Among the national figures on Ohio University’s campus this week for the Schuneman Symposium will be one who got his start right here in Athens.
Clarence Page, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and a 1969 OU graduate, will speak from 2:10 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in Baker University Center Theatre. He will discuss how images influence perceptions of politics in the media.
After graduating from OU with a bachelor’s of science in journalism, Page accepted an offer at the Chicago Tribune. His time at the paper was cut short six months later, though, when he was drafted by the U.S. Army.
Page returned to the Tribune and stayed there until 1980, at which time he explored opportunities in broadcast journalism for four years. His first nationally syndicated column ran in 1987.
Page came to OU in 1965, and said he showed up for work at The Post on the first day. After four years of work on the newspaper, he became an assistant campus editor and wrote a weekly column.
But Page’s journalism experience started before he came to OU: He worked as a freelance writer for The Middletown Journal while he was in high school. He said he dabbled in photography but decided to focus on writing after some frustrations.
“I was terrible in the darkroom,” Page said. “I love photography, but I was terrible in the darkroom.”
The symposium, which began Tuesday and will continue Wednesday, will focus on how photojournalists and new media have covered social movements and how that coverage has actually affected the movements themselves, said Bob Stewart, director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
“What you need is a really smart person to help you analyze (the effects of photos on social movements) and think about that, and Clarence Page has been thinking about these kinds of things probably his whole career,” Stewart said.
Page will speak directly to the effect photographs can have on politics.
“Visual images are the most powerful way to present a narrative,” Page said. “They have the most impact, although not the most depth.”
Specialization in a specific type of journalism is less important in today’s media, Page said, adding that journalists now need to prepare to be “content-providers.”
“It’s good to be as flexible as you can because you don’t know what’s going to come down the road to change the whole industry again,” he said.
Andy Alexander, former ombudsman at The Washington Post and the current Scripps Howard visiting professional at OU, will introduce Page at the symposium Wednesday.
“Clarence was one of those people that, from the moment you meet him, you know he’s going to be a great journalist,” Alexander said. “He just had all the great attributes.”
Page and Alexander worked together at The Post during their time at OU. Alexander was The Post’s editor-in-chief in 1969–70.
“He was just as good back then as he is today,” Alexander said.
Page now lives in Washington, D.C., where he continues to publish a column and is a regular panelist on several programs, including Hardball with Chris Matthews, The McLaughlin Group and ABC’s Nightline. He occasionally contributes to NPR.
“I think very highly of him. He’s a very pleasant person,” said Thomas Suddes, adjunct assistant professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and columnist with The Plain Dealer. “He is a great voice of common sense on any contemporary issue.”
bv111010@ohiou.edu
