Opening Speaker- Brian Lamb

For our first speaker of the week, all the WJMC Correspondents were gifted by having Brian Lamb come and speak to us. When I found out that the President and CEO of C-SPAN was coming to speak to us, I immediately began to ponder. What will he be speaking on? How can someone who has done so much narrow his knowledge down to one hour-long topic? Especially a speech being given to a room full of seventeen-year-old students. Yet after the first 6 words uttered from Mr.Lamb’s mouth, I knew this was going to be a very good, and slightly unexpected, hour.

” May I have four volunteers please?”

Hands shot into the air all around the room, which is to be expected of journalists, Mr.Lamb noted. He then turned to ask each of the four a question. What does journalism mean? How do you see it changing in the next 10 years? What is your personal most trusted news source? And it didn’t end there. Mr.Lamb brought up group after group asking them question after question, sometimes the same questions or a new one he wanted to present. He would move the mic among the correspondents on stage, sometimes stopping to reply to the last answer or give a counter-question.

It was an exercise I could have listened to for hours. Listening to my fellow correspondents answer aloud, while I sometimes challenged their responses in my head. Mr. Lamb showed knowledge, insight and poise onstage that I truly admired.

One of the main draws that WJMC had for me was being able to speak to and hear from people who have been through what I want to journey through. To hear stories of great success and triumph and also heed warnings of a graver nature.

The lecture ended with a question and answer from correspondents to the CEO. Mr. Lamb then closed with this last statement:

“When you go home and try to tell your friends who you were able to hear speak, they won’t know who I am. So, instead, just tell them you saw John McCain, and you’ll be all set”

So when I return to my home state of New Hampshire, I’ll be sure to tell everyone that I saw “John McCain”. That should be fun.