Skip to Main Content
Boston University
  • Bostonia
  • BU Today
  • The Brink
  • University Publications

    • Bostonia
    • BU Today
    • The Brink
  • School & College Publications

    • The Record
Other Publications
BU Today
  • Sections
News, Opinion, Community

Bill Kovach Urges Baccalaureate Celebrants to Challenge “Unjust Realities””

Prominent journalist pushes grads to shape and change the world

May 20, 2007
  • Chris Berdik
Twitter Facebook
Journalist Bill Kovach urged graduates to question realities created by the powerful. Photo by Albert L'Etoile

Bill Kovach, renowned journalist and the 2007 Boston University Baccalaureate speaker, urged this year’s graduates to become the teachers of the older generations and to “help us learn the new role of citizen journalist and gatekeeper of reliable information that will build a more informed public opinion around issues of public importance.”

Kovach, who was the New York Times Washington bureau chief, editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and curator of the Nieman journalism fellowships at Harvard University, told the crowd that packed Marsh Chapel on a rainy Sunday morning that the ongoing revolution in information and communication, sparked by the Internet, offered them unique opportunities to challenge the versions of “reality” promulgated by the powerful. Those realities, Kovach said in the soft Southern accent of his native Tennessee, are often “constructed with stereotypes, slogans, and selected ambiguous facts to lead us to predetermined conclusions.”

The Baccalaureate Service began with fanfares of brass and organ and a flurry of camera flashes. After the Reverend Dr. Robert Allan Hill, dean of Marsh Chapel, greeted the congregation, University Provost David Campbell read from the Gospel of John, and University President Robert Brown quoted Ecclesiastes — “For everything there is a season” — and told the crowd that “we are gathered here in the season of celebration at Boston University.”

Brown then introduced  Kovach, now senior counselor to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a research organization that uses statistics to study the press. Brown described Kovach as “the conscience of the press.”

Kovach told the audience that the loosening grip of centralized sources of news and entertainment, such as major media outlets, is leading to a new era of freedom. But he cautioned that “individual freedom is wasted unless it finds meaning in service to others,” and he urged the graduates to “be active, aggressive, and vocal participants in the debate and the decisions required of you as citizens.” At the same time, he said, the ability to rapidly sample opinions from individuals around the world via the Internet has opened up new possibilities of “tolerance and compromise.”

Kovach recounted a story of his early career, when he covered the civil rights movement. The courage of those marchers and protesters, he noted, had forced the unjust reality of legal segregation to collapse. Likewise, Kovach said, the critical thinking skills developed in college combined with today’s unprecedented access to information could be used to challenge other unjust realities and help “realize the ultimate promise of democracy — that the combined knowledge and experience of all the people can shape a more just and secure society.”

“I salute the achievement you celebrate this weekend,” Kovach concluded, “and welcome you and the contributions you will make to our new realities.”

Chris Berdik can be reached at cberdik@bu.edu.

 

 

Explore Related Topics:

  • Commencement
  • Global
  • Share this story

Share

Bill Kovach Urges Baccalaureate Celebrants to Challenge “Unjust Realities””

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Chris Berdik

    Chris Berdik Profile

Latest from BU Today

  • Things-to-do

    Our List of Outdoor Concerts to Enjoy This Summer

  • Arts & Culture

    This CFA Student Is Using Art to Help Medical Patients

  • Film & TV

    Why Do We Keep Watching Reality Dating Shows?

  • University News

    Boston University Announces Budget Cuts, Layoffs Amid Financial Pressures

  • Social Media

    COM Class Teaches Students How to Promote Their Content Online

  • Things-to-do

    How to Spend the July Fourth Weekend in Boston

  • Things-to-do

    Best Places to Watch Fireworks in Boston This Fourth of July

  • 25 Charles River Campus Faculty Receive Promotions

  • Books

    With Summer Officially Here, 10 Great Beach Reads

  • Things-to-do

    Want to Beat the Summer Heat? Check Out One of the Boston Area’s Many Public Pools

  • Business & Law

    BU Legal Scholars Assess Supreme Court Ruling Limiting Nationwide Injunctions

  • Film & TV

    Learning Through Screen Time

  • University News

    Boston University to Seek External Recommendations for Athletics Policies and Practices

  • University News

    BU’s Jack Parker Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame

  • BU Soundcheck

    BU Soundcheck: Ronona J

  • Film & TV

    COM Students Win New England Emmy Award for 2024 BUTV10 Election Coverage

  • Watch Now

    How BU’s Lawns Can Help Reduce Carbon Emissions

  • Awards

    Meet BU’s Newest Fulbright Recipients

  • Events

    Where to Watch Free Movies Outdoors All Summer Long

  • University News

    BU Opens Cooling Stations as First Heat Wave of the Season Arrives

Section navigation

  • Sections
  • Must Reads
  • Videos
  • Series
  • Close-ups
  • Archives
  • About + Contact
Get Our Email

Explore Our Publications

Bostonia

Boston University’s Alumni Magazine

BU Today

News, Opinion, Community

The Brink

Pioneering Research from Boston University

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Weibo
  • TikTok
© Boston University. All rights reserved. www.bu.edu
© 2025 Trustees of Boston UniversityPrivacy StatementAccessibility
Boston University
Notice of Non-Discrimination: Boston University prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color, natural or protective hairstyle, religion, sex or gender, age, national origin, ethnicity, shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, military service, marital, parental, veteran status, or any other legally protected status in any and all educational programs or activities operated by Boston University. Retaliation is also prohibited. Please refer questions or concerns about Title IX, discrimination based on any other status protected by law or BU policy, or retaliation to Boston University’s Executive Director of Equal Opportunity/Title IX Coordinator, at titleix@bu.edu or (617) 358-1796. Read Boston University’s full Notice of Nondiscrimination.
Search
Boston University Masterplate
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Bill Kovach Urges Baccalaureate Celebrants to Challenge “Unjust Realities””
0
share this