First - thanks to David at “The Middle Way Forward” for a comprehensive "real time" report of Anderson's speech - and congrats for getting into McKenna Auditorium! David’s full blog entry is below – and after that follows my “additions”, as I was also on campus for the speech. Although, as a non-CMC student, I was "exiled" to Pickford Auditorium to watch the speech on a big screen, with about 100 other people. There were a number of CMC students in Pickford, so I know that McKenna was SRO. Anyway ... since I (and most of us that have followed AC for any length of time) have heard a number of the lines and phrases Anderson has used in other appearances, I focused on taking notes about the things I hadn't heard him say before.
David’s “real –time” reporting:
Award-winning CNN journalist Anderson Cooper was gracious enough to take the time to visit CMC today to talk about "Today's Headlines with Anderson Cooper." (Who would've guessed?) What follows is a live-blogging chronicle of what happened.
10:53 A.M.: Secured a seat with some friends in the second row on the left. We're probably about 25 feet from the podium.
10:55 A.M.: The auditorium is filling up at a rapid pace. No Anderson Cooper yet.
11:00 A.M.: Any minute now...still no Anderson Cooper.
11:01 A.M.: ...never mind.
11:02 A.M.: Obligatory Ath Fellow Introduction begins. Talking about the evolution of television from "three massive networks" to 24-hour cable news and "our inattentive generation."
11:03 A.M.: Begin Cooper's credentials. Quite an impressive list, of course.
11:04 A.M.: ...and he takes the stage.
11:05 A.M.: Cooper is suspicious of people who want to be TV anchors: "You should be a real person before you become a fake one."
11:06 A.M.: His mother once told him as he was going into the TV business: "Wear vertical stripes; they're slimming." Classy.
11:07 A.M.: He had a liberal arts degree coming out of college, "which means [he] had no skills." Oohs resonate from the crowd.
11:08 A.M.: Cooper recalls a friend made him a fake press pass on a Mac (that should be an Apple ad) so he could travel to warzones in Burma, Rwanda, Somalia. There's a start for you.
11:09 A.M.: Cooper can paint quite the picture with words; he's vividly describing his recent experience in Niger for 60 Minutes. He says 1 of 5 children die before the age of 4 in Niger; he saw 3 children, severely malnourished, die in the space of 24 hours. It's simply horrifying, he says. I have to agree.
11:12 A.M.: He's talking about the division of the country into red and blue states, soccer/security moms, NASCAR dads. "I don't think there should be a Democratic truth or a Republican truth...I think there's far too much shouting on cable news already." He thinks we need facts. Now I'm hearing what I want to hear.
11:14 A.M.: "The list of things you can't do [in Baghdad] is longer than the list of things you can."
11:15 A.M.: In Iraq, CNN uses its own security, "former SAS guys...with necks as big as [Cooper's] thighs." Reassuring. Then he mentions a time where his security team told him jihadis were coming to the hotel he was staying in to search door-to-door for non-Muslims and kill them. The security folks gave him two 2x4s and told him to barricade himself in his room. Not so reassuring.
11:16 A.M.: Iraqi government is "a government in name only." Perfect.
11:17 A.M.: The Democratic presidential candidates had their own ways to get Cooper's attention to call on them at the YouTube Debate: "Hillary Clinton stares at you like a teacher who know you forgot your homework," Edwards has a subtle finger wag, Kucinich yells, and Gravel apparently cussed Cooper out during every commercial break. Classy.
11:20 A.M.: An Italian reporter once mistook Cooper for Gen. Wesley Clark. Er...
11:21 A.M.: "The silence [in New Orleans after Katrina] was shocking...You could hear the wind rustling through the remnants of people's lives."
11:23 A.M.: There's a shortage of psychiatrists, hospital beds, and primary-care centers in New Orleans. "Whole tracts of the Lower Ninth Ward" remain devastated. A dig at the federal government for holding up relief money, inadvertently or not, and "absurdly slow" rebuilding efforts.
11:24 A.M.: Did I mention this man can paint a picture with words?
11:25 A.M.: His advice to us is the same his mother gave him a long time ago: "Follow your bliss."
11:26 A.M.: He says he's done "droning on." Begin questions.
