making process that CBS News executives undertook Wednesday, Jan. 18, theday the Lewinsky story broke.

As his top competitors, including NBC NightlyNews anchor Tom Brokaw and ABC World News Tonightanchor Peter Jennings, chartered planes bound forWashington, D.C., Rather said competitive pressuremotivated him to leave Cuba. "The voice of TVreason either says you're out of your mind [if youdon't go to Washington] or you're smokingsomething expensive down there," Rather quipped.

Rather also spoke about the pressures localnews directors face in choosing news stories. Insome ways, Rather said they were more beholden toovernight Nielsen ratings, a trend he feels is noteasily reversible.

But Rather said increased competition wasresponsible for American journalism unparalleledits breadth and scope.

As for the future of network evening newscasts,Rather said "it wouldn't surprise me if one ormore" of his competing networks decided nightlynews was not profitable and abandoned theirbroadcasts.

Rather skipped last evening's broadcast of theCBS News program to attend the Goldsmith awardceremony.

At the sixth annual ceremony, which wassponsored by the Joan Shorenstein Center on thePress, Politics and Public Policy, several otherjournalists received awards for investigativereporting.

Seattle Times reporter Duff Wilson and TimeMagazine journalists Michael Duffy, MichaelWeisskopf and Viveca Novak received the GoldsmithPrize for Investigative Reporting.

The Goldsmith Awards are given annually inhonor of Bertha Goldsmith of Philadelphia, aconcert pianist with a love of television news

As his top competitors, including NBC NightlyNews anchor Tom Brokaw and ABC World News Tonightanchor Peter Jennings, chartered planes bound forWashington, D.C., Rather said competitive pressuremotivated him to leave Cuba. "The voice of TVreason either says you're out of your mind [if youdon't go to Washington] or you're smokingsomething expensive down there," Rather quipped.

Rather also spoke about the pressures localnews directors face in choosing news stories. Insome ways, Rather said they were more beholden toovernight Nielsen ratings, a trend he feels is noteasily reversible.

But Rather said increased competition wasresponsible for American journalism unparalleledits breadth and scope.

As for the future of network evening newscasts,Rather said "it wouldn't surprise me if one ormore" of his competing networks decided nightlynews was not profitable and abandoned theirbroadcasts.

Rather skipped last evening's broadcast of theCBS News program to attend the Goldsmith awardceremony.

At the sixth annual ceremony, which wassponsored by the Joan Shorenstein Center on thePress, Politics and Public Policy, several otherjournalists received awards for investigativereporting.

Seattle Times reporter Duff Wilson and TimeMagazine journalists Michael Duffy, MichaelWeisskopf and Viveca Novak received the GoldsmithPrize for Investigative Reporting.

The Goldsmith Awards are given annually inhonor of Bertha Goldsmith of Philadelphia, aconcert pianist with a love of television news