Moore: Be curious and empathetic

Greg Moore walks up the hill to Macky Auditorium to give the December graduation speech.

Greg Moore, editor of The Denver Post, delivered the School's graduation speech in Macky Auditorium on Dec. 19. Here are excerpts.

It was not too long ago that I was sitting in chairs similar to yours. Squirming, really – wanting to get this over with and grab my diploma. I know how you feel. And I don't want to prolong your anxiety, and I certainly don't want to add to your discomfort.

Someone once said that in times like these, it is important to know your place. Remember not to stand in it too long. That's how I feel about commencement addresses. Let's get on with the real show, which is the celebration of your academic achievement and progression to the next stage in your lives and careers.

Being budding journalists, you know everyone wants to focus on what we do wrong. And we give our critics plenty of ammunition. Get a load of these headlines:

• Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
• Houses Passes Gas Tax onto Senate
• Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted
• Queen Mary Having Bottom Scraped
• Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Experts Say

So you can see you have your work cut out for you.

But, seriously, one of the things that makes my appearance here so delightful is confirmation that journalism still has the appeal, the cache, if you will, to attract the best and the brightest. We are fortunate in this industry to have a journalism school such as the one here at University of Colorado at Boulder and to have so many of you willing to take up the banner for truth and justice, and, I know it is a cliché, the American way.

What pleases me most is that you have chosen journalism when smart people like you have so many other choices. There has been a growing fear that students like you would look elsewhere for careers – the sciences, the law and business – where the money is better, the hours are not so bruising and the public scrutiny not nearly as intense and immediate. So the fact that you are here, willing to take up the cause of a free press speaks volumes about your commitment to improving our communities, our form of government and to truth telling.

The esteemed media critic David Shaw recently wrote about the fact that members of the fourth estate are indeed more upwardly mobile and better educated than previous generations of journalists.

He reported that in 1971, only 58 percent of newspaper journalists had college degrees. Today 89 percent have degrees. Contrast that interesting fact to another: Only 16 percent of the total population 25 and older has a college degree.

The point David and others quoted in the article was making is that this is not all good. In fact, this better-educated, upwardly mobile "new" journalist is an elitist, out of touch with the concerns and lifestyle of average people – average readers. And (because of) that, our journalism is suffering as we grow more distant from our readers, more remote from their daily concerns, more indifferent to probing into matters that could materially change their lives.

That disconnect – I hope it is not as dire as some claim – threatens our ability to be relevant to the average reader. But, according to some, those of us in the business, and those of you about to join, couldn't care a whit about the little guy, the struggling middle-class family, never mind the poor.

We cannot – you cannot – allow that to become a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Those of us in the business know there is more than a kernel of truth in this criticism. But I am seeing evidence of more and more journalists realizing that they need to be where the stories are, and they are trying to reconnect.

I recently hired a reporter from a small newspaper in the South, and when I interviewed him, I asked him why he wanted to come to work here. He said he grew up poor, went to a very small, no-name school. But he wanted to prove you could be a terrific journalist at a major metro daily and not have an Ivy League pedigree. I asked him where he would live, and he said he wanted a little place up on Federal Boulevard because he wanted to learn more about Hispanic culture.

I hired him virtually on the spot. And he is on a trajectory for stardom at the Post.

I say that to say this: Our strength is in knowing who the majority of our readers are, what they struggle with, who they trust to represent their interests and whether that trust is deserved.

Our reporting is best when it is authoritative, and that cannot happen if we are remote and insulated from what we write about. There is a saying in this business: Write what you know.

Hey, we can't legislate that reporters live in or close to the communities they report on; we can't demand that they shop in neighborhood businesses where many of their readers go; we can't tell people that it would be good to get their hair done at a little shop on Colfax Avenue.

But I can tell you that you will get better stories. I can tell you that you will write from a greater base of knowledge and authority. I can tell you that you will have greater credibility with your readers. I can tell you that you will make fewer silly mistakes – about geography and history – that embarrass your newspaper.

I can tell you that you have a more likely chance of being hired by an editor like me.

Today is a time when you celebrate an achievement that not everyone experiences. But I hope that this opportunity, knowledge and training has made you more curious and more empathetic toward those less fortunate and in need of your power and prowess. You can make a difference in their lives.

(Sept. 11, 2002) surely put our personal safety, government and leadership back in the spotlight. And that tragedy created new challenges for newspapers to bring the world down to the neighborhood level. Helping our readers understand geopolitics, foreign cultures and religions have become high priorities for us.

I can tell you that I am energized by those challenges, and I am passionate about our role as explainer and watchdog.

As this country moves closer to war and an expanded assault on terrorism, journalism must excel at explaining the reasons, the sacrifices and consequences involved.

More and more U.S. foreign policy is going to have a direct impact domestically as civil liberties are affected, freedom of movement is affected and the commitment of armed forces – our sons and daughters – will be necessary.

It seems elementary that these issues require the best effort that newspapers can muster, that you as newly minted journalists can muster.

I believe you can be part of a renaissance to make newspapers and media more relevant than we've seen in a long time. We need you. And we need you to be in this business for the right reason. That reason is to make a difference in the lives of people.

I love talking with young journalists. I like to ask them why they are in this business. I am most disappointed when they tell me they do this because they like talking to people, they like meeting new people, because they like telling stories. Shoot, if those are the reasons, they might as well be a hotel concierge.

What distinguishes the journalist from the person who is a good writer who likes to tell stories and meet people are our values and sense of obligation.

We value the truth no matter how hard it is to find, we value independence, we value provable fact, we value integrity and we understand that if we do our jobs right, some people are going to be uncomfortable or worse.

But it results in journalism that makes a difference.

A little more than 25 years ago, I was sitting in a setting much like this, ready to charge forth.

In the mid-1970s, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein helped make newspapering glamorous with their courageous reporting on President Richard Nixon and the Watergate political scandal. Two lowly police reporters following their noses, passionate about the truth, brought down a corrupt president and changed how we, the public, relate to politicians and authority in general. It was the golden era in American journalism, attracting the best young talent to the business and bringing about all manner of political, cultural and civic changes in the life of a nation.

They were called the "Stardust Twins," and all of the young journalists I knew – myself included – wanted to be just like them.

I feel that spirit being rekindled. A new generation of reporters is seeing the value of what committed and passionate journalism can do.

Best of luck, and may you have long and prosperous careers. Maybe down the road a bit we'll see each other again. I certainly hope so, and when we talk about why we're in the business, it will be for the right reasons.