11:27 A.M.: First question on how journalists find the balance between getting too close and being desensitized to their material. He says, "I was born a WASP, so I'm good at suppressing my emotions." He continues, more seriously, "...don't pretend you don't have feelings...it's important to realize what you can and can't do."
11:28 A.M.: Second question on difference between AC360 and 60 Minutes. He says 60 Minutes is more traditional in their style, but "they have the best producers in the business."
11:30 A.M.: Begin me waiting in line to ask a question about the effect of blogs and other new media on the business and what the future of these technologies is.
11:40 A.M.: After a couple of questions about "Lions for Lambs" and "The Mole," among other things, I finally get my shot. He says that blogs are good because viewers should be critical -- they did bring down Dan Rather, after all -- and news organizations that are consistently pushing out subpar items that are being criticized "have no business being in the business." On the other hand, he says, they are far less verifiable than a program like his or any other mainstream source, which has multiple layers of vetting. The mainstream media's response to the proliferation of new user-driven media technologies, he says, has been to get out on handheld platforms as much as possible, but he ultimately says no one really knows what effect these technologies are going to have.
11:45 A.M.: Last question: will there be a news network that focuses more international news instead of talking heads, pundits, and "the politics of division"? Cooper says there not enough viewers interested in just international news to make such a network viable; he recounts a time where CNN had a 12 o'clock program dedicated solely to international news, but shortly after its inception, its ratings plummeted in relation to what had previously occupied that slot. He says that the networks put on what the people want to see -- which includes OJ and "Missing Blonde of the Month."
11:49 A.M.: "If you tell good stories, people will watch." Well said.
11:50 A.M.: I think his being rapidly rushed out of the auditorium means it's over. All in all, a great speech.
So, there you have it -- CNN's Anderson Cooper at CMC. I plan on following up with a brief post-speech analysis, so look for that to come soon. Thanks for reading!
My additions are as follows:
When Anderson was discussing his recent 60 Minutes work, he spoke at length about the Congo - or "hell on earth". He reminded the students that the conflict in that area has resulted in a bigger death toll than World War II. He reflected on the fact that since what happens in the Congo doesn't seem to directly affect US citizens, their interest level is low. He made the point that one of the main reasons for the violence there is the fight over valuable natural resources, such as coltan, which is used to make the cell phones that each student had. And he is concerned that it's "easy to lose sight of what's important".
He briefly pondered the question of whether we are still willing to hear different viewpoints - this dovetails with David's entry about a Democratic vs. Republican "version" of truth. He advised the students to not close themselves off from different ideas.
When talking about his experiences in Baghdad, he said that as a journalist, you can't allow fear to affect what you see. He also made a reference to the bullet-proof glass in the military vehicles, and that it changes what see - literally and figuratively.
Regarding the recent YouTube debate, Anderson actually said that Mike Gravel "screamed obscenities" at him during the breaks, and that he couldn't repeat them even to college students. I agree with David - "classy" (not) ...
Part of Anderson's closing remarks included "our frailty (as humans) bonds us together" and "we are all that we have". This was (I think) an additional reference to what Anderson said regarding the government's response during Katrina.
Questions followed:
Answer to Q1: In addition, Anderson stated that if you're going to put yourself in environments where there is war, conflict, violence, natural disasters, etc. - and not allow yourself to be affected at all, you shouldn't be in journalism. But he said it's crucial to not pretend - the reporting has to be honest. He said that journalists need to decide whether they can operate in spite of their feelings.
New Question: How do you rally "young America", many who have been raised in the "luxury of complacency", to have an interest in stories that doesn't affect their daily lives (or involve a celebrity)? What's the role of media?
Anderson said that it's a choice about how one lives their life, and about what each person chooses to pay attention to in their lives. The media should bring "less-than-popular" stories to light, and ensure that the stories are made relatable to people so they'll have more interest and pay attention to what's happening in the world around them.
New Question: How do you respond to "fake news" such as what's found on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report? (And no, this question wasn't from me - remember that I was 'banished' to another building!!!) ;-)
Anderson answered that he can't really disagree with what they're doing, because they're right! He also said that they have a role to play - they can get at truths (note the word) that the MSM can't or won't say. Interesting ... ;-)
David's question (about the rise of blogs and how it affects news): Anderson also stated that the various newer platforms help to hold the MSM accountable for what's reported, and he thinks they have a crucial role to play in the larger "national debate".
New Question: Did you have a formative experience that's shaped you as a journalist?
