Associated Press president and CEO Tom Curley urged today's young journalists to take risks, and be willing to face the truth. He spoke at the SAJA Convention banquet and awards reception, Saturday evening in Lerner Auditorium at Columbia University.
Curley said young journalists had to help innovate the industry. "What upsets me is is the fact that I see us engaged in suicide moments rather than innovation," he said. Today's journalism world, he feels, requires people who have the willingness to say that something doesn't make sense.
"We will have to change how we work and fight for what we believe in," he said.
Journalism, said Curley, faces constant odds. "It is expensive, inconvenient and takes a certain person to meet the goals," he said. However, he expressed that only journalists are independent. "Now what we need in the industry is leadership," he added.
Curley expressed the importance of diversity in journalism today, saying, "As bad as 9/11 was in New York city, there were at least people here to tell the story," he said. "With the events like the earthquake in Pakistan and train bombing in Mumbai, there aren't enough people to tell the story."
He commended South Asian journalists for making a difference in the journalism industry. He also said that SAJA and its programs provide young journalists with the outreach needed to tell the story. "Everywhere in the world, it is the story of the people and their dreams," he said. "We connect to these dreams and I hope it inspires everyone."
For his long and continuous contribution to journalism, SAJA president Deepti Hajela presented Curley with this year's SAJA Journalism Leader Award for his long and continuing contribution to the field.
