News From The Law School
Former ABC News president visits UF Law
David Westin, the immediate past president of ABC News, delivered the keynote address in February at the courtroom opening celebration in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
In his keynote speech, Westin discussed how advocacy can be used for social good. He said the media could learn from how the court system settles disputes as the media turns to ever-more rancorous commentary and opinion to generate audiences.
For example, he said the contentiousness of news programs could be moderated if hosts question political adversaries about how they agree as well as how they disagree.
As ABC News president from 1997 to 2010, Westin oversaw all editorial and business aspects of the news division, supervised coverage of President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, the 9/11 attacks, the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and the recent economic crisis. While Westin was president, ABC News was awarded 11 George Foster Peabody Awards, 13 Alfred I. du-Pont Awards, five George Polk Awards, more than 40 News and Documentary Emmys and more than 40 Edward R. Murrow Awards.
