Columbia Journalism sChool Winter 2010 - Berkeley Graduate ...

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2 Columbia Journalism sChool Winter 2010 Nicholas Lemann Dean’s letter — We began the 2008–2009 academic year with an opening-day talk to the incoming Class of 2009 by Leonard Downie, Jr., who was just then stepping down after 17 years as executive editor of The Washington Post. Len spoke eloquently about his concern over the erosion of economic support for what he called “accountability journalism,” the core reportorial function of the press and what most of our students want to do in life. Afterwards, Len and I went up to my office to talk, and not long after we decided to produce a major report that would survey the landscape of accountability journalism and then suggest ways it might be supported in the future. Before long Michael Schudson, a distinguished scholar on our faculty, had signed on as co-author, and the Revson Foundation as lead funder. Not much more than a year later, in mid-October 2009, the Downie-Schudson report was published. It is called “The Reconstruction of American Journalism.” You can find a full text at www.journalism.columbia.edu/journalismreport. It represents the school’s single biggest effort, in the almost seven years I have been dean, to address a larger issue in our profession. The results have been highly gratifying. At a time when the air is thick with discussions on the future of journalism, our report stood out and gained an unusual degree of attention. There were hundreds of articles about it published all over the world — in most of the leading American publications, and as far away as France, Germany and Korea. Len and Michael have been constant and vigorous participants in discussions at the highest levels of the news business, the nonprofit sector, and government. In early February our friends at the Reuters Center in Oxford will hold a two-day conference on the report, which is meant to launch a follow-on effort for Europe, where journalism is having many of the same economic problems. It’s a sign of both the quality of the report and of the stature of the Journalism School that it has had so much impact. We aren’t planning another report, but we are hoping to launch some new initiatives in 2010 that should maintain our central role in this all-important conversation. One, we hope, will be a follow-up to the report’s recommendation that journalism schools and their home universities find a way to be more significant producers of accountability journalism. Another will aim to generate a discussion of what’s happening in the economic market for journalism, especially digital journalism, that is as significant and helpful as the report’s discussion of public policy and journalism has been. Here’s hoping that in one of my next few dean’s letters, I will be able to report more fully on the start of these ventures. introducing: ColumBia JournaliSm SChool — By Michael Kubin ’05, Steve Wolgast ’92, and Andrew Pergam ’01 Alumni Board Communications Subcommittee ThiS STory iS aBouT the magazine you’re holding, but let’s begin with a bit about breath mints. One participant in a Certs TV commercial would say, “It’s a breath mint!” while the other would argue, “It’s a candy mint!” The announcer then resolved the dilemma by explaining that Certs is “Two, two, two mints in one!” And so it is with Columbia Journalism School: It’s both the School’s publication (formerly called 116th & Broadway) as well as the newspaper for graduates (which used to be the Alumni Journal). So it’s two, two, two publications in one. Your Alumni Board has been working on this project in conjunction with Irena Choi Stern ’01 and a professional magazine designer for over a year; our intention is for this new publication to serve our community more efficiently and effectively than before. Specifically, you will be receiving three issues per year, each with its own focus: Fall: Back to school — what’s new Winter: What’s happening now Spring: The year’s wrap-up, and looking ahead News about alumni will be included prominently in each issue in a dedicated section. The intention is for it to be a useful and informative publication for our community; to that end we solicit and welcome alumni contributions on School- and industry- related subjects. Current students are equally welcome to submit pieces for publication. As a reflection of the increasingly important role of the Internet, Columbia Journalism School will continue to appear online in its entirety. Its Web site (www.journalism.columbia.edu) will also be the place for you to look for breaking news. We sincerely hope you see this new publication as progress and we look forward to your comments and suggestions.