Anderson cited Katrina (no surprise) and how shocked he was at seeing bodies lying in the street - for days on end - in an American city. He found it remarkable that politicians were trying to convince the public that the situation on the Gulf Coast wasn't as dire as it really was - when it was so easy to prove them 100% wrong - instantaneously.
He also talked about the violence and death he saw in Rwanda, early in his career, and described it as a "watershed event". He again talked about bodies lying in the streets, and that he ended up having to take a couple of months off after being there because he was so affected by what he saw.
The question that David wrote about regarding international news - Anderson was referencing "Your World Today" on CNN, which is still on the air. But he did talk about how, in spite of the e-mails he gets from people not wanting to hear any more about OJ or Anna Nicole, the ratings go to the programs that feature these types of stories. Anderson did give a positive spin, though, because he did say that CNN wants him to focus on quality journalism and tell stories he can be proud of. So for those wondering if he's 'happy' at CNN or if he's 'staying' at CNN, it seems that way - even though the specific question wasn't asked.
Even though I am deeply disappointed that I couldn't somehow manage to get into McKenna Auditorium (where the speech was held), I really am very (very) glad that I was able to go and hear Anderson talk - without reading from a teleprompter. I'm glad that David included the last item about Anderson leaving quickly - I was hoping he might hang around for a few minutes, but by the time I got back to McKenna, students were already filing out! So my apologies for not having any pictures – he looked sharp in the striped tie - perhaps some can be found elsewhere in the next day or so!
And if any of you ever have a chance to hear Anderson give a speech, even if you have to watch it in another location, do it!! You'll be glad that you did!! :-)
8 comments:
Newsblooz: Congratulations on being able to hear Anderson’s speech at CMC today and thanks so much for the great report!
I think the reason Anderson is able to so vividly describe his experiences in places like Niger and New Orleans is because he really “feels” these places and these experiences. I agree with his statement that if you do not allow yourself to be affected by some of these “environments” you should not be in journalism.
Anderson could not be more right when he says that the “fake" news can get at truths that the MSM cannot. IMO, the fact that they are considered “fake” gives them the luxury to be more truthful than the MSM could ever dream to be.
I think Anderson really shines in venues like this. He is such an intelligent and thoughtful man, it is a shame that sometimes his good looks get in the way and he is denied the respect he has earned and deserves.
I hope that one day I will be privileged to hear one of his lectures.
Thankyou so much for sharing this with us! Sounds like it was an excellent speech and great experience.LOL..even though you had to *sit at the the kiddies table for a holiday dinner*. Seriously, glad you were able to attend.Lucky you and lucky us to get to hear your thoughts on it and the great re cap.
@Stardust - yes, Anderson is very thoughtful and intelligent and caring, and as much as he likes to say that he's a WASP and doesn't show much emotion, you can tell in these situations how much he's been affected by what he's seen. I think that's why I'm especially glad that I was able to go (albeit in another room!!) - it's one thing to read about it - it's another to actually experience it! :-)
@northweston - I never liked sitting at the "kiddie's table", and I especially disliked it yesterday (LOL)! I think I've got to start convincing MY alumni association to sponsor a similar event!! ;-)
Newsblooz: I think that is why so many people are drawn to Anderson. He does always say that he’s a WASP, but in "Dispatches" he also said that his father showed a lot of emotion; anyone who has read “Families” can attest to that. Anderson may not want to admit it, but this may be something he inadvertently inherited from his father. Also, Gloria is an artist, and as an artist myself I know that emotion is an important part of the creative process.
I know you generally like to stay away from these types of issues in regards to Anderson so I will understand if you decide not to post this.
Stardust - I agree about the "inheritance" factor! And no, I think that brief references to the past, such as yours, are fine and even add to our understanding of a person's current (or future) frame of mind or circumstances. My concerns about those who may use the past for other purposes are best discussed at another time and in another place! :-)
Newsblooz,
Thanks for the kind comments and the link -- your additions are insightful. I also reposted your additions to my coverage on my blog and linked you as well.
Thank you again for covering what I missed, and for your comments. They are much appreciated.
Thank you David - I almost feel like a star!! I wish the speech (and time for questions) could have been a little longer. But it was still all good, and in reference to the follow up post on your blog, yes, we do "need more Anderson Coopers!"
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