A five-time national Emmy winner will speak to Ball State students tonight about his experiences with multimedia journalism.
Journalst Bob Dotson will speak as part of the David Letterman Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series at 7:30 p.m. in Pruis Hall. The title of his presentation is "Narrative Storytelling: Strategic Choices of a Master Storyteller."
Dotson is known for "American Story with Bob Dotson," which appears on NBC's "Today" show and as specials on MSNBC.
He has written two books — "Make it Memorable," and "In Pursuit of the American Dream." According to the Today.com, Dotson has won the George Washington Honor Medal for excellence for his books.
Lori Byers, associate dean of the College of Communication, Information and Media, said there's more student buzz about Dotson's arrival than perhaps with any other speaker.
"The response has been overly positive," Byers said. She said one student even referred to Dotson as their "hero."
Telecommunications instructor Tim Underhill first met Dotson in 1987 at a National Press Photographers Association workshop in Norman, Okla.
Underhill credits Dotson's videos for aiding in his class discussions.
"I use a lot of [Dotson's] work in my classes as some of the best examples of storytelling," he said. "Bob is one of those people I call a photojournalist, even though he doesn't touch a camera."
Underhill said he believes Dotson has a talent for telling stories about those people you don't know anything about, such as people you pass every day on the street or sit next to on the bus.
According to Today.com, Dotson has won more than 100 awards for his broadcast journalism work, and his latest Emmy came from his report about eight brothers who fought in World War II at the same time. Dotson won an Emmy for Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast, according to Today.com.
Dotson was selected for "Best Network Feature Reporting by The Society of Professional Journalists and was recognized by The Radio and Television News Directors Association for "Best Network News Writing," according to Today.com. He has also received the Edward R. Murrow Award for Writing a record five times from The Radio and Television News Directors.
Byers said students can learn how to tell stories by listening to what Dotson has to say tonight.
"Bob is known for going after the backstory, the less obvious story," Byers said. "His stories tend to be human-interest focused, but tend to be more in-depth and insightful, but always unique."
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