Barack Obama

President Barack Obama speaks during the awards dinner for Syracuse University's Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, Monday, March 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

(Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON, D.C. a President Barack Obama used a Syracuse University event here Monday night to condemn the "divisive and often vulgar rhetoric" that has taken hold in politics, and called on journalists and all Americans to help reverse the trend.

"The No. 1 question I am getting as I travel around the world or talk to world leaders right now is: What is happening in America -- about our politics?" Obama said in a keynote speech at a national journalism prize event hosted by SU.

"And it's not because around the world people have not seen crazy politics; it is that they understand America is the place where you can't afford completely crazy politics," Obama said.

Obama talked for more than 30 minutes about the increasingly caustic tone of political campaigns, and lamented the loss of substantive fact-based reporting in a news industry pressured by the forces of changing technology,

"I believe that for all the side shows of the political season, Americans are still hungry for the truth, it's just hard to find," Obama told more than 450 people packed into the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium here for the annual Toner Prize ceremony sponsored by SU's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

"Ultimately I recognize the news industry is an industry, it's a business," Obama said, but he implored those in the news business to dedicate more resources that contribute to a "well-informed electorate."

The president said news organizations should have "higher aspirations" to inform the public.

"Good reporters like the ones in this room all too frequently find yourselves caught between competing forces," Obama said. "I'm aware of that. You believe in the importance of a well-informed electorate. You've staked your careers on it. Our democracy needs you more than ever. You're under significant financial pressures, as well."

Among those in attendance were prominent media and political figures, including New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., and ESPN broadcaster Mike Tirico, a Newhouse graduate and member of the SU Board of Trustees.

Obama did not mention Donald Trump or any presidential candidates in his speech, but he encouraged journalists to hold all politicians accountable.

"I think the electorate would be better served if we spent less time focused on the 'he said-she said' back-and-forth of our politics," the president said. "Because while fairness is the hallmark of good journalism, false equivalency all too often these days can be a fatal flaw. If I say that the world is round, and someone else says it's flat, that's worth reporting. But you might also want to report on a bunch of scientific evidence that seems to support the notion that the world is round."

Obama was introduced by SU Chancellor Kent Syverud, a day after Syracuse's men's basketball team pulled off a dramatic NCAA tournament win over Virginia to advance to the Final Four championship this weekend.

"On behalf of Syracuse fans everywhere, I have to offer an apology," Syverud said. "We are sorry we blew both of the president's brackets."

Obama thanked Syverud for "reminding me how badly my bracket is going," but quickly added, "Congratulations Syracuse. You guys are doing great."

The Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting honors the late Robin Toner, a 1976 Newhouse School graduate who became the first woman to serve as national political correspondent for the New York Times.

Toner, who spent 25 years at the New York Times, died of cancer in December 2008. She covered the Clinton White House in the 1990s.

Alec MacGillis, a reporter for ProPublica, a nonprofit online investigative journalism organization, won this year's $5,000 Toner prize for his 2015 series of stories titled "The Breakdown."

The judges said his stories revealed the influence of the oil industry and other corporations on public policy; examined why some voters make choices that can be considered against their own interests; and showed many assumptions about politics and governance no longer hold true.

"It defines what everyone wants to know: what happened to our system of politics and governance," said Toner Prize judge Tom Brokaw.

Toner's children -- 18-year-old twins Nora and Jake Gosselin -- presented this year's award.

In his speech, Obama talked about his own experience as the focus of Robin Toner's reporting.

"One of the reasons I ran for this office was to try and change the tone of our politics in Washington," he said. "And I remember back in early 2008 -- eight years ago this month -- Robin wrote a story wondering whether I could -- whether it was even possible.

"At the time, I probably thought the piece was fairly cynical," he said. "And while I still believe Americans are hungry for a better politics, as I've said several times now, one of my great regrets is that the tone of our politics has gotten worse. And I won't take all the responsibility for it, but I'll take some. We all own some of it. I'll take my share. But Robin asked that question. She cast a critical eye from the very beginning. And that was useful. Still is."

Obama was the latest in a string of prominent political figures to give the keynote address at the prize ceremony in Washington. Hillary Clinton delivered the keynote address in 2015, just before the launch of her presidential campaign.

In 2014, Vice President Joe Biden, a 1968 SU Law School graduate, spoke of his deep respect for Toner, who he remembered as a tough but fair reporter who asked difficult questions.

Proceeds from the Toner Prize dinner help support an endowment for the Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting at the Newhouse School.

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