Our client Avnet graciously invites us to attend several business and charitable events here in Phoenix. The one that I look forward to the most every year is Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism luncheon. Mr. Cronkite couldn’t make it this year, as he’s reached the proud age of 92 and the rigors of travel would be too difficult for him, but that didn’t lessen the quality of the 25th annual event.

This year’s Cronkite award recipients were Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer. The PBS news anchor team was recognized as epitomizing, “The best of thought-provoking and in-depth broadcast journalism.” They join a list of legendary journalists who have received this award, such as Bob Woodward, Bill Moyers, Tom Brokaw, Cokie Roberts, Helen Thomas, and 2007 inductee Jane Pauley.

The best part of the event is always the “remarks by honorees” section. Three years ago recipient Dave Barry had us crying we were laughing so hard at his remarks. This year’s speeches from MacNeil and Lehrer took a decidedly different tone. Lehrer, who I usually expect to be calm, composed and impartial, let loose with a rousing call to all current and future journalists, going so far as to say, “Journalists have mostly fear itself to fear,” and “I never want anyone to confuse news with entertainment, or me with the clowns.”

MacNeil, with intense gravitas that only a select few can get away with these days and seem sincere, discussed how journalism is, “A life course in semantics,” where journalists need to, “Read between the lines to determine ‘how am I being snowed, how am I being spun?’”

As a PR professional (and ex-journalist), their passion for the trade of journalism struck me as both inspiring, but also seriously “old school.” Because, you see, while MacNeil was dismissing new media by saying, “Whatever the means of delivery, the quality of information remains the same,” I was tweeting on my BlackBerry and following an NPR reporter sitting a table away from me, getting her impressions of the same scene I was witnessing. I LOLed when a few hours later I heard her report on air and discovered that the same quotes she put in her tweets were included in her broadcast. Yes, the information remains the same, but I knew what she was thinking hours before those listening to her via “old media” did. And even more amusing was that she tweeted some of the same quotes from the presenters as I did at exactly the same time – which made me feel engaged with the story as a participant, not just the audience.

There will always be a need for the thought-provoking and in-depth reporting that the likes of MacNeil, Lehrer and Mr. Cronkite have provided over the years (and that I consume in excess as a self-professed NPR junkie). However, I hope that these esteemed journalists, and those that will follow in their footsteps, are able to bridge the gap to deliver information across multiple platforms and connect with people who consume information in real time, not just audiences that passively listen and watch according to schedule.