One of the great things about working at the University of Wyoming is the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, from all walks of life. One benefit of being in Wyoming is that the state attracts a lot of famous people, too.
Over the years, I've had former Interior Secretary James Watt speak to a class, talked about horses with former 20/20 anchor Hugh Downs, and listened to former U.S. Sen. Al Simpson's stories and yarns at several social functions.
The latest public figure to visit campus was Chris Matthews. The host of MSNBC's Hardball was on campus today at the invitation of Al and Pete Simpson to discuss the Obama presidency. But first, Matthews took the time to have lunch with students and faculty from the Communication and Journalism Department.
Most of what I know about Matthews comes from Saturday Night Live skits poking fun at him and from recent quips from the right wing about his "man crush" on Obama. I've seen his show a few times but don't watch it regularly.
So it was interesting to hear him talk about his career as a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner who has written five books and got into journalism because he was fascinated by politics.
Although he had just returned from Egypt and was kind of run down from the quick trip to Wyoming and our 7,200-foot altitude, Matthews was very accessible to the students who wanted to know, basically, what it's like to be him.
His biggest news story? Covering the fall of the Berlin Wall for the Examiner easily topped the list for him.
His gaffe while dancing on the Ellen Show? He praised Ellen DeGeneres for having the savvy and guts to turn the controversy over her lesbianism into one of the most popular TV shows on the air.
But my favorite anecdote had to do with his role in the Culture of Celebrity. Matthews said he was shopping for sunglasses in Bloomingdale's recently and, within 20 minutes, somebody had put video of his shopping trip online.
Thanks to the Simpson family for inviting Matthews here, and thanks to Chris Matthews for taking the time to talk with our students.
No comments:
Post a Comment