Dart Center 2009 ochberg Fellows — The DarT CenTer For JournaliSm anD Trauma at the Journalism School has named recipients of its 2009 Ochberg Fellowships. These fellowships were established in 1999 by the Dart Center for journalists seeking to deepen their coverage of violence and traumatic events. Fellowships are awarded to midcareer journalists in all media who have covered issues ranging from street crime, family violence and natural disasters to war and genocide. The weeklong fellowship program was held in Atlanta in November in conjunction with the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies conference. The following Ochberg Fellows participated: Peter Cave, Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s most experienced foreign correspondent; Amy Dockser Marcus, reporter for The Wall Street Journal, who won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for a series she wrote about the physical, emotional and monetary challenges facing cancer survivors; Kari Lydersen, a staff writer for The Washington Post’s Midwest bureau; John McCusker, staff photographer at The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, part of a reporting team awarded the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of Hurricane Katrina; Maryn McKenna, an independent journalist based in Minneapolis, specializing in domestic and global public health and health policy; Jina Moore ’06, an independent journalist and a correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, specializing in post-conflict and human rights reporting in Africa; Hollman Morris, a TV journalist in Colombia, recognized this year with the top award for TV reporting in Latin America; Ronke Phillips, a correspondent for ITV news in the UK; Huascar Robles Carrasquillo, who covers urban planning and environmental justice for Metro San Juan in Puerto Rico; Philip Zabriskie, independent journalist in New York City, specializing in the physical and psychological landscapes of post-conflict situations. Solange Azevedo, a reporter for Revista Epoca magazine in Sao Paulo, Brazil, was the only fellow unable to attend the program in Atlanta. The fellowship program is named in honor of Frank Ochberg, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry at Michigan State University and a pioneering figure in the definition and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, Stockholm Syndrome and other responses to violence, trauma and terror. Ochberg, winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, is chairman emeritus of the Dart Center. nPr airs Spencer Fellow’s Documentary — nanCy Solomon ’86, a 2008-2009 Spencer Education Journalism Fellow, spent a year at the Journalism School reporting and producing “Mind the Gap: Why Good Schools Are Failing Black Students.” The radio documentary was aired this fall by NPR stations around the country. “It’s the kind of ambitious and important project the Spencer Fellowship was designed to support,” said Professor LynNell Hancock, executive director of the program. “We knew that Nancy was creating something fresh and urgent during her yearlong fellowship at Columbia University. She was attempting to untangle the complexities of race, class and education policy at American schools. Her interviews with more than a dozen white and black teachers and youth in their suburban New Jersey homes and classrooms had a piercing frankness and honesty to them, voices and ideas rarely heard on public radio.” As Solomon bore into the question of why middle class black children lagged so far behind their white classmates, she informed her work with research and direct study with sociologists and anthropologists at Columbia and elsewhere. “It wasn’t until I actually heard the documentary in my car on NPR that I fully understood how unique her contribution to the understanding of race, class and education policy was,” Hancock said. “And I had worked closely with her all year!” rW1 WeB SiTeS — WoulD you like to see what the fall 2009 RW1 classes are writing about? Each class has a Web site where you can read their stories. Here’s a listing of the site names with professors and URLs: The Bronx Ink: LynNell Hancock ’81 http://bronxink.org TheBrooklynInk: Michael Shapiro http://thebrooklynink.com City Beats: Mirta Ojito ’01 http://citybeats.info The Green Standard: Anthony DePalma and Nancy Sharkey ’81 http://greenstandardnyc.com Narrative NYC: Dale Maharidge http://narrativenyc.org Neighborhood Beat Box: Addie Rimmer ’78 http://neighborhoodbeatbox.org New York Globe: Ruth Padawer ’88 http://new-york-globe.org The New York Pulse: Rhoda Lipton ’76 and Elena Cabral ’01 http://thenypulse.com Northattan: Ann Cooper and Betsy West http://northattan.org NY Food Chain: Richard Wald http://rw1wald.cujschool.org NYC in Focus: June Cross and Laura Muha http://nycinfocus.org NYC Sentinel: Chip Scanlan ’74 and Pam Frederick ’96 http://nyc-sentinel.com Queens Rules: Judith Matloff http://queens-rules.org Queens Uncovered: Tami Luhby ’97 http://queensuncovered.com The Uptown Chronicle: Sandy Padwe http://theuptownchronicle.com The Uptowner: Paula Span http://theuptowner.org ZoomNYC: Lennart Bourin ’85 and Dody Tsiantar http://zoomnyc.org 3
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