In the world of journalism, one can have a TV show for exactly two days before being lavished with an “excellence in journalism” award. This we learn from the “Cronkite Award for Excellence in Exploration and Journalism” bestowed on February 26 upon Ronan Farrow, only two days after his show debuted on MSNBC.
Farrow’s show debuted on MSNBC on Monday, February 24, with the 26-year-old host telling viewers that he “grew up” on Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow. This is interesting since Murrow died in 1965, 22 years before Farrow was born, and Cronkite retired from the evening news in 1981, six years before our newly celebrated journalist was born.
However, it is good Farrow praised Walter Cronkite since he is now the proud recipient of an award issued in that famed broadcaster’s name.
According to a posting by an education organization called Reach The World, Farrow is the lucky recipient of The Cronkite Award for Excellence in Exploration and Journalism.
The group celebrates Farrow by reporting a long list of the sort of plaudits that children of the wealthy often pursue. For instance, we learn that Farrow was a “global youth and humanitarian,” was once a “UNICEF Spokesperson for Youth,” and a past appointee by the U.S. government as “Special Adviser for Humanitarian and NGO Affairs for Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
Oh, and one other thing makes Farrow eligible for an “excellence in journalism” award. As the group helpfully notes, “On February 24, 2014, Farrow began hosting a weekday show on MSNBC.”
Again, this award was announced on February 26, two days after Farrow “became” a journalist.
In the decades to come we may yet find that Ronan Farrow will become the Walter Cronkite of his generation, but it is a bit hard to accept his assumption of that mantle a mere forty-eight hours after entering the field.