Bob Schieffer, a 44-year CBS News veteran and current moderator of “Face the Nation,” will be the 2013 recipient of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.

“Walter Cronkite is who I wanted to be when I was a young reporter,” Schieffer said. “He is who I still want to be so winning an award with Walter’s name on it means as much to me as any recognition I have ever received.”

With 56 years of reporting experience, Schieffer is the most experienced broadcast reporter in Washington. He’s been CBS’ chief Washington correspondent since 1982 and moderator of “Face the Nation” since 1991.

Schieffer will accept the 30th annual award, given by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU, at a luncheon in October in Phoenix.

Previous Cronkite Award recipients include Brian Williams, Diane Sawyer and Tom Brokaw.

Accepting his Fred Friendly First Amendment award this afternoon at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Club, CBS News anchor and managing editor Scott Pelley delivered an impassioned speech about the sorry state of journalism in 2013.

“Our house is on fire,” Pelley said of the business at large. “Never before in human history has more information been available to more people. But at the same time never before in human history has more bad information been available to more people.”

Pelley took “the first arrow,” recalling his own mistake over some of the early reporting out of Sandy Hook Elementary in December. Then he recounted early errors after the Boston Marathon was bombed. “We were attacked by terrorists on that day, and amateur journalists became digital vigilantes.”

Pelley joins 19 other TV journalists including Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, Ted Koppel, and, last year, Martha Raddatz, as Fred Friendly honorees. He told the crowd, which included his CBS News colleagues past and present, that “disruptive technologies” are partly to blame.

“Twitter, Facebook and Reddit: that’s not journalism. That’s gossip. Journalism was invented as an antidote to gossip.”

Pelley also took on the chest thumping that goes on in local and national newsrooms around the nation every day.

Read more

Former “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw notably called out the excess of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last year, and this year he isn’t backing down (more on the WHCD coverage later). Brokaw tells Politico that when average Americans see the dinner, all they can do is shake their heads:

Brokaw stopped attending the WHCD years ago and says he won’t be there this year. “I would watch on C-SPAN, and as I watched on C-SPAN, I would try to put myself, kind of, if you will, in the person of an interested citizen in Kansas City, or in Little Rock, or in Spokane, Wash., saying, ‘That’s the Washington press corps?’ I mean, there was more dignity at my daughter’s junior prom than there is [at] what I’m seeing on C-SPAN there,” he said…

Read more

In the span of two hours this morning, A.J. Clemente got a chuckle out of Matt Lauer, he got a pep talk from Tom Brokaw and got a job offer — covering a red carpet movie premiere — from Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan. (Thankfully for all involved, it’ll be on tape.)

The once (and only once) North Dakota anchor is in New York explaining why he uttered the words “fucking shit” at the start of the 5pm news on Bismark NBC affiliate KFYR Sunday. In his first stop on “Today” he told Lauer and Savannah Guthrie a number of factors, “a storm,” he called it, led him to utter the words. The show went on :30 early, he didn’t have IFB, there was a name in his second script he was having trouble pronouncing and, on top of it all, as this was his very first newscast, so he was nervous. He says he didn’t even realize he was caught on tape until the third commercial break when his news director told him. “I fully expected, you know, that they would fire me,” says Clemente who says he doesn’t hold a grudge.

Later, Clemente went on “Morning Joe,” where South Dakota native and news legend Tom Brokaw told Clemente it can happen to the best of them. “I made a huge gaffe when I was in Omaha at a very early age,” said Brokaw. “It wasn’t quite as, as explicit as yours was, by any means. On the other hand, it was confined to Omaha, because there was no social media.”

Clemente’s 15 minutes continues: he taped an interview with “Inside Edition,” he got an Instagram with Alan Alda and tonight as he goes on the “Late Show with David Letterman”

Watch the “Today” and “Morning Joe” appearances after the jump.

