American broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff will be featured in the first event of the East Bay Leadership Council’s 2025 Leadership Series on Jan. 29.
The East Bay Leadership Council (EBLC), an employer-led non profit organization that was founded in 1937, has used their signature event, the East Bay Leadership Series, to bring together leaders for the past 39 years to speak on multifaceted issues and inspire conversation and action. This event also serves as a fundraiser, strengthening the local economy.
Past speakers include former President Gerald Ford, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, radio and TV host Larry King, and journalist Bob Woodward.
Woodruff is next in line, speaking just over a week after the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Jan. 20.
For more than 50 years, Woodruff has worked as a broadcaster for some of the most prominent news networks in the country: NBC, PBS, and CNN. She has won more than 15 major awards, including the News and Documentary Emmy Award in the category “Outstanding Instant Coverage of a Single Breaking News Story” from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1996, the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award in Television from Washington State University in 2010, and the Journalistic Integrity Award at the Peabody Awards in 2021.
“Judy Woodruff is one of the most trusted voices in journalism,” said Mark Orcutt, EBLC president and CEO. “Her thoughtful approach to leadership and democracy makes her the perfect speaker to help us reflect on the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
Woodruff has also been selected for the EBLC’s Leadership Series because of the significant impact she has made in recent years. Her new project with PBS, America at a Crossroads, involves Woodruff gathering information and experiences from individuals that she has spoken with across the country.
“‘America at a Crossroads’ explores the deep divisions in our country and how we can move forward together,” Orcutt said.
Many may wonder about the direction of Woodruff’s message at the EBLC event, which will be held at the Hilton Concord, but one can assume she’ll be addressing America’s current issues that have been exposed and amplified recently, including the widespread circulation of disinformation.
Michael Levitin, chair of Diablo Valley College’s journalism department, believes Woodruff will touch on the threat fake news has on journalism, as it puts the profession of truth-telling into harsh scrutiny.
“She’ll probably be interested in talking about what the next Trump term would mean for the media and for the state press since we’ve already seen so many of these hugely influential and powerful people, like Elon Musk and [Mark] Zuckerberg, bow their knee to Trump ahead of him even taking office,” Levitin said. “The media might shift in fear.”
Levitin said the recent Los Angeles fires, which have tragically killed at least 27 people and destroyed 12,000 structures since they began raging throughout Southern California on Jan. 7, have demonstrated how disinformation can confuse the public about what news is real and what is fake.
“Just in that issue alone, which is only the latest issue of real urgency, where people’s lives are at stake, we’ve got a media exosystem fueled by Twitter [now X], and fueled by Meta,” Levitin said. “I think we’ve seen how lethal it can be when you have fake news running the show.”
Levitin also suggested that Woodruff might address the direction, or the downfall, that journalism has taken throughout her career, since it used to be such a key influence in society.
Beginning in the 1970s, Woodruff worked as a reporter and news anchor for CBS, eventually becoming a White House correspondent for NBC News. As her career was just taking off, she witnessed firsthand how dedicated journalists shaped the course of history when the Watergate scandal broke, ultimately leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
“Judy Woodruff represents the past era in which we really did trust the media,” Levitin said. “I think we’re at a critical time when someone like Woodruff feels it’s her responsibility to go and give her final words on where we are today and what she’s seen.”
Caroline Donahoe is an 11th grader at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek.
