Remembering political reporter David Broder
When they buried David Broder of the Washington Post last week, they buried the greatest political reporter of our time - maybe any time.
Until he died, David was one of the few reporters still working who was here when I came to Washington in 1969. I shall never forget the first time I saw him.
Here just a couple of weeks, I was sent to a news conference which turned into a shouting match - not with the news source but among the reporters trying to shout down each other to ask a "gotcha" question.
I happened to notice one reporter who hadn't joined in. He was just listening and writing down what the hapless official was trying to say. It was Broder who I would later learn, never talked when it interfered with listening.
When I read his story the next day, I realized he had more information and a more complete account than any of us who had been trying to shout down each other.
He had apparently pieced together the story with his own reporting before he got to the news conference and was just listening to see if the official deviated from what he already knew.
And that was Broder. He did his homework before he went on a story, always did his own reporting, and more important, took the time to listen to what people said.
In today's technology-driven journalism, that method is sometimes lost, but it is still the best way.
They buried David Broder, but let's hope we never bury or forget his great lesson: Talk less, listen more.
We will really miss you, David.
