Election Slate Features Diverse Group of Journalists Calling All China

Home , Adi Ignatius, Mariane Pearl, Minky Worden, New York Press Club, Seymour Topping

THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA, NEW YORK, NY • July/August 2014 Election Slate Features Diverse Group of Journalists by Jane Ciabattari board members, we’re anticipating at Club Quarters, 40 West 45th St. This year the nominating com- a phase of expansion and innovation Election results will be announced mittee’s mission was to nominate as the OPC continues to evolve. at this meeting. To cast your ballot, a slate of candidates, including of- All votes must be entered or you will receive an e-mail from the ficers, with the energy, talent, and received by noon, Tuesday, Aug. journalistic chops to provide the 19. The annual meeting, which is OPC with a link to Balloteer, the on- next generation of leadership for the open to all members, will be held line voting ballot, or call the office OPC. The club’s central challenge is on Wednesday, Aug. 20 at 6 p.m. for a paper ballot at 212-626-9220. to continue to make itself relevant to international journalism. In selecting nominees for presi- Calling All China Hands to Reunion dent and other officers, Active and done as journalists over this sweep Associate board members, we drew EVENT PREVIEW: SEPT. 12 from a range of demographics, ages, of time and what is on the horizon.” and media organizations. We in- The Overseas Press Club, in The Foreign Correspondents cluded candidates who are pioneer- cooperation with the Foreign Cor- Club of China will be represented by ing new digital forms, recent OPC respondents Club of China and the Jocelyn Ford, who is currently based award winners working in the field, Asia Society’s ChinaFile, is orga- in China. The FCCC has become a and many who have led awards com- nizing a China Hands reunion on leading voice arguing that the Chi- mittees. After a robust discussion, Friday, Sept. 12 at Club Quarters, nese government is engaging in a the board approved the following followed by a Chinese dinner at the comprehensive crackdown against slate. We’re grateful to the nominat- nearby Taipei Economic and Cultur- the Western media. ChinaFile.com is ing committee (Alexis Gelber, Bill al Office in New York (TECO-NY). an organization of former correspon- Holstein, Larry Martz, Michael Ser- Any journalist who has covered dents who track Chinese issues and rill and Abi Wright), to all the OPC Greater China or who still covers it is seek to connect China Hands, both members who suggested candidates, eligible to attend with a companion. current and former. and to the nominees who will devote Members of the organizing commit- Beginning at 2 p.m. on Sept. 12, time in the two years ahead. tee are Marcus Brauchli; Dinda El- the organizers plan a series of small As we elect officers, 10 Active liott and Adi Ignatius; Pete Engar- reunions and workshops dedicated to board members and three Associate dio; Jocelyn Ford; Peter Goodman; Tiananmen, Chinese government’s William J. Holstein; Norman Pearl- treatment of the media, coverage of Inside. . . stine; Roy Rowan; Robert Thomson; China’s economic power and simi- Seymour and Audrey Topping; and lar topics. There will be an open bar Election Slate...... 2-6 Minky Worden and Gordon Crovitz. in the Living Room of CQ at 5:30 People...... 7-10 All have served in Hong Kong or the p.m., followed by a Chinese dinner mainland. sponsored by the TECO-NY, located OPC Responds to Egypt Ruling....11 “We think it’s a great time to do a few blocks away at 1 East 42nd this because it’s 25 years after the Street. The proceedings, both formal Press Club Tours Recap...... 12-13 Tiananmen massacre and we have and informal, will be videotaped for Seminar Recap...... 14 several people who were there,” says possible use in a documentary or e- Committee Chair Holstein. “It’s also book. Prison Privatization...... 15 35 years after China’s opening to If you have covered China and TruthDig...... 15 the world. Aside from renewing old wish to attend, contact the OPC of- friendships, we would like to cre- fice at 212-626-9220. The fee for at- New Books...... 16 ate discussions about how we have tendance is $50 per person. 2014 Election Slate PRESIDENT mission at the highest levels. My work MARCUS MABRY with the Eddie Adams Workshop, the I am editor-at-large of The New York Times and a vet- Hondros Fund, and the CPJ helps ensure eran foreign correspondent and editor who has made the the next generation of photojournalists move to digital. At Newsweek, I was Paris correspondent, have the skills, freedom and access to Africa bureau chief and chief of corre- inform and challenge. spondents. I moved to the Times in 2007 The OPC website says one of the as international business editor and spent the club’s aims is “…to work toward better communi- 2011-2013 based in London and Paris, de- cation and understanding among people.” These words vising and editing the blog of the Interna- clearly articulate its goal, echoing mine, of encouraging tional Herald Tribune, IHT Rendezvous. the highest standards of integrity and skills in the re- I have been the Times’s video anchor and porting of news. I welcome this opportunity to advance parachuted into South Africa last year to these principles more broadly through service on the cover Mandela. I edit the homepage of The Times and the OPC Board. Watching aggregation portal. I was the 1999 Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations ABIGAIL PESTA and I serve on CFR’s membership committee. I have won I am an award-winning journalist who has lived and OPC awards and been OPC’s first and second vice presi- worked around the world, from London to Hong Kong. dent. If elected, I will spend the next two years seeking to My investigative and feature reporting has been pub- modernize your OPC and fortify our numbers. lished in global publications including The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, VICE PRESIDENTS NBC News, The New York Times, Ma- PANCHO BERNASCONI rie Claire, New York Magazine, Glam- After 30 years (I started young!) in photojournalism, our, The Atlantic and Newsweek. I I strongly believe that at our very core as journalists is have served as the editorial director a fundamental desire to inform and challenge the world of women’s news at Newsweek and The around us. I have dedicated my career to ensuring pho- Daily Beast, the editor-at-large of Marie tojournalists witness and document the news. I’ve luck- Claire and a news and features editor at The Wall Street ily worked for the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times Journal Asia in Hong Kong. While based in Hong Kong, and Getty Images, where there is a shared belief in that

OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA • BOARD OF GOVERNORS PRESIDENT ACTIVE BOARD Arlene Getz Romesh Ratnesar Daniel Sieberg PAST PRESIDENTS Michael Serrill Jacqueline Albert- Editor-in-Charge Deputy Editor Head of Media Outreach EX-OFFICIO Assistant Managing Simon Digital News Bloomberg Google David A. Andelman Editor U.S. Bureau Chief Thomson Reuters Businessweek John Corporon Bloomberg Markets Politique Internationale Minky Worden Allan Dodds Frank Azmat Khan Martin Smith Director of Global Alexis Gelber FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Amar C. Bakshi Senior Digital Producer President Initiatives William J. Holstein Tim Ferguson JD/MBA student Al Jazeera Rain Media Human Rights Watch Marshall Loeb Editor Yale University Larry Martz Forbes Asia Evelyn Leopold Seymour Topping Abi Wright Roy Rowan Rebecca Independent Journalist Emeritus Director Leonard Saffir SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Blumenstein United Nations Professor of Alfred I. duPont – Larry Smith Abigail Pesta Deputy Editor in Chief International Journalism Columbia University Richard B. Stolley Freelance Journalist The Wall Street Journal Santiago Lyon Columbia University Awards VP and Director of EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THIRD VICE PRESIDENT Paul Brandus Photography Charles Wallace Patricia Kranz Toni Reinhold West Wing Report Associated Press Financial Writer Editor in Charge, OFFICE MANAGER New York Desk Howard Chua-Eoan Marcus Mabry ASSOCIATE BOARD Boots R. Duque Reuters Former News Director Editor at Large MEMBERS Time The New York Times Brian Byrd TREASURER Program Officer Dorinda Elliott Jane Ciabattari NYS Health Freelance Journalist Freelance Writer Foundation NPR.org, Daily Beast Robert Nickelsberg OPC SECRETARY Freelance Sarah Lubman ISSN-0738-7202 Jonathan Dahl Deidre Depke Photojournalist Partner Copyright © 2014 Editor in Chief Journalist and Brunswick Group Overseas Press Club of WSJMoney Author America

