Two media powerhouses will make their way to Tufts this semester, as entertainer Bill Cosby and CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric take center stage at separate major events.
Cosby will be honored at next month's Eliot-Pearson Awards for Excellence in Children's Media. Couric will visit campus two months later, to headline the Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism.
The Murrow Forum, now in its sixth year, is an annual event that has featured speakers including former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather and MSNBC's Chris Matthews.
The biennial Eliot-Pearson Awards, to be held this year on Feb. 25, were designed to recognize individuals or organizations who have done outstanding and groundbreaking work in the field of children's media, according to Julie Dobrow, the director of the Communications and Media Studies (CMS) program.
Cosby, the producer and star of The Cosby Show (1984-1992), is an outspoken advocate for children's education and holds a doctorate in urban education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The awards will also recognize Alvin Poussaint, an administrator and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Poussaint is an expert on race relations and served as a production consultant for "The Cosby Show." He was an assistant professor of public health and psychiatry at the Tufts School of Medicine from 1967-1969.
Recipients of the awards are selected based on several criteria, Dobrow noted, including a demonstrated understanding of children's developmental differences and the capacity to educate and humor audiences on different levels.
"We decided to put together awards that recognize those who work to create the type of media that really makes a difference in the lives of children."
Dobrow said Cosby was a "natural" choice for the selection committee, which was comprised of representatives from the CMS program and the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development. She noted Cosby's lifelong commitment to creating a media landscape free of gender, racial and ethnic stereotypes.
"More than anyone else in media world," she said, "he has done a brilliant job of educating and entertaining us."
George Scarlett, a lecturer of child development, echoed Dobrow in an e-mail to the Daily.
"For over fifty years, Bill Cosby has been making us laugh to make us better," Scarlett said. "No one has done more, through humor, to further the cause of helping America become a more positive, tolerant and caring country."
The selection committee was impressed with the extensive work Poussaint has done in the field of children's media over the past several decades.
Poussaint served as a consultant to Cosby on several projects in addition to "The Cosby Show," including helping develop the "Little Bill" book and television series. The two also co-authored a book.
"As a production consultant, I reviewed and critiqued all scripts," Poussaint told the Daily. "I could make suggestions for changes to make the plot more realistic, to take out humor that was offensive or stereotypical and stick in educational bits of information."
Poussaint said he was honored to receive an award from what he called an innovative and well-celebrated program like Eliot-Pearson.
"I can't speak directly for Bill Cosby, I am sure that he feels as flattered by the award as I do," Poussaint said. "We are honored to see that our media work is having a positive impact and that it is well-regarded."
Couric will come to campus in April for the Murrow Forum, named for the late radio and broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow. Murrow received international acclaim for his coverage of both World War II and Sen. Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist campaign.
Though final details have yet to be finalized, Dobrow said that Couric will likely discuss how today's news industry is rapidly changing and growing increasingly politicized.
Dobrow said that she specifically sought a female speaker this year given the male domination of the headlining role over the past five years.
"Each year we have been fortunate to have some extremely high-profile journalists come, but they have all been men," she said. "There are some very seasoned and competent women in the media, and I really wanted to have one of them come this year."
Dobrow added that the forum, in a change of format from previous years, will feature Couric as the sole presenter. She will answer questions first from Board of Trustees member Jonathan Tisch (A '76) and then from the audience.
