A crowd of more than 1,000 industry leaders in media, politics, business and education along with students were on hand Monday as the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University presented this year’s Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism to Charlie Rose. Rose earned a standing ovation as the award-winning anchor of “CBS This Morning” and host of the respected late-night PBS talk show took the stage at Monday’s luncheon.
The Peabody and Emmy Award winner, known for his hard-hitting, one-on-one interviews on CBS and “Charlie Rose,” his daily late-night interview program that has been syndicated on PBS for more than 20 years, is 32 recipient of this award that is presented to a leading figure in journalism.
“I cannot think of another honoree that better represents Walter Cronkite’s values and passion for journalistic excellence than our 2015 Cronkite Award Winner,” said Christopher Callahan, Cronkite School dean and Arizona PBS CEO.
“Charlie Rose” premiered in 1991, becoming a popular for its in-depth conversations on politics, performing arts, literature, film, science, medicine and business. In 2011, Rose was named anchor of “CBS This Morning,” and helped the program become the fastest-growing morning news broadcast in the county.
“It can only be downhill from here,” Rose jokingly said as he received the award. “I appreciate this honor deeply because I knew Walter and interviewed him and very proudly worked with him,” Rose said.
“The Cronkite standard stands for all the things that all of us who work at CBS News believe in and also all the people who work here at the Walter Cronkite School,” Rose said. “To stand here and be recognized and receive this recognition is a moment for me to pause and think about my journey and about how lucky I am to wake up every morning and ask myself what new adventure awaits me today.”
With more than 40 years of broadcasting experience, Rose has interviewed Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Nelson Mandela, Toni Morrison, Barack Obama, Yitzhak Rabin and Martin Scorsese, among hundreds of other newsmakers including Walter Cronkite in 1996. His sit-down with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2013 for “CBS This Morning” won him a Peabody Award for its timely and meaningful look into the face and mind of a tyrant. In 1987 Rose won an Emmy for his interview with convicted mass murderer Charles Manson.
“On every show that I do, from “Charlie Rose” to “Charlie Rose This Week,” from “CBS This Morning” to “CBS Evening News,” and of course “60 minutes”, I get to work with the best people in my profession. They are not only my colleges, they are my heroes,” Rose said as he thanked the people he worked with that have helped him find success in his career.
Other Cronkite Award recipients include TV anchors Tom Brokaw, Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer; newspaper journalists Ben Bradlee, Helen Thomas and Bob Woodward; and media executives Katharine Graham, Al Neuharth and Bill Paley. Cronkite personally presented the award during its first quarter-century. The CBS News anchor died in 2009.
