In a time of relentless “fake news," American journalists must fight in order to get stories that are coherent and useful to viewers and voters in our country.
"Some say this is a bad time to be a journalist, but it is a great time to be a journalist, because everyone is looking at you," 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley said in his speech which marked the end of the grand-opening day for the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism.
“Arnolt knows that there is no democracy without journalism,” Pelley said.
The celebration lasted all day and brought media professionals from across the country to the Media School in order to educate and give professional advice to students, faculty, friends and family.
Some of the events included panels, a ribbon cutting and a speech from former CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley.
Pelley brought personal experience to Presidents hall and showed student journalists exactly what it means to do interviews, collect facts and talk to sources. Pelley also read excerpts from his newest book, “Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter’s Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times.”
“A great privilege of journalism is to encourage people to speak out, to tell their stories,” Pelley said in his speech.
Pelley worked at CBS for 31 years, with many of those spent on the air. While working for CBS, Pelley covered many pivotal events across the United States, including 9/11, the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, the Davidian siege in Waco, Texas, the impeachment of President Clinton and the Gulf War.
Pelley also won an Emmy Award for an interview with Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke in 2008.
Pelley announced Tuesday he will be accepting a position on the Arnolt Center’s advisory board.
