Murrow Wouldn’t Disapprove, Donaldson Says Broadcasting Legend Would Fit In, Honored Newsman Tells WSU Audience

As broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow captivated the nation during World War II with his “This is London” broadcasts, Sam Donaldson was tuning in.

Reporting the war from his London headquarters, Murrow inspired Donaldson, then an 8-year-old Cub Scout, to pretend he was delivering the news over an invisible microphone.

Now a veteran TV news anchor, Donaldson was here Thursday to receive the Edward R. Murrow Award honoring Washington State University’s most famous graduate.

Speaking at Beasley Auditorium, Donaldson addressed a couple of hundred people, most of them journalism students, professors and media representatives.

The co-anchor of ABC’s “PrimeTime Live” and “This Week” said if Murrow were still alive, he would approve of the glitz and glamour inherent in the news media today.

In Murrow’s day, there was a national emergency and only a few broadcasters to deliver critical information, Donaldson said. Today, events are beamed live from all over the world by thousands of different personalities.

To succeed, the media must do more than just adhere to the principles Murrow made famous: integrity, accuracy and objectivity. They must also make the news interesting.

“Today, in order to communicate, it’s not enough to say here I am, and I have an important message for you,” Donaldson said.

“Don’t let the old fogies come before you and try to tell you that the way we used to do it is the way to do it and that’s it. Edward Murrow, if he were alive today, would be looking for inventive new ways to package news stories.”

Asked why the public loathes the press, Donaldson said it’s a case of shooting the bearer of bad tidings.

Democrats in Congress hated him when he covered Jimmy Carter, he said, but loved him when Republican Ronald Reagan entered the White House.

“If you believe you are uncovering facts that people ought to have, bring it to them,” he said, directing his comments to journalism students. “If you want to win a popularity contest, get into a different line of work.”

His most regrettable broadcast blooper? It was in 1972 while covering George McGovern’s presidential campaign.

Acting on a tip from an overconfident campaign manager, he announced over the radio that McGovern had chosen then-Democratic Party head Larry O’Brien as a running mate, “no ifs ands or buts about it.”

But McGovern chose Sargent Shriver instead. “I died,” Donaldson said.

One WSU student asked how he justified charging so much for his speaking engagements.

“Why speak? That’s what I do. I don’t believe it cheapens my ability to be a news reporter,” he said. Then he added with a smile, “That’s my story today, and I’m sticking to it.”

For the record, Donaldson spoke for free Thursday.

, DataTimes