40 West 45 Street, New York, NY 10036 USA • Phone: (212) 626-9220 • Fax: (212) 626-9210 • Website: opcofamerica.org OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 2 I ran a team of reporters covering business, technology to help the club to hold more events and to reach out to and culture. I also helped launch the first Asian news bu- the next generation of journalism leaders. reau for WSJ.com. Before that, I was based in London, (Electing 10) running an editing desk for Dow Jones Newswires. I ACTIVE NOMINEES have also worked as an articles editor at Glamour, where JACQUELINE ALBERT-SIMON I am US Bureau Chief and Associate Editor of Poli- I launched Mariane Pearl’s popular column about wom- tique Internationale, and have spent three decades re- en who change the world. porting, analyzing (and agonizing over) US foreign policy for French and other CALVIN SIMS I am currently a foreign affairs columnist for Glo- European readers of PI. I have been a balPost and serve as president and CEO of International frequent guest commentator on French House, which has a mission to train leaders for the global and Canadian TV and radio, and a con- community. I have a deep and abiding commitment to tributor to Figaro Magazine, le Monde, increasing press freedom at home and abroad. French and American Vogue, La Vie My interest in serving on the OPC Board is driven Francaise and a contributing editor to Harper’s maga- by the dire need to improve the quality zine from 1984 to 1992. I attended Davos throughout the and quantity of foreign reporting, espe- 90’s and was a fellow there for two years. cially on social justice issues, at a time I have a Ph.D in Politics and taught International Af- when coverage of international news fairs at NYU and Southampton College for several years. continues to shrink. As an OPC Trustee, I am presently senior resident fellow at The Institute of I would seek to find new and innovative French Studies at NYU, completing my research for a ways to support journalists to undertake study on the structural limitations to democratic evolu- in-depth reporting projects focusing on tion. My dual career as an academic and a journalist in- the complex social and economic changes worldwide, forms my passion for accuracy and truth in words. The including global migration, women’s rights, corruption, OPC’s mission to preserve and reward the highest stan- human trafficking, poverty, and democratic participation. dards of international reporting and freedom of the press I would bring to the OPC two decades of journalis- is ours to maintain. I’ve worked with our board many tic experience, reporting and producing internationally, years, always to preserve and enhance the OPC’s fine across a variety of media platforms, for The New York reputation as a global brand, and hope to be given the Times, PBS, and Discovery, as a foreign correspondent privilege to continue. based in South America, Japan, Korea, and Indonesia. I also have experience funding and building the capacity DEIDRE DEPKE of media organizations as a program officer for the Ford I have been a reporter and editor in New York for 25 Foundation. years, working as senior news editor at Business Week TREASURER magazine, as the foreign editor and an assistant managing editor for Newsweek magazine and as the editor of TIM FERGUSON I am Asia editor at Forbes Media and Newsweek.com and The Daily Beast. post on international topics at Forbes. In addition, I worked as the general com. I joined Forbes as its West Coast manager for TheWeek.com, concentrat- bureau manager in 1995, and served as ing on business development and tech- assistant managing editor from 1998 to nology creation. I currently manage a 2001. Prior to Forbes, I spent 12 years small consultancy that works with new at The Wall Street Journal. I am a mem- media startups, including Tina Brown’s ber of the Council on Foreign Relations. Live Media company and I managed that organization’s digital coverage of the Women in the World Summit this SECRETARY spring at Lincoln Center. JONATHAN DAHL I am running for a second term on the board. I am ad- I am editor of WSJ.Money and a senior editor for ept at creating cost-effective digital products to address The Wall Street Journal’s front page. I organizational goals in engaging and attractive formats. I have spent more than two decades at the am keen to apply my diverse skills to the club’s efforts to Journal, serving as a reporter, columnist refine its digital strategy and step up its Web and social and editor-in-chief for SmartMoney and media presence. Smartmoney.com, the Journal’s personal finance publication. I am hoping (Continued on Page 4)

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 3 (Continued From Page 3) like to help educate a new generation of journalists about the importance of lis- CHRIS DICKEY tening to, reading, and highlighting the I am the foreign editor of The Daily Beast, based in views of a diverse, global population. At Paris. Previously I was the Paris bureau chief for The a time when access to information has Daily Beast and for Newsweek Magazine. I served as the never been greater and people are more Washington Post bureau chief in Cairo, and before that mobile than ever, the OPC plays a vital in Mexico City, where I took my first role in fulfilling its mission to “work toward better com- posting as a foreign correspondent in munication and understanding among people.” 1980. The majority of my 20 years in journalism has been I am the author of four nonfiction in opinion, most recently as the editor of Room for De- books and two novels. With the Con- bate at NYTimes.com, where I edit experts from around

tras (1986), Summer of Deliverance: Peter Turley the world. What I’ve learned during that time is that con- A Memoir of Father and Son (1998); sumers of news love and hate opinionated commentary and Securing the City (2009) were chosen by The New — sometimes simultaneously — and that’s great because York Times as notable books of the year when they were strong emotions help readers (or viewers, or listeners) published. I have written for Foreign Affairs, Vanity Fair, come to more nuanced and inclusive positions on con- and The New Yorker, among other publications. I am a tentious issues. frequent commentator on British, French and American As an opinion editor, I strive to introduce audiences networks. in the U.S. and abroad to ideas that they aren’t hearing from their friends and reading in their Facebook or Twit- RUKMINI CALLIMACHI I am a foreign correspondent for The New York Times. ter feeds. Because, let’s face it, while social media has Before joining the Times in 2014, I spent the previous the power to unite and inform, too often it reinforces our seven years in Africa, covering a 20-country beat as the basic human instincts to follow who and what we know, West Africa bureau chief for The Associ- never straying from our comfort zones. ated Press. My job involved parachuting In an increasingly partisan and fractured society, into countries in the hours after a coup opinion journalism should highlight a range of ideas, un- d’etat, as well as chronicling some of the derrepresented arguments and minority viewpoints, in a continent’s most complex conflicts. My calm and considered manner. And that’s something the stories were twice a Pulitzer Prize final- OPC can, and should, support in the digital age. ist for International Reporting. In 2014, I became the first reporter in the 75-year history of the PETER S. GOODMAN OPC to win two Overseas Press Club prizes the same I am editor-in-chief of the International Business year for my series on al-Qaida based on a trove of confi- Times, overseeing some 150 journalists on five conti- dential al-Qaida documents I recovered in Mali. nents. I want to champion international As a former freelancer who had to claw my way into reporting and ensure that the next gen- a traditional newsroom, I would like to use my term on eration of correspondents is properly the OPC to try to recruit more freelancers to our orga- prepared in a time of enormous transi- nization. With fewer staff jobs available overseas, many tion. The rise of digital and the decline young reporters are spending years as full-time freelanc- of print has damaged international covers, and have little guidance on how to approach bigger erage, with field reporting ditched as an news organizations in order to get their work out. In my unwanted drag on the balance sheet. Yet digital is also a time managing the AP bureau in West Africa, I worked treasure chest of new means of telling stories and con- with many young reporters — and can outline both the necting with readers. I want to reinforce important tradi- traits I saw in successful freelancers, as well as the flaws tional values while embracing the digital future. that doomed the careers of others. We can also work to I’m steeped in both, having begun my career as a create incentives to draw freelancers to the OPC, and de- freelancer in Southeast Asia and then serving as Shang- sign programs that will address their various needs — hai bureau chief for the Washington Post, with reporting from providing affordable health insurance to guidance stints in Iraq, Turkey, and Latin America. I was the na- on covering conflict without the backing of a large news tional economic correspondent for The New York Times organization. during the Great Recession. Then I jumped to the Huff- ington Post, where I ran business and technology cover- SUSAN ELLINGWOOD age, while fashioning the site’s first team of international As a board member of the Overseas Press Club, I’d correspondents.

