|
||||
  
 
 |
JCOM department honors Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist By
Ted Pease LOGAN -- The Department of Journalism and Communication at Utah State University is honoring a "legend in American journalism" with the announcement of Jack Anderson Day in honor of the Utah-born Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and book author's 80th birthday. "For more than a half-century, Jack Anderson has inspired journalists and intimidated politicians with something to hide," said journalism department head Ted Pease. "Jack is fearless, committed and tireless in pursuit of the truth and in defense of American liberties. We honor his lifetime's work and achievements in a small way by designating Oct. 18, 2002 Jack Anderson Day." Anderson, a member of the journalism program's Advisory and Advancement Council since 1996, was awarded an honorary doctor of communication degree at USU in 1997. Anderson has been a fixture of Washington, DC, journalism and politics since the late 1940s, and has covered every presidential administration since Harry Truman. His association with famed muckraking columnist Drew Pearson began in the 1940s, and made the reporting-writing team of "The Washington Merry-Go-Round" among the most powerful forces in national politics. Anderson won the Pulitzer Prize in national reporting in 1972 for his reporting of American policy decision-making during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. His syndicated column still runs in nearly 200 U.S. newspapers. In his most recent book, an autobiography titled Peace, War and Politics: An Eyewitness Account, Anderson recounts the experiences of more than 50 years that made him a journalistic legend. In a speech at USU in 1999, Anderson gave the modern press low marks for its performance. "Have we been good watchdogs?" he asked. "Someimes. Sometimes we serve you better than you deserve. But more often lately, we have done a poor job." "What we are talking about here is freedom. Because without the watchdog on your freedoms, they will be stripped from you. You do not give up freedom for anything." In announcing Jack Anderson Day in the Department of Journalism and Communication at USU, Pease said "Anderson's example to young journalists is important and powerful. The citation announcing the honor reads: "In recognition of his outstanding lifetime contributions to the integrity of journalism, his dedicated pursuit of truth even when it is unpopular, and his inspired example to the journalism students and faculty at Utah State University." A copy of the certificate and proclamation was presented to Anderson today at a surprise birthday party in Washington attended by scores of friends, family and journalistic and political colleagues. For further details, contact the USU Journalism and Communication Department at 435-797-3292.
|
Archived Months:
January
1999 January
2000 January
2001 |
||