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Although Bob Schieffer, the moderator of this year’s third presidential debate, was posing a serious question to the candidates about what should be done to combat the situation in Syria, I couldn’t help but giggle.
While Schieffer looked perfectly professional in his red-and-white striped tie and black suit on the night of the debate, I was having trouble picturing him in anything but blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a rhinestone-studded belt. After all, that’s what he was wearing the first time we met.
On July 14, Schieffer – the host of CBS’ Face the Nation, winner of six Emmy awards, and member of the Broadcasting/Cable Hall of Fame – stepped onto the make-shift stage in front of me and began singing in his Johnny Cash-esque style along with his band, Honky Tonk Confidential.
The sight of a prestigious member of the press dancing while crooning country music was just one of the incredible experiences I had this summer at the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference in Washington, D.C.
One high school journalist from each state and the District of Columbia was chosen to attend the conference which focused on the importance of the First Amendment and the role of journalists in preserving it.
During our five, 18-hour days in D.C. we immersed ourselves in journalism through lectures on journalistic ethics, classes on technology’s growing role in news dissemination, and presentations from notable speakers like Sarah Ganim – the 24-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner who covered the Sandusky scandal.
We toured USA Today, the White House, and the press room at the Capitol. We visited the presidential monuments and the war memorials. We watched a taping of Meet the Press – sitting within 30 feet of Bob Woodward and David Gregory.
We witnessed living history when we met two Freedom Riders whose bravery made the Civil Rights movement possible and whose stories left almost all 51 delegates in tears.
What made those experiences so wonderful was that I went through them will my fellow delegates and “newspaper nerds.” Although I wasn’t what the other journalists were expecting from the Texas representative – I don’t say y’all, ride a horse to school, and, unlike Bob Schieffer, I don’t own cowboy boots – I made amazing friends within the first 20 minutes after landing in D.C. Our shared passion for journalism bonded us immediately. In a harmony of southern, northern, and mid-western accents, we discussed and learned from each other’s experiences in the newsroom.
I’ve been told that the newspaper industry is dying. I’ve been told by teachers, family members, and even editors at The Dallas Morning News. But I have no such doubts. At the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference, I met 51 teenagers who will ensure that journalism survives and continues to protect the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition that our First Amendment guarantees.