People were left standing as Burt Kahn Court filled with more than 800 people to hear Charles Gibson, former anchor of “ABC World News,” lecture on Thursday evening, as part of Constitution Week.
The lecture, titled “The (Im)Balance of Power in Washington: How Things Went Off the Rails and How They Can Be Fixed,” was hosted by School of Communications Dean Lee Kamlet, who introduced Gibson.
“Lee was my producer and writer during my time at ‘ABC World News,’” Gibson said. “I was also given the honor of receiving the Fred Friendly award from Quinnipiac in 2008, which gave me the opportunity to learn about this institution and develop a great respect for it.”
Gibson spoke to the open forum about his career of 43 years with “ABC News,” including his experiences both as a correspondent and later, co-anchor for “Good Morning America.”
He spoke about current issues in the media as well, including the importance of student morality in universities.
He then addressed the downfalls of Congress and the upcoming election, as well as current issues in news networks.
Gibson mentioned that in media today, there is too much emphasis on what the public “wants to know” and not enough on what they “need to know.”
“I thought Charlie Gibson’s lecture was amazing,” senior Kristen Daniels said. “Not only was he funny and charismatic, but he also raised some very thoughtful points about Congress, morality and the news.”
The lecture also coincided with Constitution Week, which Gibson addressed in his lecture.
“The Constitution was a compromise among the states,” Gibson said. “The men knew that there were more important matters than their political gain. Were the Constitution to be proposed today, I’m not sure it would have been published.”
Gibson, along with Kamlet and Paul Friedman, the former executive vice president of CBS, were also available before the lecture to speak with students in a private session in Buckman Theater.
The three professionals shared stories of their career experience with students and offered advice regarding future careers in the journalism field.
“My advice to any journalism student is not to be mesmerized by technology — good, solid reporting will always be most important,” Kamlet said. “Many people get wrapped up in technology, but I still believe good journalism will win out in the end.”
Gibson also expressed the benefits of journalism as a profession to students.
“There is not a more rewarding profession,” Gibson said. “You will not only enjoy yourself, but you will also be performing a service. We need journalism now more than ever; we are just not sure through what medium it will come to us in the future.”
