Wednesday, Nov. 20, 1985
Campus/Area
University Daily Kansan
11
History enlivens crowd
Professor reveals past eras
By Kady McMaster Of the Kansan staff
Several people took a walk down memory lane last night as they relied, through music, words and pictures, several eras in American history — from the Declaration of Independence and D-day to Elvis Presley and Patty Hearst.
Calder M. Pickett, Clyde M. Reed distinguished professor of journalism, gave a presentation to about 150 people — including many of his colleagues and Reed himself — last night in the Big Eight Room of the Kansas Union.
After an introduction by Deanell Tucha, vice chancellor for academic affairs and one of Pickett's former students, Pickett entertained for almost an hour, recalling nine eras of American history and their coverage in the press.
The speech, titled "Some Moments in the History of America — and the History of the American Press," was the 15th of a series of inaugural lectures established in 1881 by the office of academic affairs to introduce new distinguished professors and to focus on their scholarly accomplishments.
A taped voice from each era, music characteristic of the period and mostly black-and-white photos of posters, propaganda, personalities and front pages revealed the American past as Pickett narrated.
Ripples of laughter ran through the crowd as members recognized the voice of former President Richard Nixon giving his "Checkers" speech, Charles Lindbergh's words, and the music of the "Charleston" and "Yankee Doodle."
The presentation was representative of Pickett's teaching style, so familiar to the students he has taught during his 35 years at the University of Kansas.
"History for many people has been too much the dry facts," Pickett said.
Pickett said he had found that artworks from the past — radio reports, music, pictures and historic front pages — gave a dimension to subject
matter that he didn't have when he studied history.
Pickett has written book reviews for the Journalism Quarterly and the Kansas City Star and is the host of a weekly KANU-FM radio program, "The American Past," which has won the Peabody Award for excellence in radio programming.
During the American Revolution, Pickett said, the only role of the press was that of propaganda. That changed during the Civil War, although the propagandists were still at work.
"The press of the 1920s, still mainly newspapers in our concern, was as wild, and as flamboyant, on occasion as you might guess." Picktell said.
In the 1930s, Pickett said, radio brought a new dimension to the press.
"The depression and the developing war in Europe and Asia helped to make radio, as the slavery crisis and westward expansion had helped to make the telegraph almost a hundred years earlier."
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