The key to being a great – not just good – journalist seems obvious: listen. However, CBS News war correspondent Clarissa Ward said it’s the one quality that binds outstanding reporters together.

Ward spoke at the 40th Murrow Symposium last night at WSU. She also accepted The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication 2015 Award for Distinguished Achievement in Journalism.

Having reported from all over the world, including war zones in the Middle East, Ward said there are various traits successful journalists should have – curiosity, willingness to rough it and not being a picky eater are just a few. But listening with an open mind is the most important.

“You have to listen to people who scare you and anger you and maybe you even find repugnant,” Ward said.

In 2014 Ward interviewed two Western jihadis in Syria. She said it took months of chatting with them online before they would agree to talk with her.

Though she said many Western journalists are quick to condemn jihadis, Ward said she got further by avoiding passing judgment.

“If you’re looking for dialogue, it turns out people don’t like it if you say they’re evil,” she said, eliciting laughs from the audience.

Ward’s energetic presentation had several tongue-in-cheek moments.

“I was not expecting her to have such a great sense of humor,” sophomore communication major Kyle Simchuk said.

Simchuk also said he was intrigued by Ward’s statement that misunderstanding is a huge cause of conflict and violence.

However, Ward emphasized that war is awful and comes at an enormous price, not just for soldiers and civilians, but reporters too.

“It’s not something to be undertaken lightly,” she said.

Somebody has to tell the story, though, Ward added. And, despite all the challenges, she said she thinks she’ll spend the rest of her career as an international reporter.

“I can’t picture myself doing anything else,” she said.

Ward is relatively young in her career, but works out of London and follows Edward R. Murrow’s footsteps in many ways, said Darin Watkins, director of communications for the Murrow College.

CBS’s Scott Pelley introduced Ward via a pre-recorded video. The longtime CBS anchor also drew comparisons between Ward and Murrow.

Prior to Ward’s speech, the college honored three new Murrow Hall of Achievement inductees: Rick Boyce, who led sales for the world’s first ad-supported website, HotWired, in 1994, and now heads corporate sales at Quantcast; Art Eckman, who has reported on more than 20 sports in his nearly five-decade career; and Chris Hampel, co-founder of Big Fantastic, a digital production and development company.

2014 Hall of Achievement inductee John Ibsen also made an appearance. Ibsen is the senior vice president of creative film services for Walt Disney Studios.

“Every one (of the inductees) had one thing in common: Who they were was entirely because of Murrow,” Watkins said.