Keynote Address

Mr. Bill Kurtis, former journalist, gave the keynote address. He spoke to the entire Command and General Staff College student body. Kurtis focused on his experiences as a reporter during and after the Vietnam War. He delivered some of his most salient points during the questiona and answer session.

Regarding the Tet offensive, Kurtis remarked, "Once you lose the trust of the media, you're dead." He was elaborating on Walter Cronkite's stance against the Vietnam War in the wake of Tet. Kurtis also spoke about the dichotomy between events on the ground in Vietnam and the official press briefings.

Here are a few key points from the Q&A session:

• Future journalists must be computer savvy. They will have to edit video, compose stories and engage new media.
• Bloggers don't have traditional editorial checks, nor do they have to account for their work like mainstream media does.
• News has skewed towards opinion. The immediacy of today's reporting compromises balance.
• In a challenging media environment, Soldiers can tell their story by engaging local media and forming relationships. At the same time, reporting Iraq and Afghanistan is more difficult than ever because of how long the wars have lasted and the American public is losing patience.