Legendary broadcaster Larry King returned to Peoria Monday as part of an inaugural Symposium for the Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication. King is friends with Steiner, who is one of Bradley’s most notable alumni and the longtime play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers. King says the new Sports Communication program can teach aspiring sports reporters the foundations of journalism:
“When that light goes on, I have an obligation to myself and to the audience to do the best I can. It’s a wonderful profession, and I hope we can relate that here to these kids.”
King received an honorary degree from Bradley University several years ago and says he plans to start a scholarship at the school.
Steiner says the goal of the sports communication school is to prepare students to succeed as reporters in an ever-changing media landscape:
“At a time when newspapers are folding, when networks are contracting, where the internet is taking over, it’s a different career path now than certainly was when I graduated here in 1971.”
Bradley officials say the sports communication school will help boost development for symposiums, internships and student recruitment.