Author and long-time public radio journalist Diane Rehm has said that listening, especially in a time when people are quick to inject with their own experiences, is the most essential part of reporting.
“That is the thing that I think is the most important part of this job, listening,” Rehm said. “Pausing to really listen involves, to a certain extent, not talking.”
Rehm, who started working as a volunteer at WAMU in 1973, was at George Mason University Sunday, Sept. 25, to accept the Mason Award as part of the 18th annual Fall for the Book festival.
The annual Mason Award is presented to an author who has succeeded in connecting literature to a wider audience. It is named after George Mason himself in recognition for his role in securing the right to freedom of speech in the United States.
“In the midst of everything else going on in the world, Diane Rehm keeps a place dedicated to literature in the show each week. She’s given voice to writers and books over the years, in addition to being a writer herself,” said William Miller, executive director of Fall for the Book.
Rehm is the author of four autobiographies including, “Life with Maxie” and “Finding My Voice.”
Following the awards ceremony on Sunday, the audience was treated to a conversation between Rehm and WAMU 88.5’s general manager, J. J. Yore.
The pair mainly discussed Rehm’s most recent work, “On My Own,” and her relationship with her late husband, John Rehm, who battled Parkinson’s disease.
Rehm said her inspiration for writing the book came out of complete rage after her husband was denied “death with dignity” after he lost all bodily functions to his disease. Following her departure from NPR at the end of the year, she said she plans to become a strong and vocal advocate for death with dignity rights across the country.
“I believe that we should have a choice in this matter,” Rehm said. Her husband passed away 10 days after refusing food, water and medication from his doctors.
Rehm was as an assistant producer and host of two health-related programs before hosting her own morning talk show, “Kaleidoscope,” in 1979, later renamed “The Diane Rehm Show.”
Though she will be leaving her microphone at the end of the year, Rehm announced that she will be hosting a weekly podcast on a subject to be revealed at a later date.
But, as a self-described “big mouth,” Rehm said the topic might not matter much, just as long as she is there to listen and do something she loves: ask questions.
“I have the right to ask pretty much any question that I want now,” Rehm said.
For a full list of Fall for the Book events, visit the schedule on the festival’s website.