Read more

Greta Van Susteren’s husband John P. Coale sitting between Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian at the 2012 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

She was famous for escorting the famous around Washington, DC during White House Correspondents’ weekend. But this year, Fox News host Greta Van Susteren is taking a pass on the dinner April 27. “I made another commitment out of town that weekend,” she writes on GretaWire.

I am sure everyone will have fun – it is the one day of the year that the media, politicians, entertainers etc. socialize together – but it can also be a bit exhausting as it is a 2 1/2 day affair.

In recent years Van Susteren has played host to Kim Kardashian, Ozzie Osborn, and last year, Lindsay Lohan

But there was a backlash following last year’s star-studded dinner, by none other than NBC’s Tom Brokaw on “Meet the Press.”

“I think George Clooney is a great guy,” said Brokaw. “I’d like to meet Charlize Theron. But I don’t think the big press event in Washington should be that kind of glittering event where all the talk is about Cristal champagne, taking over the Italian Embassy, who had the best party. That’s another separation between what we’re supposed to be doing and what the people expect us to be doing.”

Greta tells Politico she will likely attend the annual brunch put on by Tammy Haddad on the day of the dinner.

In June, daredevil Nik Wallenda will attempt to walk across the Grand Canyon on a tightrope, live on Discovery Channel. NBC News’ Peacock Productions will be producing the jump, and so NBC “Today” co-hosts Willie Geist and Natalie Morales will be serving as the hosts of the event.

Wallenda announced the addition of Geist and Morales while walking on a tightrope above the audience at Discovery’s upfront presentation in New York yesterday (see the photo to the left). For insurance purposes, he was wearing a harness, “don’t worry though,” he said yesterday. “I won’t be wearing one when I walk across the Canyon.”

Last year ABC aired Wallenda’s walk across Niagara Falls, with “Good Morning America’”s Josh Elliott and “SportsCenter’”s Hannah Storm hosting. The event drew record ratings for ABC. ABC and Discovery were in a bidding war for the Grand Canyon stunt, with Discovery simply making the better offer. NBC, as the producer of the show, will also benefit.

Read more

• At CPAC today, Herring Broadcasting announced its plans to launch a new cable news channel called “One America News.” The channel will combine conservative commentators with “voice of God” style news shows. More information after the jump.

• The Weather Channel is airing a half-hour special about its decision to name winter storms. “A Storm named Winter” will be hosted by Maria LaRosa and Chris Warren, and will examine why the network decided to take the initiative when it airs next Tuesday.

• Former “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw is featured in Sunday’s edition of “Oprah’s Master Class” on OWN. He will talk to Oprah about his early life, his career and his defining moments. It airs on OWN Sunday at 10 PM.

  Read more

As we noted earlier this week, Monday was NBC News president Steve Capus‘ last day at the company. He was feted at a going-away party that night in 30 Rockefeller Plaza’s legendary Studio 8H, the home of “Saturday Night Live.”

With the “Saturday Night Live” band providing musical accompaniment, Capus was roasted by a number of colleagues, and presented with gifts, including a miniature NASCAR car emblazoned with his name. Capus, like “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams, is a huge NASCAR fan.

Capus had been with NBC for 20 years, joining affiliate news service NBC Newschannel in 1993.

Tom Brokaw toasts Steve Capus in NBC’s Studio 8H

Read more

• Legendary actor Harrison Ford has signed on to play a legendary news anchor in “Anchorman 2.” According to THR, Ford will play a Tom Brokaw-esque character. he also played a news anchor in 2010′s “Morning Glory.”

• FBN is launching a week-long look at cyber-security today. Following the New York Times report on hackers breaking into government and company systems, the special programming dubbed “The Cyber Threat,” will feature guests who will talk about what we can do about it.

• Our sister blog FishbowlDC reports that former CNN contributor James Carville may soon find a home on ABC and/or MSNBC. Details here.

65 years ago Sunday, the program that would become “NBC Nightly News” was born. In honor of the anniversary  Brian Williams looked back at the past three score and five years, from Chet Huntley and David Brinkley to Tom Brokaw and today.

WATCH: