Almost 20 years ago in a packed chapel at The Salisbury School a television journalist famous for his coverage of national politics led a discussion on the question: “Can Democracy Survive the Media?” His name was Sander Vanocur, a prominent reporter whose contemporaries were other big names at political conventions in the 1960s:John Chancellor, Frank McGee and Edwin Newman. Vanocur was one of the questioners at the first of the Kennedy-Nixon debates in 1960.
The Salisbury event back then in 2005 was brought to the Northwest Corner by a unique regional organization known as The Salisbury Forum, which now is celebrating 20 years sponsoring open discourse for a community hungry for thoughtful dialogue.
Last week, another prominent journalist, Judy Woodruff, former anchor and managing editor of the PBS Newshour, was on stage at The Forum’s sold-out event at The Salisbury School. (Read Patrick L. Sullivan’s coverage here.)
For two decades, the Forum, a nonprofit, has hosted speaker forums that “foster a deeper understanding of issues that affect our lives globally and locally,” to quote its mission statement.
As a community we are fortunate to be the beneficiary of such a committed and valuable local organization. The Forum is supported as well by other institutions in our community that provide venues for the Forum’s event. Those include The Hotchkiss School and Salisbury School, The Moviehouse in Millerton and Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village.
For twenty years, forums — free and open to the public — have explored a wide range of topics that span the rural health crisis in the Northwest Corner, to discussions on food access, the future of journalism, the future of democracy, climate change, citizenship, pandemics, the future of books in an age of AI, as well as subjects related to science, politics and international relations. There seems to be no end to the survey of topics explored by the forums. And no limit to the level of sophistication of its speakers. They include scholars from many disciplines, diplomats, housing experts, award-winning actors of theater, film and television, environmentalists, filmmakers, art critics, theater critics, and on and on with speakers who illuminate the challenges facing America today in civic, political, scientific and cultural life.
The Forum is an adult-ed course we receive for free, which connects us with ideas and draws conversation about the full gamut of Arts and Science of today’s complicated world.
We thank the Forum and its board for an indispensable service to the community. And encourage everyone to visit the Forum’s website to learn more about the people who make it happen and about the history of this nonprofit’s contribution to our community.
Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.L. Tomaino 