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 4 CHARLES GRAEBER committed to helping reporters pursue Personally, I’ve found that solid reportage is a lot important international stories unflinch- easier to pull off when someone — or something — has ingly and with the resources required to my back. I’m hoping to join the OPC tradition of being do so. that supportive body, even while seeking fresh means to At a time when freedom of the press recognize and support the brave new world of digital re- is under assault and budgets for global portage. reporting are dwindling, the OPC’s mis- I’m a former winner of the OPC’s 2011 Ed Cunning- sion as an advocate for international journalism has nev- ham Award for Outstanding International Journalism and er been more critical. I learned this from personal experi- a contributor to publications such as The ence in 2009 when one of Newsweek’s correspondents, New Yorker, New York Magazine, GQ, Maziar Bahari, was arrested by Iranian security agents Outside Magazine, Bloomberg Busi- and jailed in Teheran’s Evin prison. Support from or- nessweek, the New York Times, National ganizations like the OPC was indispensable. In my new Geographic Adventure, MIT Technology role at Yahoo, the most heavily trafficked news site in Review and Wired, where I am a contrib- the world, I believe there’s much I can do to advance the uting editor. I spent 8 years reporting my OPC’s interests. non-fiction book The Good Nurse, an Edgar-Nominated New York Times bestseller which comes out in paperback PAUL MOAKLEY this summer. I’ve been a photo editor for the past 15 years and am My journalistic work has also been honored with a currently TIME magazine’s deputy director of Photog- New York Press Club prize, several National Maga- raphy and Visual Enterprise. At TIME, zine Award nominations and inclusion in the 2014 Best I cover national news, elections, and American Magazine Writing, The Best American Crime franchises like Person of the Year. I led Reporting, The Best American Science Writing, The Best the launch of TIME’s award-winning American Business Writing, The Best of 10 Years of Na- photoblog LightBox, with Kira Pollack, tional Geographic Adventure and The Best of 20 Years TIME’s director of photography. Light- of Wired. Also, if anyone reads to the end of these things, Box covers the rapidly changing culture I’m currently on assignment, and writing this from the of photography in the news and around Ugandan border. the world. Previously, I was senior photo editor at News- week and photo editor of PDN, as well as an adjunct pro- AZMAT KHAN fessor of photography at the School of Visual Arts. I’m a reporter and digital producer with Al Jazeera OPC’s mission of striving to support the work of America’s flagship program America Tonight, where I photojournalists resonates deeply with me. Especially in lead its digital team. Previously, I was a correspondent in relation to those photographers who risk their lives cov- Pakistan and a digital producer with PBS FRONTLINE . ering conflict, and who devote their time to underreport- As a committed OPC board mem- ed stories. Journalists like this are as brave as they are ber over the last two years, I’ve worked vital to a free press, and many seem to be in increasing hard to further our mission of advanc- danger. I’ve also been fascinated by the growth of digital ing freedom of the press in places where platforms and social media for engaging, supporting and it’s most under threat: organizing a “Re- discovering new photography. porting in Pakistan” event in D.C. with I hope to bring these perspectives to OPC, and to help unprecedented attendance and leading promote the work of the organization to a wider audience. member participation in projects that highlight censorship in places like Egypt. I’ve also actively recruited younger, more diverse members into the OPC fold, serv- GARY REGENSTREIF Most recently editor-at-large at Reuters and advi- ing as last year’s recruitment chair. sor to the World Economic Forum on media issues, I would like to offer my experience in international news DAN KLAIDMAN coverage and my enthusiasm to help drive the Overseas I am the deputy editor of Yahoo News, where I pro- Press Club forward. vide day-to-day oversight of all editorial operations. I Reuters hired me in my native Canada in 1987 and spent much of my career at Newsweek, as an investiga- sent me on my first foreign assignment to Saudi Arabia tive reporter, foreign correspondent, Washington bureau and Iraq to cover the first Gulf War for three months. I chef and managing editor. For most of that time, I have been deeply involved in foreign coverage and remain (Continued on Page 6)

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 5 (Continued From Page 5) attention to those challenges and provide support to those who may need it. then spent 16 years covering and di- recting coverage of news from Latin ASSOCIATE NOMINEES (Electing 3) America and Europe as a correspondent, BRIAN BYRD bureau chief and head of editorial opera- As a board member seeking a second term, I would like tions for several countries at a time. My to continue the work I started as chair of OPC’s 75th An- assignments in Caracas, Buenos Aires, niversary Committee. Using the anniversary as a vehicle Rome and Paris, overseeing coverage of for activities to burnish OPC’s brand, I initiated several everything from coup attempts to commodities and eco- anniversary-themed initiatives including the Empire State nomics, helped drive home the huge value that the media Building’s special lighting honoring OPC, plays in explaining world events to foreign audiences. discounted and free subscriptions to the I already feel part of the OPC family, having been Council on Foreign Relations’ Foreign head judge of the prize for best reporting from Latin Affairs magazine for OPC members and America for the 2013 and 2014 nominating years. But Foundation Scholars respectively, and I would like to contribute more: by seeking to boost the a Bloomberg News breakfast honoring profile of the OPC, to increase membership, to help fos- Edith Lederer of the Associated Press. I ter more interest in international journalism here and to will continue to build OPC’s brand among add to the efforts to ensure a free and independent press. its members and extended community through events and programs to ensure OPC is seen as an indispensable re- LARA SETRAKIAN source for a very complex world. As an ABC News and Bloomberg Television correspon- Currently, I am a program officer for the New York State dent in the Middle East, I took a pause to focus on redesign- Health Foundation’s Special Projects Fund. Prior to that, I ing news in the digital domain. I felt there worked for the Council on Foreign Relations as its Deputy were more stories to be told, much more Director for Membership. Before that, I was the assistant knowledge to be shared. The tools of tech- communications director for the Rockefeller Foundation, nology gave us a chance to reimagine how where I managed media communications in Europe, Africa, we convey what’s happening in the world. Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the United States. I wanted to put them to work in covering a story I cared about, deeply. That led to the BILL COLLINS launch of Syria Deeply. With it came the I am a communications director at Ford Motor Company birth of what I do now: create news platforms that combine based in New York. A former OPC Board editorial skills and user-centric design. member, I am running for a seat to use my We are in a state of transition, reinventing how we do communications experience to raise the what we’ve always done. That’s a journey I believe in tak- Club’s profile, especially with a new exec- ing together and hope to help shape as a member of the OPC utive director on board. I am a member of board. I am a journalist-turned-entrepreneur, but proudest the OPC’s Freedom of the Press Commit- to simply call myself a foreign correspondent. tee and also serve on the Advisory Panel for the Committee to Protect Journalists. LIAM STACK I am the editor of Watching Syria’s War, a New York EMMA DALY Times multimedia feature that tells the story of the Syrian After almost 20 years as a foreign correspondent and conflict through curated social media and videos made by another seven at Human Rights Watch, Syrians. From 2005 until 2012 I was based in Cairo, where I understand the value of reporting from I covered the Egyptian, Libyan and Syrian revolutions for the ground. We need independent journal- the New York Times. Prior to that I was ists gathering information first-hand in a correspondent for The Christian Sci- order to understand the world around us. ence Monitor, where I covered the late Technology helps us to stay connected Mubarak period and traveled around the but there is no substitute for the eyewit- region. ness account and analysis. We all need I began my career at an Egyptian Eng- the Overseas Press Club — and the OPC needs to recruit lish-language newspaper, where I learned today’s practitioners, including those from newer and in- to speak Arabic with a strong Egyptian ac- novative outlets. cent, and freelanced for several years. As such, I am person- All votes must be received by noon, Tuesday, Aug. ally familiar with the pressures faced by independent me- 19. Annual meeting: Wednesday, Aug. 20 at 6 p.m. dia in authoritarian states and the risks freelancers take in at Club Quarters, 40 West 45th St. the field. As an OPC board member, I would work to draw

