Murrow Symposium Honors Keith Jackson and Wife of Edward R. Murrow

PULLMAN, Wash. — Keith Jackson, recently retired ABC-TV sports broadcaster, and Casey
Murrow, son of world renowned broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, will both be making
presentations at Washington State University’s 25th Edward R. Murrow Symposium on April 5.
The symposium is set for Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum at 7:30 p.m. and is open to the public
without charge.
Jackson’s presentation, “A Rap Session with Keith Jackson,” will be moderated by
communications professor Glenn Johnson, known as “the Voice of the Cougars.”
The symposium is dedicated to the memory of Edward Murrow’s wife, Janet, who died in
December 1998. The Murrows’ son, Casey, of Putney, Vt., will give a response for the family. A
10-minute video entitled “Tribute to the Murrow Tradition,” featuring film clips of Walter
Cronkite, Sam Donaldson, Tom Brokaw and Mike Wallace discussing Murrow’s influence on the
broadcast industry, also will be shown.
Prior to his address, Jackson will receive a Murrow Award, which recognizes individuals or
organizations exemplifying the professional ideals of Murrow, a 1930 WSU graduate. Past
recipients of the Murrow Award include Cronkite, Donaldson, and Frank Blethen.
A live video broadcast of the symposium will be available on the Internet through the
Murrow website at . Additional information
about the symposium is available at that site as well.
Jackson, a 1954 WSU Murrow School of Communication alumnus, had a long career in
sports broadcasting, including ABC’s “Monday Night Football,” NBA basketball, NCAA
basketball and football, the Olympics, the World Series and “Wide World of Sports.”
Before joining ABC full-time in 1964, Jackson broadcast WSU and University of
Washington sports and, for 10 years, worked for KOMO-TV in Seattle. For five consecutive
years (1972-76), Jackson was voted by his peers as “Sportscaster of the Year.” The final event in
Jackson’s 47-year career in sports broadcasting was his broadcast of the 1999 Fiesta Bowl in
January.
Jackson and his wife, Turi Ann Johnsen Jackson, sponsor a WSU fellowship for
communication graduate students in media management or production for the promotion of
ethics in the broadcast industry. During the 1999 Fiesta Bowl, ABC announced the creation of a
new $50,000 scholarship, which was matched with an additional $50,000 from WSU, to honor
Jackson’s outstanding career. This donation, at Jackson’s request, was combined with the
previous Jackson fellowship and will benefit students who demonstrate high achievement.
In conjunction with the symposium, the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication
Advisory Board will hold meetings April 5-6 and a career fair will be held for WSU students.
Communication professionals will attend a breakfast with student organization leaders, speak to
various classes across campus, and participate in the fair on April 6 from 9 a.m.–noon in the
Compton Union Building. All students are welcome to attend the career fair.
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