Dabney Professorship – 2003
Walter R. Mears retired in early 2001 after more than 40 years with the Associated Press. He began his AP career as Vermont correspondent, eventually working his way to Washington, where he was congressional and national political reporter.
He served as chief of bureau for the AP in Washington, as well as vice president, executive editor and columnist. Mears won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the 1976 presidential campaign. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, he is the author, with John Chancellor, of “The News Business.”
As Dabney Professor, Mears taught a topics course for upper-level students in the school’s news editorial track. Entitled “Covering Politics and Public Affairs,” the course offered an opportunity for hands-on experience reporting political and policy issues, a chance to read some of the classics of American journalism and important lessons in avoiding bias.
Mears also shared some insights with scholarship winners and honor society members at a ceremony held April 7, 2003, where he served as keynote speaker.
Responsible journalists know that credibility is fragile. “That means checking it out, getting it right and admitting when, inevitably, you make mistakes.”
Here is the complete text of his remarks.