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 6 PEOPLE... by Susan Kille [email protected]

OPC SCHOLARS Kathy Gannon of The Associated In honor of his remarkable career Mark Anderson, who won the Press. Niedringhaus, a photographer, in journalism, OPC member Dan 2014 Emanuel R. Freedman Fel- was killed and Gannon, a reporter Rather received the DeWitt Carter lowship from the OPC Foundation, and OPC member, was injured April Reddick Award in April from the began a new job in June covering 4 while covering the lead up to elec- Moody College of Communication global development for The Guard- tions in Afghanistan. The two had at The University of Texas at Aus- ian in London. Anderson, who is flu- worked together repeatedly in Af- tin. Established in 1974, the Reddick ent in Swahili, has a Master’s degree ghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led award recognizes excellence in the in journalism and African studies invasion. An exhibition of Niedring- field of communication. from the University of California, haus’s photos will be on display at Berkeley. the end of July in the club’s lobby in PRESS FREEDOM Washington. To mark World Refugee Day on Haley Sweetland Edwards, June 20, the Committee to Protect a political correspondent in TIME The OPC was well represent- Journalists released its annual report magazine’s Washington bureau, re- ed in June among winners of this on journalists in exile. During the last ceived an honorable mention in this year’s Gerald Loeb Awards. Peter S. five years, CPJ has supported more year’s MOLLY National Journal- Goodman, the editor-in-chief of The than 400 journalists forced to flee ism Prize competition, which hon- International Business Times who is their home countries because of their ors the memory of running for a seat on the OPC board, work. The top countries that journal- Molly Ivins, the won the commentary award for work ists fled in the past five years were legendary reporter, he did at The Huffington Post. Four Iran, Syria, Somalia, Ethiopia, and columnist and for- Loeb awards were presented to re- Eritrea. These countries consistently mer editor of The porters who won OPC awards for the rank poorly on other press freedom Texas Observer. Ed- same work in April. Steve Stecklow ratings. Iran is one of the world’s wards, who won the shared honors for explanatory writ- leading jailers of journalists; Syria 2009 Irene Corbally Sweetland ing for “Assets of the Ayatollah” was the most dangerous country for Edwards Kuhn Scholarship, with his Reuters colleagues, Babak journalists for the past two years; So- was recognized for “He Who Makes Dehghanpisheh and Yeganeh Tor- malia is the most lethal country for journalists in sub-Saharan Africa. The Rules,” an exploration of the bati. “The Shortest Route to Riches” workings and power of the rule- in Forbes won the international Press freedom has been a casual- making process that she wrote for award for Kerry Dolan, who was ty of the offensive launched in June The Washington Monthly. once editor of the Bulletin, and Ra- fael Marques de Morais. Other in north and west Iraq by the Jihadi group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria WINNERS OPC members among the Loeb winners were Cam Simpson of Bloom- that is allied with Sunni tribal groups. berg Businessweek for “Stranded: ISIS has seized media outlets in cap- An iPhone Tester Caught in Apple’s tured territory and Iraqi authorities Supply Chain” and Alex Blumberg have taken a number of measures af- of NPR for “Planet Money Makes a fecting communications, including T-Shirt.” the blocking of social networks and the suspension of telecom services in captured areas. Two weeks after the OPC member Matthew Winkler, start of the offensive, Al-Ahad TV A 2012 photo with Kathy Gannon, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, cameraman Khaled Ali Hamada left, and Anja Niedringhaus and his boss, Michael Bloomberg, in Afghanistan. became the first media fatality when won the President’s Award For Im- he was killed June 17 in Diyala, The Presidents Award of the Na- pact on Media on June 30 at the 56th northeast of Baghdad. Al-Ahad TV tional Press Club is presented “only Annual Southern California Media is linked to the Shiite Islamist group on special occasions” and requires Awards Ceremony sponsored by the Kutla Asaib Ahl Al-Haq. approval of the club’s Board of Gov- Los Angeles Press Club. Winkler at- ernors. On July 30, the award will tended and spoke, but Bloomberg be given to Anja Niedringhaus and appeared only on video. (Continued on Page 8)

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 7 (Continued From Page 7) ing inciting “civil disobedience” and in his home office in Concepción by After 32 years of publication, the “harming state security.” Her charg- a gunman who entered and then fled. Ecuador newspaper Hoy ceased dai- es were later reduced but she served Fernández had just returned home ly publication June 30, blaming gov- a year longer than Saidat Mukak- after hosting his radio program “City ernment harassment and a related ibibi, a colleague who was arrested of Fury,” which was harshly critical advertising slowdown. Hoy, known with her. of local judges, lawyers, and offi- as an opposition paper, will publish cials. online and has plans for a weekly Press freedom organizations wel- print edition. According to CPJ, the comed the U.S. Supreme Court’s Elisabeth Blanche Olofio, a ra- government of President Rafael Cor- unanimous ruling on June 25 that dio journalist in the Central Africa rea has stifled independent media the police need warrants to search Republic, died June through the Communications Law, the cellphones of people they arrest. 23 from injuries an “official straightjacket on the “Today’s decision closes a danger- sustained during a press” adopted last summer. Earlier ous loophole faced by journalists brutal January 2013 in June, Hoy and three other news- who use mobile devices for news- attack by armed reb- papers were accused of violating the gathering and reporting,” said Geof- els who accused her Communications Law for not pro- frey King, CPJ Internet advocacy of having “a sharp coordinator. “Under the old rule, viding what the government viewed tongue.” The rebels Olofio as adequate coverage of Correa’s an officer could search a reporter’s attacked and de- two-day trip to meet with Chile’s electronic devices with an arrest for stroyed Olofio’s home, reportedly in president and received an honorary any alleged minor offense.” response to her reporting. university degree. If the papers are found guilty, they could be fined MURDERS Yusuf Keynan, a Somali jour- Three Russian journalists were thousands of dollars. nalist, was murdered June 21 when killed in June in eastern Ukraine. a bomb planted under the seat of his Anatoly Klyan, a cameraman for car exploded as he started the vehi- Russia’s Channel One TV station, cle to travel to work in Mogadishu. died June 29 after a bus he was Keynan, who worked for privately traveling in was at- owned Radio Mustaqbal and a U.N. tacked by gunfire. humanitarian station, is the second Klyan was on a bus journalist to be killed this year in So- of mothers traveling malia. to a military base in Donetsk to demand Nilo Baculo Sr, a Filipino radio that their sons be al- Klyan journalist who was denied protection lowed to go home. in 2008, was gunned down June 9 by According to re- a gunman on a motorcycle as he was ports, Ukrainian forces opened fire going home in Calapan, in the cen- when the bus approached the mili- tral province of Mindoro Oriental. tary base. Two correspondents from Baculo, who made many enemies Imprisoned Rwandan journalists VGTRK, a Russian central televi- because of his investigative coverage Saidati Mukakibibi, left, and sion and radio broadcasting compa- Agnès Uwimana Nkusi. of crimes and irregularities involv- ny, special correspondent Igor Ko- ing local officials, had been granted rnelyuk and sound engineer Anton Rwandan journalist Agnès provisional protection after he was Voloshin, were killed June 17 during Uwimana Nkusi was freed June 18 told in 2008 that a price had been put a mortar attack near Luhansk while after serving a four-year sentence on his head. An appeals court later filming a report about militias help- on charges prompted by her report- rescinded the order for lack of evi- ing to evacuate refugees from the ing. Her unflinching commitment dence and Baculo went into hiding, combat zone. to information freedom led Report- although he continued working. ers Without Borders on May 3 to The June 9 death of Edgar Pan- name her one of 100 “information UPDATES taleón Fernández Fleitas, a radio freedom heroes.” Nkusi, who had Daniel Sie- host and a lawyer, was the second MUSCAT, Oman: written articles critical of President berg, an associate OPC board mem- murder within a month of a journal- Paul Kagame, initially faced up to ber, was the keynote speaker in June ist in Paraguay. Fernández was killed 17 years in prison on charges includ- for a reception for the top individual

