Anchor seeks untold stories

Her goal: getting the story right. Her passion: finding ways of telling the untold story.\nGwen Ifill, a moderator and managing editor of PBS's "Washington Week", spoke to a packed Whittenberger Auditorium Monday evening at the School of Journalism's annual Roy W. Howard lecture. Ifill spoke about this zeal for journalism and all of its facets.\nIfill's lecture, "Politics, Policy, and Reality: What's Really Going on in Journalism?," provided attendants with her views on what Americans think about politics, in addition to a dose of comforting reality concerning journalism and the future it holds for budding journalists.\n"We've taken the lessons of Watergate and O.J., and we have combined them to practice our craft with a new edge," Ifill said. "What you do, and how honorable you do it, will be essential to the way the rest of us all live our lives."\nIfill served as the former chief Congressional correspondent for NBC News and the White House correspondent for The New York Times. During her 15 years in print journalism, Ifill covered politics, government and presidential campaigns for the Washington Post, Baltimore Evening Sun and the Boston Herald American.\nIfill, who is also a senior correspondent on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, spoke about her various experiences throughout her career in journalism, while injecting crowd-pleasing humor into many of her points.\n"My experiences (in journalism) have definitely taught me how to write -- and re-write," Ifill said. "But since I've been in television, it has also taught me how to settle on just the right shade of lipstick." \nIfill also said that the best lessons aren't always learned from people with power or lofty job titles, but merely by "keeping your ears open and writing it down."\nAlthough Ifill's role as the first African-American woman to host a political talk show serves as a benchmark in the media, she finds it unfortunate that the presence of minorities and women in broadcast journalism are still "few and far between."\nDespite the lack of diversity in the media, Ifill entered the news media with confidence and a passion for casting a light in the darkness.\n"I got into journalism because I thought I could shed light in a few dark corners, and break down barriers for not only African-Americans but people who needed inspiration," Ifill said. "When you don't have to explain why it ought to matter to people, that's one of the reasons I do what I do."\nStudents, faculty and Bloomington residents composed much of Monday night's crowd.\nCarolyn and Ron Kovener always watch Ifill on television and said they enjoy her methods of reporting.\n"She's always so prepared, organized and speaks with sophistication," Ron Kovener said. "She never adds any phoniness to what she says -- she's accurate and reliable."\nThe Roy W. Howard lecture takes place each year at IU during the National Reporting Convention. The competition, sponsored by the Scripps Howard Foundation, provides numerous contests, scholarships and possibilities for aspiring journalists.\nDuring the lecture, Ifill emphasized that the media and its coverage of politics doesn't always do a satisfactory job in covering issues the way they relate to people on a personal level.\n"The media hasn't always succeeded in telling the inside story," Ifill said. "When you go to the doctor and are shocked by the bill, the debate on health care reform matters. When you look at your paycheck and feel that not enough of it ends up in your pocket, the debate on tax cuts matters."\nAfrican American studies professor William Wiggins said he admires Ifill's ability to speak about politics with an abundance of knowledge, and encouraged his students to attend Ifill's lecture.\n"I'm a big fan of hers, and I've been following her career from the very beginning," Wiggins said. "Her success is certainly well-deserved, and since she has innumerable experience in both broadcasting and print journalism, she can provide students with a great deal of helpful information"