Wade said that although he always aims to gather information for his audience, in Watertown it was paramount to let law enforcement officials operate freely.
“What they’re trying to do in a situation like that is far more important than what I’m trying to do,” Wade said.
“I never got any shame in saying what I didn’t know,” he added.
Another panelist, Juliette N. Kayyem, a Kennedy School lecturer in public policy who contributed to multiple media outlets last week, also addressed the coverage of the bombings and investigation, giving particular praise to the Boston Globe, calling the paper’s work covering the marathon “proof of why you need strong local newspapers.”
The event was attended by about 120 people and featured a lengthy question-and-answer period at the end.
One participant in that session, Kennedy School Admissions Coordinator Jamie Bergstein, took the microphone wearing her blue and yellow Boston Athletic Association marathon jacket.
“This is for Commissioner Davis,” she said, beginning to choke up. “It’s not a question. I just wanted to thank you.”
—Staff writer Matthew Q. Clarida can be reached at clarida@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @MattClarida.