OPC Bulletin • April 2012 • Page 8 and institutional clients of Oman Arab Bank. Sieberg, who had been a Potential Move Within Tokyo for the FCCJ technology reporter for ABC News, Big changes are definitely afoot for the Foreign Cor- CBS News, CNN, BBC News and respondents’ Club of Japan, judging from what President the Vancouver Sun, is a senior mar- Lucy Birmingham has been writing in her columns in the keting manager at Google. He spoke Number 1 Shimbun, the club’s official publication. The about using technology to achieve a OPC has reciprocal privileges with the FCCJ, which has balance between productivity and ef- long been one of the finest press clubs in the world. ficiency. In the March issue, Birmingham wrote that the club Birmingham may be moving from the Yuraka- LONDON: Beverly Pepper told cho Denki Building to the Tokyo Sta- The Telegraph in London that Cur- tion area, where Mitsubishi Estate, tis Bill Pepper, a long-time OPC a member of the powerful Mitsubi- member who died in April, was shi empire, is offering the club sec- “the perfect husband. He was never tions of the 5th and 6th floors of a threatened by my work. He did ev- planned building complex. And re- erything to make it possible and I did flecting the fact that American and everything for him. We were a good Western news organizations have team.” At 91, Beverly still works as a dramatically reduced their presenc- sculptor and opened her first show in es in Tokyo, Birmingham noted that London in July at Marlborough Fine the club is launching a membership Art. Her work has been collected by campaign. New associates will be major museums around the world. given a roughly $700 credit on the Her site-specific pieces include three fee to join and members will receive cast iron sculptures called Manhat- $100 to $200 dining vouchers for Mitsubishi Estate is based in the tan Sentinels that stand in New York new member introductions. Otemachi Building, the proposed new location for the FCCJ. City’s Federal Plaza. The Peppers Then in the May issue, Birming- made their home in Italy, where Bill ham describes how the club has won governmental permission to be- worked for United Press, CBS News come a public interest incorporated association. It’s not immediately clear and Newsweek before becoming an what that means but it seems to suggest that the FCCJ is no longer or- author. ganized as a press club controlled by journalists. “We’re feeling the pain- ful effects of an imploding media industry and shrinking journalist num- PARIS: For the first time, a wom- bers,” she wrote. “But I also believe the FCCJ is in a transition period, an will head the global news opera- after surviving wars, recession, corrupt and ineffective governments, and tion of Agence France-Presse, which even crippling attacks from within our own membership.” Members, most- has 2,260 journalists spread across ly Western journalists, have filed a number of lawsuits against the club for, almost every country. Michèle Léri- among other things, firing the previous bar and restaurant staff and out- don, who joined the news agency in sourcing those functions. 1981, was named to replace News — by William J. Holstein Director Philippe Massonnet, who announced he was stepping down “The KT is the youngest returned in March for a for personal reasons. Léridon, who newspaper for this fast short stint at The Cambo- will begin her new job Aug. 1, has growing nation,” Brooke dia Daily. Brooke, who been Rome bureau chief since 2009. wrote in an e-mail. “Only has reported from almost She has worked in senior positions at two months old, the pa- 100 countries, was a cor- AFP’s Paris headquarters and in Af- per has a lot of energy, a respondent for The Times rica, including as Abidjan deputy bu- lot of color, and a lot of in Africa, Latin America, reau chief, deputy editor-in-chief for enthusiasm. Making the Canada, Japan and the Europe and Africa, head of the social KT a must-read in Cam- Koreas. This year he left affairs service and as managing edi- bodia’s competitive me- tor from 2006 to 2009. dia market is going to as bureau chief for Voice be a lot of fun!” Brooke Brooke rides on back of America in Moscow, of a motorcyle driven where he moved in 2006 PHNOM PENH: OPC mem- first visited Cambodia in by Cambodia Daily re- ber James Brooke in July became 2004 on assignment for porter George Styllis. to report for Bloomberg. editor-in-chief of The Khmer Times. The New York Times. He (Continued on Page 10)

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 9 (Continued From Page 9) Financial Times with plans to return home to London. As U.S. managing editor since September 2012, he oversaw print and online editions in North America and led the FT to numerous honors, including a Ger- ald Loeb Award. Gillian Tett, who Dickson succeeded in 2012 when she went on book leave, is return- ing as managing editor. Dickson has held senior writing and editing Barry Hatton, left, and Axel Bugge positions at the FT and has won numerous awards, including Business David Muir was the OPC Awards pre- celebrate the publication senter at this year’s gala in April. of their book. Journalist of the Year and Best Opin- anchor for breaking news coverage: In ion Writer of the Year in Business LISBON: that job will go to George Stepha- foreign postings, Journalist of the Year Awards and a nopoulos, a co-host of “Good Morn- competitors often Wincott Foundation award as Senior ing America” and the host of the become friends Financial Journalist of the Year. Sunday talk show “This Week.” but rarely col- laborators. Now, Mike Pride, the former edi- senior correspondents for two tor of The Concord Monitor, will of the world’s replace Sig Gissler in September biggest news as the administrator of the Pulitzer agencies have Prizes. Pride served together written Lisbon Water Kills, four times as a ju- a crime novel set during the Portu- ror for the Pulitzers OPC members Sonya Fry, and was a Pulitzer guese financial crisis. The authors Martin Dickson, Charles Wallace are Axel Bugge, who has reported and Sarah Lubman at Dickson’s board member from from Portugal for Reuters for nine retirement party. 1999 through 2008. years, and Barry Hatton, who cov- Gissler, former editor of the Milwau- ered the country since 1977 for The Sonya K. Fry may have stepped kee Journal, over- Associated Press. down as executive director of the Pride OPC but she says she doesn’t want saw the prizes for WASHINGTON: The News- to step away from the many friends 12 years, succeeding Seymour Top- eum in June added the names of she made during 20 years with the ping, an OPC board member and 10 journalists to a memorial now club. She can be reached at her per- former managing editor of The New listing 2,256 journalists who have sonal e-mail [email protected]. York Times who held the post from died while covering the news since 1993 until 2002. 1837. International organizations OPC member David Muir, who that work to protect journalists have served as presenter at this year’s counts that range from 70 to 120 OPC awards banquet, will succeed for journalists killed in 2013. Gene Diane Sawyer on Sept. 2 as anchor Policinski, Newseum chief operat- of “ABC World News.” Muir has ing officer, said the decision to limit been a lead correspondent for the the number of names was made this ABC on major news stories, a week- year because the expansion of digital end anchor and since 2011 served as media makes it difficult to determine Sawyer’s chief substitute. Sawyer who is a journalist and who has died will become a full-time anchor for pursuing the news. investigative reports and major inter- views. Muir will continue to anchor Sig Gissler, left, is toasted by OPC Board member Seymour Topping NEW YORK: Martin Dickson, ABC’s magazine show “20/20.” In during a reception honoring Gissler’s a former OPC board member, retired a break from tradition, the “World appointment as administrator of the in June from a 37-year career at the News” anchor will not be the lead Pulitzer Prizes in 2002.

