Villanova Digital Library - The Spires, vol. 1, no. 2, December 1974. :: Digital Library@Villanova University

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Full Title	The Spires, vol. 1, no. 2, December 1974.
Author	Villanova University.
Date Added	24 June 2022
Language	English
Publish Date	1974-12
Publisher	Villanova, Pennsylvania : Villanova University
Topic	Villanova University > Alumni and alumnae > News. O'Rourke, Lawrence M.
About	More Details Permanent Link
Disclaimers	Disclaimer of Liability Disclaimer of Endorsement

OCR Gallery y A Journal of information about Villanova University for alumni, family, and friends December, 1974 Our Man In D.C. Larry O'Rourke is a very down to earth man living and working in Washington, D.C. He is an anachronism in a city where the truth can sometimes be as elusive as a dream. A youthful, unassuming man, he is committed to the task of searching out the facts and making them public. He might sound a little bit like a comic book superhero, but he is a very serious journalist with a firm grasp on reality and a strong belief in a free press. A member of Villanova’s Class of 1959, Lawrence M. O’Rourke is the Washington Bureau Chief and White House correspondent for the Philadelphia Evening and Sunday Bulletin. If this prestigious position brings to mind an image of plush, panelled offices, meetings with the President at the White House, and long lunches in riverside restaurants, forget it. In O’Rourke’s world it’s more like sixteen hour days in shirtsleeves, frequent trips away from home, sharing a sandwich with a typewriter, and loving every minute of it. Somehow, in the midst of all of this, he found the time to go to Georgetown University and become a lawyer. A knowledge and respect for the law and dedication to journalism are in- tertwined within O'Rourke. He feels that the study of law has made him “more critical, broadened his mind, and heightened his in- tellectual processes.” It wasn’t done because he is a political reporter. “No reporter can ever be the specialist in anything that his source is. COURTESY OF THE EVENING & SUNDAY BULLETIN eon Mins LAWRENCE M. O'ROURKE ‘59 I think Francis Bacon was the last complete man. You can’t know everything. You interview an engineer one day, a lawyer the next day, and a doctor the next. If you knew as much about their field as they did, you might as well be doing that for a living. “So what you do is ask questions, sometimes damn fool questions, but you're entitled to, because you're the representative of the public trying to find out what people do. “One of the great things about being a reporter or journalist is the many dif- ferent types of people you meet, and the different experiences.” O'Rourke went to the People’s Republic of China with former President Nixon in 1972. Before the trip he knew almost nothing about the Asian nation, but he spent the six weeks prior to leaving for the assign- ment studying all he could. He read books and_ interviewed people. Going from university to university, he asked professors with knowledge in the field to share what they could with him. Confident that he had as good a grasp of the problems and issues of contemporary China as someone who majored in it at the college level, O'Rourke unhesitatingly got on the plane. O'Rourke and his fellow White House correspondents generally follow the President wherever he goes, with the newspapers picking up the check. A charter agent at the White House arranges for a private plane to ac- company Air Force One, and the reporters book a seat through him. It becomes quite an expensive proposition for the newspaper — in the last year O'Rourke has been to Europe, the Middle East, the Soviet Union, and Japan. Most of the time, however, the trips usually consist of three states in as many hours and then home in time for dinner. O’Rourke says that he prefers being Smiles for Villanova... President Gerald R. Ford displays Villanova football jersey presented him by Villanova students Mike Tucker (left) and Neil Osten during October visit to Philadelphia. Students are members of university Republicans Club invited to at- tend a reception for the President during his visit. Number 76 signifies students’ hope that the President will run in 1976 and be reelected. out in the field reporting to staying in at the typewriter. “But sometimes, when I feel very much in control of a story, when I think I reported it as much as it could be reported, it’s great fun to sit at the typewriter and really shape it all. You know that the clay is all there, it’s just waiting to be molded into the statue.” “It gets really frustrating when you have a deadline to meet and you come down to it missing some parts of your story. You have no choice — you have to go with it. These are the hard moments. The people are waiting for the story and you have the obligation to let the public know that you don’t have all the facts.” Covering the White House is a very UPI PHOTO satisfying assignment for O’Rourke. Over the years, he’s found himself get- ting more and more proficient on the powers of the presidency, and familiarity helps develop contacts and leads. “It's a good place to see what’s swirling. They have a good intelligence system. They know what's going on at Capitol Hill and everywhere else in the country.” Sources are cultivated everywhere. Someone who has only minor duties today may become very important years from now. You inherit contacts with the job and you make new ones. You call people and you interview them. “But,” O’Rourke believes, “you continued on page 3

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