Had the trustees been instructed not to talk to the press on this issue, she was asked? "Generally, the board does not deal with the press," she said.
Amy Walter, ABC News's Washington-based political director, also is a Colby trustee whose news organization covers the Barclays scandal. She did not reply to a phone message and an email before deadline.
In the panel discussion, Bill Kovach, former curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, was upbeat about the future of investigative reporting. With interactive media, he said, "a news organization now can bring its citizens in" to the reporting process.
Associated Press reporter Matt Apuzzo, a Colby grad and recent Pulitzer prizewinner, agreed: "Everybody's an investigative reporter now."
Panelists also agreed that the availability of digital media in the public's hands requires reporters to go deeper than reporting an event without context. And, amid the buzz of Internet news and crowd sourcing, reporters should focus on choosing "the story that really matters," Kovach said.
Among the protesters outside, a sign held by Shelby O'Neill announced the story that mattered to them: "Bob Woodward: Help Us Expose Another Scandal."
The day after the Lovejoy award convocation, the Phoenix unsuccessfully attempted to set up a phone interview with Colby president Adams to ask how he will carry out his apparent public agreement with Bob Woodward for the college to be transparent on the Diamond issue. Instead, the college issued this statement:
"The board and the president have already been completely transparent on this issue. They met in executive session and discussed Mr. Diamond's status and strongly affirmed their support. There really is nothing more to be transparent about."
"They're putting the Diamond donations before the students' welfare and the college's reputation," commented Lew Kingsbury.
"Presidential Decisions and the Role of Leadership in the 2012 Elections" | a talk by Bob Woodward | November 15 @ 7:30 pm | Hannaford Hall, Portland USM campus | $20 | 207.780.4714