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 10 OPC Condemns Sentencing of Journalists in Egypt by Susan Kille The OPC’s Freedom of Press The OPC raised its voice in Committee released a statement the international outrage con- calling the sentences “outrageous demning the conviction and and based on unacceptable stan- prison sentences that an Egyptian dards of evidence.” court delivered June 23 to three “Indeed, the so-called proofs Al Jazeera America journalists of their crime include at least one found guilty of aiding the Mus- doctored photograph and innocu- lim Brotherhood and conspiring ous videos that have absolutely to broadcast false reports of civil nothing to do with their work in strife. Egypt. In the meantime, the con- The journalists, who have From left: Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, ditions under which the trio are been jailed since their arrest in and Baher Mohammed, appear in a defendant’s kept are inhumane and cruel,” the December, said they had done cage in a courtroom in Cairo, Egypt, on June 23. committee said. nothing more than report on the “The OPC of America joins unrest that has shaken Egypt in the last year after the journalistic colleagues the world over and the govern- military deposed the elected president, Mohamed Morsi. ments of a multitude of free nations in condemning this More than 16,000 people are in jail for political reasons travesty of justice. We demand the reversal of the judg- and more than 1,000 have been killed during protests. ments today and, more importantly, the immediate re- Peter Greste, an Australian citizen, and Mohamed lease of Greste, Fahmy and Mohamed.” Fahmy, a Canadian citizen, were sentenced to seven Shortly after the verdict Egyptian President Abdel years. Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian citizen, was sen- Fattah el-Sisi, the former general who led the 2013 coup, tenced to 10 years because of an added charge for pos- said he would not interfere in the judicial process by par- session of ammunition: a spent police bullet casing he doning the journalists. A week later, however, an Egyp- found during a protest and kept as a souvenir. tian newspaper reported Sisi saying he wished the three All three are seasoned and respected journalists. Fah- had been deported and not tried. “The verdict had very my previously worked for CNN, The Los Angeles Times negative effects,” the newspaper quoted Sisi. and The New York Times; Greste had worked for the The defendants may appeal the verdict, but the pro- BBC and is now in Egypt; and Mohamed had worked for cess could take years. The Asahi Shimbun. In a separate case, Abdullah Al-Shami, an Al-Jazeera Other defendants were convicted in absentia and correspondent held in Egypt without formal charges sentenced to 10 years, including British journalists Sue since August 2013, was freed June 17. Shami, who had Turton and Dominic Kane and Dutch journalist Rena been on a hunger strike for 140 days, was released with Netjes. 12 other detainees on health grounds. Tough Environment Forces Press Club Belarus to Operate From Poland by Alexandra Kirby spondents, and to keep policymakers to reach one-tenth of the population. Since it opened in 2011, Press and experts up on current trends in Self-censorship is rife. If the Club Belarus has operated in neigh- Belarus. Ministry of Information issues two boring Poland, under the wing of But the journalists in Warsaw warnings within one year to one or- Press Club Polska. Poland’s capital, represent only a part of the Belaru- ganization, it will be forced to close Warsaw, is home to a sizeable com- sian media community. pending a trial. The Internet is the munity of Belarusian journalists who Inside Belarus, there are around only area where independent media work primarily for Belsat, an inde- 30 independent media outlets at- is developing faster than state media. pendent satellite TV station, or Euro- tempting to survive in a tough en- Although no journalists are in pean Radio for Belarus. Due to free- vironment. Forced to pay higher prison for political reasons, these dom of speech issues, neither media prices for printing and distribution “lighter,” more subtle repressions can be based in Belarus. than state media, often denied ac- nevertheless take their toll, both on To date, Press Club Belarus cess to the state distribution service, individuals and on the general health meetings in Warsaw have served to and with a de-facto ban on advertise- of the independent media. integrate Belarusian journalists with ments, independent media is depen- Perhaps more dangerous than Polish journalists and foreign corre- dent on foreign grants, and only able (Continued on Page 13)

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 11 Press Freedom Groups Court Press Clubs for Partnerships

EVENT RECAP

by Patricia Kranz International organizations promoting press freedom met with the OPC and other members of the Internation- al Association of Press Clubs in Vienna in mid-June to network and brainstorm about possible partnerships. Index on Censorship, based in London and the inspi- ration of the poet Stephen Spender, combines journalism, campaigning and advocacy to defend freedom of expres- sion. They support journalists, writers, social media us- ers, bloggers, artists, politicians and more. “We highlight violations and celebrate the projects fighting to overcome such oppression,” said Vicky Bak- er, deputy editor of the Index on Censorship magazine, From left: Lily Hindy of RISC, Sonya Fry, which was started in 1972 to publish the untold sto- Patricia Kranz and OPC member Michelle Betz. ries of dissidents behind the Iron Curtain. “We would love to hear from Overseas Press Club members in the US with story ideas.” She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]. The latest issue of the magazine includes a look at “Generation Wall” – the young people who grew up in a free eastern Europe, written by 23-year-old Tymoteusz Chajdas from Poland. Vicky and Patricia Kranz of the OPC are exploring the possibility of hosting a joint event via an online linkup such as Google Hangouts or Skype. International Media Support works with journalists and media in countries affected by armed conflict, political transition and civil unrest. Susanna Inkinen, the IMS’s media advisor, has spent 12 years in Afghanistan. She left the conference early to get back to Kabul in time for the presidential election in mid-June. RISC demonstration with Pascal Mora and Lily Hindy. Following the election, hundreds of Afghans pro- IAPC meeting, where she and colleague Pascal Mora tested against alleged fraud and tensions rose between demonstrated how journalists can use RISC’s medical kit ethnic groups. In an effort to prevent Afghan media from to save injured colleagues. fueling tensions further through impartial and inaccurate Journalist Sebastian Junger founded RISC after his reporting, the IMS-founded Afghan Journalist Safety close friend and colleague, Tim Hetherington, died from Committee succeeded in securing commitment from wounds while covering the Libyan conflict. RISC’s four- more than 50 Afghan media outlets to adhere to guide- day training program is free to qualified applicants. lines on how to report professionally on the elections in The Media Legal Defense Initiative supports journal- this violent post-election context. ists, bloggers and independent media in the courtroom Inkinen believes that safety and risk management rather than the battlefield. It pays legal fees and works techniques should be part of the professional toolkit of every journalist traveling in war zones. “Safety is about with individual lawyers around the world or with nation- do’s and don’ts, understanding the local context, good al organizations that provide legal aid to journalists. “We conflict-sensitive reporting, basic first-aid skills and are successful in 73 percent of cases,” said John Barker, practicing secure communication,” she told the press chief operating officer. The MLDI either won cases on club representatives. appeal, or the charges were dropped. The safety of freelance journalists is the major focus The work of the International Press Institute is well of RISC, which stands for Reporters Instructed in Sav- known to many OPC members. IPI’s “Death Watch” ing Colleagues (RISC). With financial support from the tracks journalists who are targeted because of their pro- OPC, RISC Deputy Director Lily Hindy traveled to the (Continued on Page 13)

