Riveting tales from journalists Judy Woodruff, Al Hunt entertain audience at National Press Club's Silver Owls Hoot

Judy Woodruff and Al Hunt wowed the National Press Club’s Silver Owls Hoot Friday with riveting reminiscences from their decades in journalism.

“We are witnesses to history,” said Woodruff about being a journalist. She’s traveling across America now on a special reporting project for PBS to try to understand why America is so divided.

The Club’s dinner event welcomed 18 new Silver Owls: NPC members for 25 or more years and honored Gold and Platinum members with 50 and 60 years status respectively.

Explaining why she loves interviewing people, Woodruff said, “You can have a conversation with anyone. In general, I can get people to talk. It’s just the most gratifying thing.”

Woodruff and Hunt’s combined bios span decades and media formats -- broadcast and print, now blogs and podcasts. But the couple’s main message surpasses their own profile or love story -- how they met, married in 1980. It’s an ode to their profession, a clarion call to would-be journalists. And a warning about what’s at stake in America.

“I teach young students at the University of Pennsylvania,” Hunt said. “When students ask, ‘Should I go into journalism?’ My answer is an absolute yes,”  He called being in journalism “a special treat, and they actually pay you for it!”  Hunt spent decades with the Wall Street Journal before years in broadcast media; Woodruff moved from NBC to CNN, PBS, most recently anchoring the "PBS NewsHour" until the end of last year.

Woodruff pressed her spouse to tell the audience about James (Scotty) Reston, revered New York Times journalist, who spoke at Wake Forest College in 1963 when Hunt was a student and UPI stringer. Hunt covered the event and spoke with Reston.

“You’ve asked me lots of questions,” Reston said: “Now tell me what are you going to do with your life?”

Hunt told him he was torn between going to law school and journalism.

“That’s an easy choice,” Reston replied: The law is lucrative but “the first 10 years are mostly dusty books.” But in journalism: “Almost everyone you cover is interesting…some are good and some are bad….” Reston passed on advice once given to him: “Go into journalism; marry above yourself like I did.” The NPC audience hooted. Reston became his mentor and friend.

How do they see the role of artificial intelligence in journalism today?

Woodruff told Klein: “It can do great work for us” like checking documents  but when it distorts information, it’s terrible. Hunt cited a fake video of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “She was saying really dumb things, and it was fake!” Hunt cited a fake AI headline from 2016: The Pope Endorses Trump. “At some point, you need sensible AI regulation,” he said.

As for changes in the political atmosphere since Hunt came to Washington in 1969 when Vietnam, Civil Rights were key issues, he said, “It wasn’t nearly as personal as it is today.” “I’ve never seen America so divided,” Woodruff said.

“We’re dealing with a public that doesn’t want to talk to us very much, doesn’t trust us very much,” said Woodruff. She cited the loss of 2500 daily and weekly newspapers, and how people “either don’t have news at all….or a lot of misinformation…It’s a difficult, complicated picture. Our country has a lot of work to do.”

Woodruff and Hunt were presented with “The Order of the Owls” at the ceremony’s close, followed by the Jefferson Street Strutters, a seven-piece band specializing in New Orleans-style jazz popular from the 1900s through 1940s.