THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA, NEW YORK, NY • December 2014 Journalists Debate How to Improve Freelancers’ Safety Smith, founder of The EVENT RECAP Frontline Club; Ben de By Patricia Kranz Pear, editor of Channel and Millicent Teasdale 4 News (UK); Emma The OPC traveled to to Beals, an independent participate in Part II of our series, co- multimedia journalist sponsored with the Frontline Club, covering Syria and Iraq; on how to freelance safely. On Tues- and David Williams, day, Nov. 18, OPC President Marcus deputy global news edi- Mabry joined panelists in a follow-up tor at Agence France- Patricia Kranz of a discussion that kicked off in New Presse (AFP). Left to right: Vaughan Smith, Ben de Pear, Marcus York at the end of October. The panel Beals and freelance Mabry, Emma Beals and David Williams during a addressed standards of pay, training journalists in the audi- panel in London on Nov. 18. requirements, and how to clarify the ence complained about The Syrian conflict spurred AFP responsibilities of freelancers and low pay rates and lengthy delays to develop a new approach to work- their clients. in getting paychecks. “You have to ing with freelancers. “We were some- As many major news organization pay them more than $300 for 1,000 what taken aback by the risks people close foreign bureaus, freelancers are words from Syria,” said Beals. “It’s a were willing to take,” said Williams. called on more and more to cover professional work force with unpro- Now AFP treats freelancers like a global conflicts. They face risks often fessional wages. Low wages com- member of the AFP team, with more without the structure, training and re- promise safety.” For a recent story, financial backup and safety train- sources that come with having a large she said she had to cover her expens- ing. “We will not accept production media outlet behind you. es, which were twice the rate she was from freelancers where we don’t dare “There has been a lag by news getting paid, with a promise of reim- to venture ourselves,” he said. “We organizations in protecting people in bursement months later. (Continued on Page 5) danger zones,” Mabry said. “We are working with organizations to create standards.” Expert Panel to Read 2015 Tea Leaves Other panelists were Vaughan Levi has covered a range of top- EVENT PREVIEW: Dec. 17 ics during the course of his work, What big international news from energy policy and climate Inside. . . stories might be in store for 2015? change to national security. Wood Book Night Preview: Roger Cohen..2 The OPC and global risk consul- has a broad background that in- tancy Control Risks are co-hosting a cludes energy security, food secu- Screening Preview: ‘Rise of ISIS’....2 breakfast panel at 7:45 a.m. at Club rity, development banking, anti-cor- Quarters on Wednesday, Dec. 17 to ruption and defense. Recap: Global Muckraking...... 3 discuss views on geopolitical chal- Michael Moran, the Control Remembering Luke Somers...... 4 lenges and business developments Risks’ chief macro risk analyst, will that may emerge next year. present the firm’s RiskMap, its an- People Column...... 6 Speakers include Michael Levi, nual survey of business risk in the director of the Center for Geoeco- coming year. Press Freedom Update...... 10 nomics at the Council on Foreign Peter S. Goodman, OPC board Q&A: Chriss Swaney...... 11 Relations; and Jonathan Wood, head member and editor-in-chief of the of the global issues desk for Control International Business Times, will New Books...... 12 Risks. moderate the discussion. Book Night: Roger Cohen OPC to Screen ‘Rise of ISIS’ EVENT PREVIEW: JAN. 14 EVENT PREVIEW: JAN. 22 Join us at Club Quarters on The OPC will hold a special screening of “The Rise Wednesday, Jan. 14 for a book night of ISIS,” a documentary written and produced by Martin with New York Times columnist Rog- Smith, a member of the OPC’s board of governors. A er Cohen on his upcoming memoir, Q&A with Martin will follow the hour-long screening. The Girl From Human Street. The The program, which aired on PBS’s Frontline in book follows his family’s upheaval October, investigates factors that fed the brutal re- from Lithuania to , Eng- gime’s rise, including the political chaos that ensued land, the and Israel as after U.S. forces pulled out of the country, and policy they face degrees of anti-Semitism and intelligence missteps that paved the way for ISIS and grapple with otherness. to gain a stronghold in Syria and Iraq. The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. The screening gets underway at Club Quarters at 6:30 p.m. A discussion with Smith will follow at 7:30 OPC MIXERS AT THE HALF KING p.m. A word of warning: This film contains graphic imagery of war and extreme violence. With two sucessful mixers under our belts, The Half King Bar and Restaurant in Chelsea has rapidly become the place to be for mem- bers and guests on OPC nights. Come and meet old and new members over cheap eats and beverages -- and bring your foreign newsie friends along as well. Our next two events are scheduled for Thurs- day, Jan. 15 and Thursday, Feb. 19. Both will get underway in the back room of the bar from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., when OPC members and guests will get a 20 percent discount on food and drink. Thanks to OPC board member Liam Stack for planning this fun event series.

OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA • BOARD OF GOVERNORS PRESIDENT ACTIVE BOARD Azmat Khan Martin Smith Emma Daly PAST PRESIDENTS Marcus Mabry Jacqueline Albert- Investigative Reporter President Communications EX-OFFICIO Editor-at-Large Simon BuzzFeed News Rain Media Director Michael Serrill U.S. Bureau Chief Human Rights Watch David A. Andelman Politique Internationale Dan Klaidman Liam Stack John Corporon FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Deputy Editor Reporter Daniel Sieberg Allan Dodds Frank Calvin Sims Rukmini Callimachi Yahoo News The New York Times Senior Marketing Alexis Gelber President and CEO Foreign Head of Media Outreach William J. Holstein International House Correspondent Evelyn Leopold Seymour Topping Google Marshall Loeb The New York Times Independent Journalist Emeritus Larry Martz SECOND VICE PRESIDENT United Nations Professor of Abi Wright Roy Rowan Abigail Pesta Jane Ciabattari International Journalism Executive Director, Leonard Saffir Freelance Journalist Columnist Paul Moakley Prizes Larry Smith BBC.com Deputy Director Graduate School Richard B. Stolley THIRD VICE PRESIDENT Photography and Charles Wallace of Journalism Pancho Bernasconi Chris Dickey Visual Enterprise Financial Writer Columbia University EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Vice President/News Foreign Editor Time magazine Awards Patricia Kranz Getty Images The Daily Beast, ASSOCIATE BOARD Paris Robert Nickelsberg ­MEMBERS OFFICE MANAGER TREASURER Freelance Brian I. Byrd Boots R. Duque Tim Ferguson Peter S. Goodman Photojournalist Program Officer Editor Editor-in-Chief NYS Health EDITOR Forbes Asia International Lara Setrakian Foundation Chad Bouchard Business Times Co-Founder & CEO SECRETARY News Deeply Bill Collins OPC Deidre Depke Charles Graeber Director, Public & ISSN-0738-7202 Journalist and Freelance Journalist Business Affairs ­Copyright © 2014 Author and Author Ford Motor Comapny Over­seas Press Club of America

40 West 45 Street, New York, NY 10036 USA • Phone: (212) 626-9220 • Fax: (212) 626-9210 • Website: opcofamerica.org OPC Bulletin • December 2014 • Page 2 You are Invited: To the OPC Holiday Party Wednesday, January 7 Come join us from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Club Quarters at 40 West 45th Street. The event will be held in the dining room.

The party features an open bar with wine and beer, hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, filet of Atlantic salmon, roast turkey and dessert and coffee.

The cost is $30 per person. Advance Reservations Are Essential. Please call the OPC office 212-626-9220 or email [email protected].

Schiffrin Digs Up Pivotal Stories in ‘Global Muckraking’