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 12 Federation of Press Clubs Gathers in Jerusalem ing for access and the club decided to give priority to EVENT RECAP Latin American broadcasters in light of the fact that Pope Francis is the first pope from the by Sonya K. Fry Americas. Jerusalem, of course, is not in European Clubs in attendance Europe. Why, then, was the an- were Brussels, Geneva, London, nual meeting of the European Milan, Vienna and Warsaw, with Federation of Press Clubs held in France sending the most represen- the ancient holy city in early June? To recognize the Jerusalem Press tatives from clubs in Paris, Mont- Club’s admission into the Federa- pellier and Pas-de Calais. The tion as a full member. Polish Club of International Col- The young club reached an- umnists and the Overseas Press other milestone a few weeks later, Club attended as observers. when the International Associa- The Brussels club urged the tion of Press Clubs voted to grant Sonya Fry takes in the view from the club of European Federation to work with full membership to Jerusalem at its the ancient walls of Jerusalem. the newly established Africa, Ca- annual meeting in Vienna. ribbean and Pacific (ACP) Press The club, with breathtaking views of the walls of the Clubs to promote journalism standards and press free- Old City, offers foreign journalists the use of state-of- dom. the-art communications equipment, a restaurant, meeting Each press club representative discussed its programs rooms and a guesthouse. and problems. The OPC recounted the activities sur- During the European Federation meeting, the Jeru- rounding the celebration of its 75th anniversary, includ- salem Club’s staff were preparing for the visit of Pope ing the lighting of the Empire State Building in OPC- Francis the following week. Television stations were vy- blue.

(Continued From Page 12) (Continued From Page 11) fession. It also is one of the economic and legal repressions is inertia. Many journalists most active media advoca- are so focused on their own survival (and have been for the cy groups. In late June, for last twenty years) that they do not think about professional example, it sent a letter to development. This could be helped by something as simple Egypt President Abdel Fat- as regular small, informal discussions with colleagues. In tah El-Sisi, calling on him addition, it is hard for some to see the world outside, to to pardon the convicted Al understand how Belarus fits into various global trends, and Jazeera journalists. Chris- to benefit from being an active member of the international tiane Klint of IPI reported media community. For these reasons, despite potential obstacles, Press that 43 journalists had been Club Belarus has decided to hold meetings in Minsk. The killed by mid-2014, com- first, in June, offered an international perspective, sparking pared with 122 in all of a debate on why Belarus is always overwhelmingly associ- 2013 and 133 in 2012. ated with the dictatorship in the international media, and Concordia Ball The IAPC conference what can be done to improve the overall quality of report- was hosted by Vienna’s ing on Belarus in world media. Special guests were a Span- 155-year-old Pressclub Concordia. Attending were ish laureate and a Polish jury member from the third edition representatives of press clubs from Warsaw, Berlin, of Press Club Belarus’ international journalist competition London, Brussels, Switzerland, South Asia, Belarus, — ‘Belarus in Focus 2013’. Ukraine, Jerusalem and Mongolia. Patricia Kranz A series of Press Club Belarus meetings in Minsk are and Sonya Fry represented the OPC. now planned from October — to share best media practices Highlights of the meeting included an exhibition with guests from other countries, as well as inside Belarus. titled Media and War 1914-1918 and the formal Con- We invite anyone who would like to share their experi- cordia Ball held in Vienna’s beautiful gothic Rathaus ence with Belarusian colleagues to get in touch. Contact: (City Hall). Alexandra Kirby ([email protected]).

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 13 Stecklow Shares Old and New Muckraking Tips EVENT RECAP: JUNE 23 by Chad Bouchard In journalism, nothing has changed and everything has changed. That was the core message of an Overseas Press Club seminar with Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Steve Stecklow of Reuters on Monday, June 23, at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. A video of the event will be posted on the OPC website, the first of what we hope will be a robust archive of training exercises. Along with his team at Reuters, the veteran reporter credit won a 2013 Malcolm Forbes Award for a three-part series exposing an obscure Iranian organization, headed by Steve Stecklow of Reuters shares investigative tips. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that amassed tims of Setad’s property seizures. Fortunately for jour- a $95 billion empire largely from confiscated property. nalists, the tools to do so have grown more powerful in And they did the whole series without setting foot in Iran. Iran forced Reuters to close its Tehran bureau in recent years. 2012, so Stecklow had to use every trick in his bag to By tuning the settings of a premium account on chase down sources and documents for what he said LinkedIn, and using advanced Google searches to pen- was the most challenging project he’d ever worked on. etrate websites, he tracked down sources that proved Stecklow, who works at Reuters London bureau, blended critical to the story. He used archive.org’s Wayback Ma- shoe-leather wisdom with some of his best digital trade chine to examine how Iranian websites appeared in the secrets during the seminar. “With investigative reporting, past. By scraping a Persian auction site with a program the three tools are persistence, persistence and persis- for Apple devices called SiteSucker, he found examples tence,” he told attendees. of confiscated properties that Setad had sold off. With Stecklow launched the six-month investigation into domaintools.com, he found website registration informa- the financial juggernaut known as Setad by hunting tion that included phone and email contact information down former employees of the shadowy organization for Setad’s headquarters. and its holdings. He said ex-employees are more likely Once Stecklow and his team — which included Ba- to talk freely and usually still have contacts at their pre- bak Dehghanpisheh and Yeganeh Torbati — located vious job. Such people often squirrel away “CYA files,” he said, like contracts and other internal documents that sources, they traveled widely to meet in person outside could prove useful after they leave. He managed to ob- of Iran. “It’s still better to talk to them face to face, and tain a PowerPoint presentation that outlined the entire that hasn’t changed at all,” he said. structure of Setad, including names and job titles of ex- How did he feel about his digital sleuthing? “As a ecutives. citizen, I’m outraged by how all this information is out As with all stories, he said, most of the work focused there, but as a reporter it’s the greatest gift of all time,” on tracking down primary documents, sources and vic- he said.

