It was announced this week that Colgate University will welcome Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,  in October for the next edition of the university’s Global Leaders Lecture Series.

SU is also welcoming a world leader this year. Vice President Joe Biden, a Syracuse University Grad, will deliver SU’s commencement address in May.  Vice President Biden will also be presented with an honorary degree from the university during the commencement ceremony, which will be held Sunday, May 10th in the Carrier Dome.

Yesterday, Syracuse University held an all-day event focusing on the current state of television and its future in the digital age. The symposium was dedicated to Fred Silverman, the only person ever to have run programming at all three original television networks — ABC, CBS and NBC.

In one session, Silverman was interviewed by Steve Kroft, a longtime correspondent for CBS news magazine “60 Minutes” and fellow SU alumni. The event kicked off with a montage of programming that Silverman helped develop that included MASH, Hill Street Blues, Roots, All in the Family, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Silverman obviously has a great deal of insight when it comes to network television and how it can survive against cable, the internet, and a new on-demand mentality that dominates media consumption today.

“I think the big problem is people keep picking the wrong shows; they keep developing the wrong shows. People aren’t taking a chance. If you want to make a hit, you have to take a chance,” he said.

When asked what he would do to remedy the problems the networks are facing, Silverman suggested, “There should be an active effort to put shows on that reflect the world we live in.”

Silverman also predicted that there would be more local programming on the networks and that within the next five years every home will have a new viewing device that integrates the internet and television flawlessly.