EVENT RECAP subject. One story doesn’t make a difference. There By Chad Bouchard have to be other groups of society that really want to In Global Muckraking, Anya Schiffrin gathered change something,” she said. investigative journalism from far-flung corners into Photos of starving children in Bengal that were pub- an anthology that spans more than a century of vital lished in 1943, for example, caused public outcry and reporting. pressured Western nations to deliver food aid. On the Schiffrin, the director of the media and communica- other hand, Gareth Jones’s reporting on famine in Rus- tions specialization at Columbia University’s School of sia in the early 1930s didn’t cause much reaction abroad, International Affairs, searched dusty archives and mold- likely due to geopolitical barriers. ering newsprint to collect 47 pieces dating as far back as “Information alone is not enough. If there are huge the 1880s. She then invited 40 journalists, experts, ac- economic and political forces stopping change, informa- tivists and academics to introduce the stories and place tion doesn’t necessarily do much.” them in context. She said beginning with the earliest investigative re- She discussed the project with OPC guests during ports, she found a strong relationship between activists a book night in the dining room of Club Quarters on and journalists, and the boundary between them was of- Dec. 1. ten fuzzy. The anthology covers a vast array of muckraking In 1904, E.D. Morel published a seminal book detail- topics, including death squads, trafficking, police bru- ing brutality in the Belgian Congo called King Leopold’s tality, abuse of women, anti-colonial movements, cor- Ghost, which set in motion what Schiffrin called the ruption and famine. “first modern human rights campaign.” Morel launched Many of the introductory essays in Global Muckrak- a newspaper and exposed conditions that sparked share- ing explore how much impact individual stories or cam- holder outrage and lawsuits. paigns have after publication. She said some sparked Robert Friedman of Bloomberg News moderated the critical change and reform, while others never seem to discussion. He contributed an introduction in the book gain ground. to a piece he edited for Fortune magazine, “Chocolate’s “Clearly there has to be a lot of journalism on one (Continued on Page 5)

OPC Bulletin • December 2014 • Page 3 Murder of Luke Somers Brings Risks Into Focus Again By Susan Kille Dec. 6 condemning Somers’ murder and extending “There is a new war on journalists,” says Alber- condolences to his family. to Ibargüen, president of the John S. and James L. “We pledge to work tirelessly to support and to Knight Foundation. He is correct. help equip and protect our members and our col- “Today’s terrorists will kill a journalist not to stop leagues in these times when belligerents are target- a story, but to create one,” Ibargüen told journalists ing journalists because they are journalists,” the OPC gathered in New York 10 days before kidnappers in statement said. “In an increasingly connected world, murdered few duties are as American photojour- crucial as shin- nalist Luke Somers ing light into dark during a failed Dec. places and bring- 6 rescue attempt by ing that informa- U.S. commandos. tion to a global Speaking at the community. We annual Internation- will do all we can al Press Freedom to help those dedi- Awards dinner of cated to doing so the Committee to and to strengthen Protect Journalists, them in pursuit of Ibargüen said terror- this mission.” ists killing journal- Somers went ists while making Undated Facebook profile photo to Yemen to teach use of social media American photojournalist Luke Somers was shot and killed along with English and be- are the most visible South African teacher Pierre Korkie during a failed U.S. raid came a freelance part of a new war on on a terrorist compound on Dec. 6. journalist who journalists but they covered Yemen’s 2011 uprising and aftermath. He are not the only concern. had covered events for Al Jazeera, the BBC and The “A new boldness courses through closed govern- New York Times, but was remembered by friends for ments, up and down the military chain of command,” his work trying to capture the everyday concerns of he said, “and in the minds of criminals and autocrats everywhere.” regular people. U.S. officials said Somers and a second hostage, A chilling piece by Gregory Johnsen, 2006 win- South African teacher Pierre Korkie, were killed by ner of the OPC Foundation’s David R. Schweisberg their captors, militants from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Memorial Scholarship, about his near abduction and Peninsula (AQAP), who realized a rescue effort was harrowing escape in was published in Novem- underway. It was the second attempt by the U.S. to res- ber by BuzzFeed, where Johnsen is the first Michael cue Somers in less than two weeks. On a video released Hastings Fellow. “In our world, evil typically wears Dec. 3 showing Somers, an AQAP leader threatened to a mask.” Johnsen wrote. “It stalks about in disguise, execute Somers within three days if demands known by peeking out through the cracks in our humanity. We the U.S. government were not met. rarely see it or recognize it when we do, but on that The execution threat by AQAP followed the mur- morning in Sanaa it was unmistakable.” der of five Western hostages since August by the Is- The Nov. 26 dinner where Ibargüen spoke about lamic State, which controls parts of Syria and Iraq. a new war on journalists raised more than $2.7 mil- Two American journalists, James Foley and Steven lion for CPJ’s worldwide press freedom advocacy. Sotloff, American aid worker Peter Kassig and Brit- The dinner itself brought in a record $1.9 million and ish aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines were Ibargüen, dinner chairman, announced a commitment all beheaded. of $858,000 from the New Initiatives Fund, a new Somers was kidnapped in September 2013 while network of funders including the Knight Foundation. walking on a street in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, but the A special appeal during the evening raised $235,635. media did not report his abduction or captivity be- At the dinner, Diane Foley, the mother of James cause his family thought publicity would put him in Foley, said: “Jim’s life challenges us to continue his greater danger. passions for freedom of the press and commitment to The OPC’s Board of Governors issued a statement those in poverty or ravaged by war.”

