Breaking News: Controversy, Conspiracy, and Conflict as Dan Rather Speaks at NYU

 

The panel discussion at the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute among media all-stars Dan Rather, New York Times Managing Editor Jill Abramson, Associated Press President Tom Curley, and PressThink blogger Jay Rosen proved to be a fascinating and exciting event.  The discussion touched upon the topics of “The First Amendment, the Freedom of the Press, and the Future of Journalism,” and each member of the panel offered a distinct and profound perspective.

That is not to say that there weren’t moments of tension, and even a couple when it got downright ugly.

When the discussion was opened up to questions from the audience, a man – somewhat curiously- ran to the microphone to be first in line.  Well, it turns out he had a motive: he introduced himself as a representative of wearechange.org (warning: beware of extremism), and launched into a series of accusations against Rather.  He began with, “Mr. Rather, on September 11, 2001 you claimed…” and continued confronting Rather about his apparent statement regarding the possibility of bombs in the World Trade Center attacks.  The audience quickly began to murmur, and moderator Gil Klein attempted to interrupt the speaker.  Rather said, “I’m sorry, I don’t hear a question in this.”  Finally the man asked, “Mr. Rather do you believe those statements you said?”  Rather responded that they were not a “belief” he held, but simply an observation he made.  He ended by saying, “I’m not sure how this question relates to the topic of this panel discussion.”  The man was not satisfied, and continued to shout at Rather, even as he was being pushed away from the microphone. 

Dan Rather

The shocked panel and audience had barely recovered when a second man approached the microphone.  He asked the panel about the elusive and controversial Bilderberg Group, again launching into an attack regarding conspiracy theories.  The panel chose to ignore the question, though the man continued to ask more pressingly, declaring, “Whenever I try to talk about it, I get death threats!”  Abramson finally broke the silence, stating that she knew of the group but did not wish to discuss it at the panel.

 

The discussion moved on, with Rosen comparing established mainstream journalists to a “tribe,” and Rather responding, “Had I known we were a tribe, I would have brought my headdress and my wigwam.”  But the analogy proved effective in describing the journey of traditional media “migrating across the river to the promised land” where new media already resides.  Clever.

Interestingly, Rather refuted claims that the newspaper is dying, pointing out that the same argument was made in the advent of radio, and then again in the advent of television.  The newspaper has survived the development of new technology, and so it will survive this time, he argued.  Yet one is still left feeling like newspapers will have to adapt like never before to make it through these latest obstacles.

Though he originally entered the panel seeming like the underdog, Rosen ended up having the last word, offering hope that professional and amateur journalists (pro-am) can someday work together in the media.

Even when the discussion officially concluded, the drama continued: the two infamous conspiracy theorists/question hijackers had brought cameras, and followed the panel members as they headed for the elevators.  They proceeded to harass them and ask them questions regarding their respective conspiracies.  An NYU facility employee suddenly exploded at one of the men, spitting on him and slapping his camera.  Then both men attempted to escape down the emergency exit stairs, before being chased and yelled at by NYU employees.  Meanwhile, Rather and his assistants disappeared into one of the elevators.  Even though the tactless conspiracy theorists kind of deserved it, there’s a good chance that the angry NYU employee will get in trouble for this.

It looks like freedom of speech was certainly the focus of this eventful night!

 

Dan Rather, New York Times Managing Editor Jill Abramson, Associated Press CEO Tom Curley, and PressThink Blogger Jay Rosen Convene at NYU

If you’ve ever wanted to meet with the world’s most powerful media representatives in your quest for global domination (and I know a lot of you out there have that somewhere on your to-do lists, in between watering the plants and buying milk), then consider stopping by the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at 6:30 on October 16.  Why?  Because that’s where it’s at.  Former CBS News Anchor and current HDNet reporter Dan Rather, New York Times Managing Editor Jill Abramson, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley, and NYU’s very own journalism professor and PressThink founder Jay Rosen will be featured in a panel discussion, “The First Amendment, Freedom of the Press, and the Future of Journalism.”  The roundtable is sponsored by the National Press Club, the Foreign Policy Association, and the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, and moderated by veteran correspondent Gil Klein.

The choice of panelists could make for an an interesting night: in 2005, amid controversy over the Killian documents, Jay Rosen wrote an open letter to Dan Rather criticizing his attitude toward bloggers, and recommending that he create a blog himself.  It is unclear whether this issue will be brought up during the discussion.

The event is free and open to the public.

Check back later with Mazza First Hand Source for a complete report on the discussion.

The NYU Arthur L. Carter Institute for Journalism

20 Cooper Square

New York, NY