(Continued From Page 16) reporter Henry Stanley, remembered for his grueling search through Africa for the 24/7 news coverage. missing British explorer Dr. David Living- “Sometime between the American Civil stone. The focus is primarily on two giants War and the Spanish-American War, it be- of New York newspapering, the Herald and came understood by many young men that the New York Tribune. being a war correspondent was the greatest Patton is a historian and a novelist who job in the world,” Patton writes. wrote The Pattons, a family memoir that Patton allows the era’s vibrant reporters includes his grandfather, George S. Patton, to speak again. Although they were legends another general who had issues with the in their time, that are largely unknown to- press. day with the exception of New York Herald Henry Stanley in 1890. — by Susan Kille

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 14 A Growing U.S. Export: Prison Privatization OPC FOUNDATION SCHOLAR UPDATE also using the site to fund their reporting. Investigative journalism isn’t cheap, but it’s essential by Hannah Rappleye — perhaps more so now, in the age of shrinking news- Decades of tough-on-crime policies and the drug war rooms and budgets. With editors sometimes hesitant to have made the United States the world’s expert in lock- devote resources to complicated stories, it is often dif- ing people up. The statistics are disturbing. We have only ficult for independent journalists to find funding to carry 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of out in-depth work. its prisoners. We incarcerate a greater percentage of our When Beacon Reader asked us to head this project, African-American population than South Africa did at we jumped at the chance. We were able to raise enough the height of apartheid. One out of every 31 Americans is to plant the seed for our coming year. We hope to ex- under some kind of correctional supervision. amine a range of topics, including juvenile justice and But those statistics only tell part of the story. While the incarceration of women, from Georgia to California. mass incarceration is one of the most pressing issues fac- ing the US, it remains vastly underreported. Thanks to an We’ll tackle these issues from an investigative perspec- innovative experiment in funding journalism, my report- tive, bringing the unintended consequences of policy and ing partner and I are trying to bring these issues to light. reform to light. This summer, Lisa Riordan Seville and I are launch- We’d like to do more. While the US has the lion’s ing a yearlong effort to examine our country’s criminal share of prisoners, we’re also exporting our prison poli- justice system. Our long-form and feature stories will be cies. Privatization of corrections, for example, is now an published on Beacon Reader, a new publishing platform international trend. In the US, mass incarceration has a for journalism. Beacon’s model combines crowdsourc- ripple effect, spreading from prison cells to neighbor- ing as a way to raise funds — like Kickstarter — with a hoods, to doctor’s offices, to schools. What does that subscription-based publishing platform. mean for the rest of the world? Hopefully, with more From entrepreneurs in Somaliland to climate change, funding and more readers, we’ll be able to answer that the stories on Beacon Reader are diverse. Both freelanc- question. ers and national outlets, such as the Center for Investiga- For more information, see beaconreader.com and tive Reporting, are using it to raise funds for individual http://bit.ly/1k3MYt8 stories and larger projects. Readers can subscribe to a Hannah Rappleye was the 2011 IF Stone recipient journalist for as little as $5 a month, or donate more to for an essay she wrote about housing and inequality in help sustain a project. Some international freelancers are South Africa. Truthdig Launches Network for Top Female Journalists by Chad Bouchard under duress with its Courage in said journalists outside the country Women reporting on oppression, Journalism Award, and 22 women investigated her disappearance. “If corruption and conflict in turbulent have garnered the organization’s there hadn’t been attention on her, countries face unthinkable risks. De- lifetime achievement accolades. the world wouldn’t know she’s being spite this bravery, they often struggle Some recipients were killed while held right now.” to get their voices heard. working in war zones, including Ma- The project, Global Voices: To bring their reporting to a glob- rie Colvin and Anna Politkovskaya, Truthdig Women Reporting, pub- al audience, news website Truthdig while others survived detention and lished its first story on June 23. In has paired up with the International mistreatment. International media the project’s debut piece, retired Women’s Media Foundation to fos- attention can work as a protective Pakistani journalist Zubeida Mustafa ter a network of award-winning fe- shield against persecution for jour- described how strong women in her male writers and curate their reports nalists challenging powerful forces. country forge ahead in the face of for international readers. Kaufman cites as an example violence and cultural roadblocks. “These people feel it’s a calling Gao Yu, a Chinese journalist who Seven of the other IWMF laure- to expose what they think is corrupt, was jailed on charges that she “pub- ates have enlisted as future contribu- and that’s noble to me, and worthy lished state secrets” in 1993. She tors to the project. A $40,000 grant of attention,” said Zuade Kaufman, won an IWMF award in 1995 and from the NoVo Foundation will pay Truthdig’s publisher. was later released, citing her award for the pieces and support a training Since 1990, the IWMF has hon- as a factor. She was quietly arrested program for cub reporters to learn ored 79 female journalists working again in May this year, but Kaufman from mentors in their own countries.

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 15 teachings of the church and became to serve as editor of The Deseret New Books members, as did Hughes when he News in Salt Lake City and is now WESTERN EUROPE was an adult. a professor of communications at OHN HUGHES, AN OPC Hughes and his parents moved Brigham Young University. J member and a former president of to South Africa after World War the American Society of News Edi- II. At 16 he was hired by the Natal NORTH AMERICA tors, writes about his extraordinary Mercury in Durban and soon began ELL BEFORE BREAKFAST: career and the importance for report- working for the Christian Science H America’s First War Correspon- ers to be on the ground In Paper Boy Monitor, which sent him to America, dents Making History and Head- to Pulitzer [Nebbadoon Press, June]. Africa, and Asia. He won a Pulit- lines, from the Battlefields of the Hughes recounts an zer Prize in international Civil War to the Far Reaches of the early lesson in reader hab- reporting in 1967 for his Ottoman Empire [Pantheon, April] its while as a boy in 1930s coverage of the attempted by Robert H. Patton takes the first London he delivered an Communist coup in In- part of its title from an unflattering array of morning newspa- donesia in 1965 and the remark about reporters attributed to pers that ranged widely in purge that followed, which William Tecumseh Sherman. style, content and target left more than 200,000 Patton makes clear that corre- audience. Customers were people dead. An investiga- spondents have thick skins and the angry to receive the wrong tion into narcotics traffick- ability to deal with situations and newspaper. ing won a 1970 editors more fearsome It was also as a boy that OPC award for than unkind words from a Hughes was introduced best reporting general. Readers are taken to The Christian Science Monitor, from abroad. from Bull Run and An- where he spent 24 years and was During the Reagan tietam to the bloody pre- editor from 1970 to 1979, including administration, he was a World War I conflicts of three years as editor and publisher. State Department spokes- the Franco-Prussian War, His mother’s employer gave the man, served as assistant the collapse of the Paris family a copy of Science and Health, secretary of State and ran Commune and the Russo- the textbook written by Mary Baker the Voice of America. Turkish War of 1877 to Eddy, the founder of Christian Sci- Under President George 1878. ence. His parents began to study the H. W. Bush, he chaired a Telegraphs and trans- presidential-congressional panel on atlantic cables revolutionized 19th international broadcasting. In 1995, century journalism by allowing U.N. Secretary General Boutros newspapers to publish same-day re- Boutros Ghali named Hughes assis- ports by correspondents in far-flung tant secretary-general and director of places, just as the Internet has re- communications. made today’s journalism by bringing Upcoming Events He was the first non-Mormon (Continued on Page 14) Annual Election Deadline: Noon, Aug. 19 Overseas Press Club of America 40 West 45 Street Annual Meeting New York, NY 10036 USA 6 p.m. Aug. 20

The OPC Is Going Green! China Hands Starting in September, the OPC Bulletin will be e- Reunion mailed to members. This will save the club thousands From 2 p.m. Onward of dollars a year on printing and postage costs as well Sept. 12 as help the environment. If you wish to continue to receive a printed copy of the Bulletin through the post By-Law Amendment office, e-mail [email protected] or call the Change Vote Deadline: OPC at 212 626-9220 and we will be happy to send it Noon, Sept. 17 to you.

OPC Bulletin • July/August 2014 • Page 16