SCHOOL THEME FOR 2015–16
THE CHANGING NATURE OF JOURNALISM
The Evolution of News Media, the Enduring Craft of Journalism
B
RIAN ROONEY ’70, an Emmy award-winning veteran of print and television news, spoke at an all-school convocation in the Olcott Center in September about “The Changing Nature of Journalism,” this year’s school theme. Brian shared experiences from his profession and observations about the evolution of media in his lifetime, infused with humorous anecdotes from his years at Loomis and beyond.
Brian had brought his 1921 Underwood mechanical typewriter on stage with him. Feeding a sheet of paper into it, he joked, “Here’s how you open a document.” Brian used the typewriter to compose papers while at Loomis and in the early part of his career, but he said he has been a part of “new media” all his life: What was new media when he started — television news — is old media now, and the online news digest he now writes falls into the category of today’s new media. “I was attracted to journalism because my father [Andy Rooney] was a journalist,” said Brian. He was drawn further to the profession when his work on his undergraduate newspaper led to significant change at the college. He began his career as a newspaper reporter in New York City and worked at a number of publications until it became clear that newspapers were losing ground to television. Brian moved to Los Angeles and spent 23 years as an ABC News correspondent. He also worked at a number of other news organizations, including CBS News, Al Jazeera English, and Al Jazeera America, covering stories from around the world. His current projects include The Rooney Report, a daily online news digest that began as emails to his daughter to keep her abreast of current events while she was in college. Entertaining and with a slightly edgy style, Brian’s missives became popular among his daughter’s friends, and he decided to take on the project as a business venture. “The craft of professional journalism has not changed — just the delivery method,” Brian said.
Brian Rooney ’70 with his vintage typewriter Photo: Patricia Cousins
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The craft of professional journalism has not changed — just the delivery method.
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Pointing to the old typewriter, he said, “There’s no thought or story that I still couldn’t [produce] on this today.” After the convocation, Brian visited sophomore and freshman English classes and met with staff members of The Log. His visit to the Island was part of this year’s Hubbard Speakers Series, made possible by a gift from Robert P. Hubbard ’47.
— Brian Rooney ’70 loomischaffee.org | 5