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Advocacy to Art, Craft of Writing
Tom Brokaw, a career newsman who anchored “NBC Nightly News” for more than 20 years, was recently honored for his commitment to communication and his work as a journalist, communicator and writer. The College Board’s National Commission on Writing named Brokaw the 2008 recipient of its Distinguished Service Award for Extraordinary Contributions to the Art and Craft of Writing. The presentation was made at a Sept. 15 luncheon in Brokaw’s honor, which attracted a number of distinguished guests. Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, chair of the College Board’s Commission on Writing and president of The New School, declared, “Tom Brokaw is the essence of this award. His multiple achievements have been driven by his ability to observe and recount with clarity, providing context and increasing understanding — all hallmarks of resonant communication that Gene Budig, a senior advisor to President Caperton who has headed Major League Baseball’s American League and three major universities, said, “Our work in writing has confirmed that this skill is necessary for both professional and personal success, and it has become more critical because of technology. Tom Brokaw is the perfect recipient because, through writing, he has excelled in so many fields and in so many ways.”
Brokaw, currently serving as interim host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” has won virtually every award in television and journalism and authored five books, including “The Greatest Generation,” which documented Americans who came of age during the Great Depression and served the nation during World War II. “Effective writing is essential for the success of our global society, but if writing is to improve in this country, it needs everyone’s support, not just educators’ and policymakers’,” Kerrey said. “A consummate communicator, Brokaw has influenced political and business leaders all over the world, making his story a true testament to the power of words and writing, and we are pleased to pay tribute to him today.” Among the luncheon’s illustrious guests who came to honor Brokaw were Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada; Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia; Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska; Sen. Max Baucus of Montana; Sen. Bob Dole (retired) of Kansas; Allen H. Neuharth, founder of USA Today and The Freedom Forum; Charles L. Overby, CEO of The Freedom Forum and Newseum; Stan Kasten, president of the Washington Nationals Baseball Club; Sharon J. Washington, executive director of the National Writing Project; Maghan Keita, professor and director of the Institute for Global Interdisciplinary Studies at Villanova University, College Board Trustee and chair of the Academic Assembly; Chancellor Harvey Perlman of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Arlene Ackerman, superintendent of the Philadelphia City Schools; and Nancy Grasnick, superintendent of schools for the state of Maryland. Brokaw is the fourth recipient of the award, which was created in 2004 after the College Board launched the commission in 2002 to provide national support for writing education. Other honorees have included business leader Warren Buffett and U.S. Sens. Robert Byrd and Thad Cochran. The commission, which is composed of education and business leaders advised by a panel of academic experts on writing, has issued five reports on the importance of writing for 21st-century success in college and the workplace. Click here for more information on the commission.
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