Freedman inaugural invokes Murrow’s journalism principles
National Press Club President Michael Freedman was sworn into office on credentials radio broadcasting legend Edward R. Murrow carried during World War II. Photo: Lorna Aldrich.
Veteran broadcast journalist and professor Michael Freedman placed his left hand on the credentials Edward R. Murrow carried during World War II, raised his right hand and was sworn in as the 113th president of the National Press Club by Marvin Kalb, the last reporter personally hired by Murrow. The occasion was Freedman’s inaugural gala Jan. 18. The credentials included a pass permitting Murrow to leave the BBC building in London during an air-raid warning.
At the event, held in the Club's Ballroom, Freedman promised to uphold the journalism standards created by Murrow, to strengthen the Club for the benefit of its members, to fight for and protect journalists everywhere, to uphold freedom of the press and to be generous with his season tickets to the Washington Nationals by taking Kalb to the opening game.
Murrow’s standards for journalism, as exemplified and taught by Freedman in his classes at George Washington University, were the first theme of the evening.
Kalb, veteran NBC and CBS broadcaster and host of "The Kalb Report", said Freedman’s journalism courses are a study of the life of Murrow and his principles.
Longtime NBC and CBS correspondent Marvin Kalb (l), the last reporter directly hired by Edward R. Murrow, administered the oath of office to National Press Club President Michael Freedman at a Club gala Jan. 18. Photo: Nathan Mitchell.
According to Kalb, Murrow’s principles are the search for truth, the determination to be fair and the patience to wait an hour or a day to confirm a fact and know it is true when broadcast. The simple purpose of all of journalism is to inform and educate the public, Kalb said.
Murrow’s son, Casey Murrow, director of Synergy Learning, a nonprofit organization specializing in science and math programs for schools and teachers, also said Freedman was a supporter of the Murrow legacy. Citing a written record made by his mother, he quoted his father as having said fear of communism could lead to the same issues in the United States as arose in Germany in the 1930s. His point was that Murrow knew freedom to think and write would always need protection.
Sam Feist, CNN senior vice president and Washington bureau chief, said he and Freedman shared the vision of Murrow’s legacy as the North Star of journalism. He cited Freedman’s statement supporting CNN reporter Manu Raju after Senator Martha McSally, R-Arizona., refused to speak with him because he was a “liberal hack.” Freedman led the Club to be the first journalism organization to speak out. Others followed, Feist said.
Freedman’s support of, and kind treatment of, people was the second theme of the evening.
Heather Date, vice president for communications and engagement at the University of Maryland Global Campus and senior producer of "The Kalb Report", said the lesson she learned from working with Freedman was the importance of building a team and making every person feel special.
Harvey Nagler, former CBS News vice president, said, “He talks and befriends everybody.” When asked who were his friends in New York, Freedman mentioned the doorman and Tony Bennett, Nagler said.
Nagler also said of Freedman that, apart from family, “Journalism is his number one love.”
Freedman’s sons, Brian Freedman, professor of psychology at the University of Delaware, and Dan Freedman, journalist and Club member, described the importance of journalism in their family life.
Phone calls had to follow the inverted pyramid composition, they might be asked for the headline and if small talk preceded a significant announcement, they were accused of burying the lead, Dan said.
Marlene Adler, former chief of staff for Walter Cronkite, called Freedman, “Just a boy who doesn’t say no.” She credited Freedman with preserving Cronkite’s legacy at CBS.
Freedman made the final remarks of the evening.
He added another Murrow quote, “Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world … doesn’t mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar!”
Freedman named a few of the people who taught him and what he learned: the fundamentals of broadcasting and journalism during 15 years in Detroit radio, the selflessness of pure reporting at United Press International and broadcast news by those who perfected it at CBS.
Freedman quoted Murrow’s statement that unless TV was used to teach, illuminate and inspire, it was only “wires and lights in a box.”
He then said, “The National Press Club is an indispensable platform to educate, inspire, empower and protect. I ask tonight that we all join together to ensure we are using it to those ends.”
“I thank you for your commitment and dedication to the National Press Club … to press freedom … to ethics and excellence in journalism … and to this noble experiment we all cherish … called democracy.”