Tom DeFrank to Speak at 2007 Commencement

College of Liberal Arts Commencement
Friday, May 11 at 9:00 a.m.
Reed Arena
College Station, TX

Congratulations to all Liberal Arts students graduating on Friday, May 11! The speaker for commencement is Tom De Frank, currently the Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News and a former White House correspondent for Newsweek.

"Oh, the places you'll go..."
by Rick Rojas
City Editor, The Battalion

Thomas DeFrank said he has some self-satisfaction in coming to commencement. When he was graduating, the president at the time was James Earl Rudder, who wasn't happy to see him. This time, a president invited him.

Formerly a White House correspondent for Newsweek, he is the author of three books - working on his fourth - and is the Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News.

Before a career spanning nearly four decades covering presidents and politics, DeFrank, Class of 1967, was the editor in chief of The Battalion - and a controversial one at that.

After working in various positions for three years, he became the top editor in the fall of 1966. But President Rudder wasn't pleased with his work, because - as DeFrank said - The Battalion did actual journalism, not public relations for the University as Rudder wanted.

"(Rudder) wanted a student newspaper that only reported good news," he said. "Any self-respecting journalist wouldn't do that."

So, Rudder fired him.

"Each year, the censorship and repression got worse," DeFrank said.

Though, he said he understood why Rudder acted the way he did: The University was in the midst of an evolution, and the stalwart president represented a dictatorial generation.

"It was a different time, a different era; it was a time of transition for A&M," DeFrank said. "President Rudder was a great man, but of a different generation."

DeFrank joined the military as a public affairs officer working in the Pentagon after he graduated in 1967 with a degree in journalism.

Then, he started a quarter-century tenure with Newsweek magazine, covering the White House. His first assignment: covering the former Republican leader in the House, freshly confirmed vice president and soon-to-be president Gerald R. Ford Jr.

DeFrank, who was 28, said Watergate - and its corollaries - created an extraordinarily unique time in the United States.

And, Ford was in the flukiest position, DeFrank said. As the wrongdoings of President Richard M. Nixon became more evident, his departure either through impeachment or resignation was imminent - and Ford would inherit a tarnished White House in a virulent capital.

"(Ford) was out of town all the time," DeFrank said. "He avoided Washington because the atmosphere was poisonous."

After spending a great amount of time with Ford during such a challenging period, DeFrank said he and other reporters covering the vice president developed a special, professional relationship with him.

And, that relationship, DeFrank said, is the basis of an intimate project.

Since 1991, DeFrank conducted annual, off-the-record interviews with Ford, under one condition: what was said in those interviews couldn't be published until Ford died.

Ford, 93, died on Dec. 26. Following his death, DeFrank said he poured through 16 years worth of notes and has been in the process of compiling the candid words of the former president for his upcoming book, "Write It When I'm Gone."

DeFrank said Ford had respect for the press, which made him unique.

"By definition, the relationship between the press and the president is an adversarial one," he said.

But Ford understood that a reporter's job was to tell the whole story.

"He liked reporters and he liked to socialize," DeFrank said. "But the press sometimes bites the hand that feeds it."

He said that White House press secretary Tony Snow is imitating the ways of the Ford administration by attempting to build bridges with the press.

DeFrank, 61, said after his book is complete, he will plot a way to retire to Texas, his home state.

But, he's looking forward to returning to A&M. DeFrank said he was invited to give an address by his friend and classmate, A&M Interim President Eddie J. Davis, on the 40th anniversary of their commencement from A&M.

"There's a touch of irony here," DeFrank said, considering his situation in 1967.

On Friday, DeFrank said he will share anecdotes from his experiences covering presidents and his time at A&M.

It will have to be a condensed version, however.

DeFrank said Davis told him in his invitation, "you have 10 minutes max, and I mean that."