Murrow Symposium Key Note Address

            After a two-day Murrow Symposium filled with insight, opportunity and networking, students were treated to a Key Note speech about what the television show Mosaic tells the world about communication.

            Eric Newton, a senior advisor for the Knight Foundation, was the Key Note speaker. He illustrated some lessons he believes have helped shape and will help the communication industry going forward.

            The first lesson was building over planning, where Newton emphasized that in communication one must not focus too much on planning because the moment to build something may be gone by the time the plan is ready to be executed.
            The second lesson is also the name of a book Newton plugged, sunglasses as well as searchlight.

            He said as journalists it is one’s job to be able to shine a light to learn new things, but be able to provide a pair of sunglasses as well to see. He said communication is a seeing business, so one must help the viewer see as well as shine the light on the information.

            Lesson three was collaboration. Newton said the fourth lesson was iteration over execution to plan and finally engagement.

            Newton said the Mosaic community was an active one that provided information for the viewing experience.

            Newton said he hoped Edward R. Murrow would be intrigued with where communication is now. He said Mosaic is a symbol of what happens to things in the digital era, it died.

            Although Mosaic is gone, he thinks the idea of Mosaic still lives on.