Laughter echoed from Murdock Hall Tuesday afternoon as humorist Dave Barry spoke to more than 200 students about becoming a columnist, being a guest on "the Tonight Show" and witnessing 75 pounds of cocaine fall from the Miami sky, among other things.
Barry, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Miami Herald, said he became a columnist because he did not work well with facts as a reporter.
"I just didn't fit in the quick-thinking, newsgathering mold," he said.
Barry started his career by sending his columns to a small, local newspaper in Pennsylvania each week when he was working full time for a writing seminar. Because he did not feel pressured to write about specific topics, Barry said he was able to write columns on interesting topics in his own style.
"I didn't think of it as a job," he said.
Steve Doig, a professor in ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said he worked with Barry at The Miami Herald.
"Dave's kind of journalism is not burdened by dealing with facts," Doig said.
Museum studies freshman Anna Bierne said she grew up reading Barry's columns. She said she was surprised Barry was such a great speaker.
"I expected a writer to be less competent at speaking," she said. "But he was very competent and relaxed."
Along with giving advice to aspiring journalists, Barry shared stories about how he got ideas for columns and how he interacted with readers.
One column idea came from an incident that occurred while he was talking to the Miami police chief, Barry said. While they were conversing, a 75-pound package of cocaine fell from an airplane, nearly hitting the police chief on the head.
"In south Florida, it's not enough to 'just say no,'" he added, eliciting laughs from the audience.
Barry was awarded the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism at the 22nd annual Cronkite Award luncheon at the Biltmore Resort in Phoenix Tuesday. Each year, one outstanding journalist receives the award.
Barry said he sat down with Cronkite before the event and was surprised at how funny Cronkite was. He said Cronkite told him a story about taking his wife to a Miami strip club.
"I have a new perspective of Walter now," he added.
Barry took a more serious tone to speak to the audience about Cronkite's importance to the field of journalism.
"To my generation, he was the voice of God," Barry said. "I don't remember a single event I heard about that wasn't from Walter Cronkite."
Lia Kamitsis, a psychology and English literature junior, said Barry was just like she expected after reading his books and columns.
"It was like seeing a comedian," she said. "He is full of wit."
Journalism freshman Andrew Barker said he has been a fan of Barry's work for the last few years.
"Barry did a good job balancing info and humor like I knew he would," Barker said.
Reach the reporter at tara.brite@asu.edu.
