michael, stand up. >> i am michael myers. i am the executive director of the rights coalition. i want to ask michael to mosque he a question about diversity because i don't think he has got the point. the point is that you can hire a minority, hire people who are not blades without any notion of standards, ethical standards of journalism. so the complaints about david blair were not that he was high because he was black, but because the editor, the white male editors and people above, brought their standards anna didn't check and didn't treat him as they would treat anybody else who is a journalist because he was black and secondly with respect to diversity in the newsroom, as bill was talking about in terms of coverage -- maki don't cover people you know. a lot of the new reporters and particularly the black reporters reporters -- i'm asking a question. particularly the black reporters have been hired to replace you about racing community and they cover, blacks cover blacks, blacks kober civil rights and it is in the paper people who don't agree with them. >> lets gather a few

michael -- stand up. >> i'm michael myers, i'm the executive director of the new york civil rights coalition. i want to ask michael tomasky a question of diversity. i don't think he got it. i don't think he got the point. the point is you can hire minorities, hire people that are nonwhites, for the standards, ethical standards of journalism, so that the complaint about jason blair was not that he was high because he was plaque. although he may have been hired because he was black. the editors let their standards down and didn't edit and treat him as they would treat anybody else as a journalist because he was black. and secondly, report to the diversity in the newsroom as bill was talking about in terms of coverage, you don't cover people you know. a lot of new reporters, particularly the black reporters, have -- i'm asking the question, particular black reporters have been hired with points of view about race, about community? and they cover -- blacks cover blacks, blacks cover civil rights, and omit people that don't agree with them. >> let's gather a few questions and then turn the questi

. >> michael? >> i'm michael myers, executive director of the new york civil rights coalition. let's forget the science-based concern in society. because science is not perfect. and very often is not short term. it may require a long term studies. so if you have a vaccine today say for h1n1, and you develop a vaccine that scientists and doctors say will prevent you from getting aids, really, maybe down ten years later, 15 years later, there's somebody, the scientist, or doctor who finds and confirms the long term study that the vaccine had side affects they did not know about. so it's not just fear of vaccines, i think it's a science-based anxiety. and particularly respect to the notion because we are a society, we believe in civil liberties. the economy of the individual. and so my question to you is what circumstances, for example, in h1n1, have become epidemic in terms of new york in subways and other kinds of things like aids, what would require people to have vaccines and make it mandatory as people go and volunteer to get their shots. >> okay. i think the question -- than

we will hear from michael mccurry and dee dee myers preserved under president clinton and president george w. bush's press secretaries dana perino and frank sesno. george washington university's school of media and public affairs posted this event. it is about one hour 30 minutes. >> we are delighted to have four former white house press secretaries who had been the faces and voices of presidential administrations, spanning two decades of american history. one of them, dana perino, this event is an expansion of her teaching role last semester at art school of government management. we are joined this evening by senior is cnn correspondent ed henry who is teaching in our school a media and public affairs. the program, live from the white house -- making and shaping the news -- is hosted by former cnn white house correspondent and washington bureau chief and emmy award winning journalist, frank sesno, who serves as the director of the george washington school of media and public affairs. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming frank sesno. [applause] >> thank you very much. what a