2013 Communicators Summit
Wednesday-FRIDAY, March 20-22
WSU Pullman
Communication professionals and students from across Washington and beyond are invited to share ideas and knowledge.
Three exciting days of activities include:
- Facebook and the Future of the Newsroom – by Dan Fletcher, managing editor of Facebook
- Career Day/Meet the Pros – a special series of education, networking, and student mentorship events
- Murrow Alumni Hall of Achievement Induction – honoring outstanding Murrow alums Gary Petersen '65, Dennis Franklin '75, and Eric Johnson '84
- Keynote Address – presented by Andrew Heyward, new media advisor and former president of CBS News
- Middleton movie screening and Q&A with director and producer
See the full schedule. All events are free.
WSU, Murrow College welcomed, Honored Dan Rather
Veteran newsman Dan Rather accepted the 2012 Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement and delivered the 38th Murrow Symposium keynote address, "The Power of the Murrow Legacy." More than 1,000 people attended the awards event in Beasley Coliseum. Learn more »
Watch the awards event online »
View slideshow »
"Dan Rather has literally walked in the footsteps of Edward R. Murrow, in the field and at the anchor desk. He embodies the strength and courage that Murrow represented." -Lawrence Pintak, Murrow College Founding Dean
WHY the Murrow Symposium at WSU?
It was a Washington State University alumnus who inspired America to confront the evil of the Nazis.
It was a WSU alumnus who ended the climate of fear created by the red-baiting senator, Joseph McCarthy.
It was a WSU alumnus who shaped the way America told its story to the world during the Cold War.
That alumnus was Edward R. Murrow, a 1930 graduate in speech communication who went on to lead our nation in carving out the moral and ethical high ground through his courageous reporting and later role as head of the U.S. Information Agency under President John F. Kennedy.
Today, Washington State University carries on Murrow's legacy of national outreach and global engagement with the annual Edward R. Murrow Symposium, a key event on the University calendar.
A unique opportunity
"The Murrow Symposium is a signature WSU event, celebrating the legacy of our most distinguished alumnus," said President Elson S. Floyd. "It offers WSU a unique opportunity to bring to campus national thought leaders whose work helps shape the full range of issues so critical to our University—and to the world—today."
For the past four decades, the Murrow Symposium has honored some of the most influential figures in American media; men and women who help set the nation's agenda.
"Because of them...we are a better country," President Floyd said when he welcomed CBS Correspondent Bob Schieffer and political reporter and opinion columnist Helen Thomas to WSU Pullman in 2009.
This standard of leadership is applied in selecting recipients of the Murrow Award each year.
Impact across all disciplines
The Symposium is about far more than journalism; it is about a national dialogue on themes that touch every aspect of the WSU community: politics, economics, science, agriculture, and more.
From Murrow's own work in Harvest of Shame, a documentary that brought to light the plight of migrant farm workers in the early '60s, to Dan Rather's reporting on the abuse of U.S. prisoners at Abu Ghraib, journalism explains and exposes issues central to the mission of WSU and our nation as a whole.
And through the Murrow Symposium, WSU continues the legacy of national and global engagement epitomized by an alumnus who ably and strongly influenced America's role in the world.
–Dean Lawrence Pintak
Andrew Heyward will present the keynote address for the 39th Edward R. Murrow Symposium Communicators Summit on March 21. A nationally known news executive, award-winning producer, and expert on the changing media landscape, Heyward will present "Murrow 2.0, Re-inventing News for the Digital Generation," providing insights for adapting new strategies in today's fast-moving media world.
Read more
On March 20, Dan Fletcher will discuss his work with social media giant Facebook and take questions from the audience. He began his career as the first social media editor for TIME, where he covered technology for the website and magazine and launched TIME's NewsFeed site. In 2011, Fletcher moved to Bloomberg News and created the editorial social media team for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek. After joining Facebook in 2012, Fletcher led the team that created Facebook Stories, an editorial platform to explore the impact of social media around the world.
» Visit the Murrow College on YouTube
Recent Murrow Awards
2011
Ted Koppel
Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Broadcast Journalism
About Ted Koppel
2010
Deborah Amos
Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement/Radio
Judy Woodruff
Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement/Television
ProPublica
Edward R. Murrow Award for Media Entrepreneurship
About the 2010 award recipients
2009
Helen Thomas
Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism
Bob Schieffer
Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Broadcast Journalism
Previous years