NAB/RTNDA: Rather Says Media Must Help Keep Government Representative & Honest

TVNewser NAB blogger Simon Marks is in the opening ceremony honoring Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw and the late Peter Jennings. The three former anchors are receiving the Distinguished Service Awards:

“A visibly moved Dan Rather, greeted with a standing ovation, asked the audience to join a moment of silence for US military personnel serving at home and overseas. He recognized his fellow honorees, paying tribute to the late Peter Jennings. ‘I’ll miss Peter, we should all miss him for his excellent contributions to reporting, particular international reporting.’

In his acceptance speech, he offered the following thoughts on the future direction of the news business:

‘Broadcast news finds itself in a period of rapidly accelerating change. Change is a good and necessary thing and where technology is involved it’s also inevitable. But what I hope will not change is the understanding that news needs to serve the public interest as its primary goal. That is its
greatest calling, to help keep freedom, independence and representative government alive and to keep it honest. As long as this public service is at the core of what broadcast news does, the faces will change, but the commitment, the part that matters the most, will remain.'”