OPC Bulletin • December 2014 • Page 4 (Continued From Page 1) WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS don’t want to encourage freelancers to take risks Max Becherer Jamie L. Tarabay that our own journalists won’t take.” Photojournalist Britain’s Channel 4 requires freelancers to take Senior Staff Writer Polaris Images Al Jazeera America a hostile environment awareness course. “It is ab- Active Overseas solutely a tragedy that we have got to the stage Active Resident where freelancers get their heads cut off,” de Pear Carmen Cuesta Roca said. “In Bosnia, journalists became targets. Now Journalism Graduate they are prizes. It’s a different world.” Program Vaughn Wallace NYU Deputy Photo Editor Smith said he is astounded by the number of Student freelancers he meets who have not been on a hos- Al Jazeera America Active Resident (Young) tile environment training course. The Frontline Michael Moran Club did a survey of freelancers who are members Foreign Affairs Columnist of its Frontline Freelance Registry. “A third said Global Post Bryan Walsh they thought that the editors they dealt with didn’t Active Resident give a fig about their safety,” he said. Foreign Editor (Reinstatement) Time Magazine Active Resident (Continued From Page 3) Alberto Riva World News Editor International Business Bittersweet Economy,” about child labor and other Times Jonathan Woods human rights violations on plantations in West Afri- Active Resident Senior Editor ca. The piece was a follow up to reporting six years Time earlier that had exposed terrible working conditions. Austin Schiano Active Resident (Young) But when Friedman sent Christian Parenti to the Center for Global Affairs Ivory Coast to check on progress, he found that not NYU much had changed. Student Pierce Wright “The advocacy programs that had been set up Max Seddon Managing Editor monitor labor conditions never really got traction,” Foreign Correspondent Getty Images he said. “There were 8-year old kids who were BuzzFeed News Active Resident spending their days picking and cracking open co- Active Resident (Young) coa beans. It was pretty depressing.” Schiffrin said cross-border collaborations be- tween foreign and local reporters often help to am- derwritten by philanthropists,” she said. plify stories with better shock value abroad. Minky Worden, the director of global initiatives for “Often it’s the outsider who doesn’t have the prob- Human Rights Watch, said for advocates and human lems of access jour- rights campaigners, the tim- nalism, isn’t beholden ing of reports and investiga- to the sources, who tions is critical. can take the story and “You use all the tools that keep hammering on you have at the time you have and on.” them,” she said. “In a way the Schifrin said many professions have merged and small publications now campaigners must think with investigative like editors.” desks are currently Worden asked Schiffrin if popping up around information overload made the world, funded it harder for people to spend not by advertising or their attention “bandwidth” subscriptions, but by Chad Bouchard on long-form investigative wealthy individuals Anya Schiffrin presenting a slide about an 1886 story from journalism. who believe in good India in Global Muckraking titled “Slavery “We have to believe that journalism. in the British Dominion.” changing the conversation “History has taught us that these outlets may not last, can lead to changes,” Schiffrin said. “And what journal- but right now there’s lot of journalism that’s being un- ists can do is change the conversation.”

OPC Bulletin • December 2014 • Page 5 PEOPLE... By Susan Kille [email protected]

OPC SCHOLARS the weeklong fellowships designed Jonathan Jones, who won the to deepen understanding and report- 2009 Harper’s Magazine Schol- ing of traumatic events through arship in Memory of I.F. Stone, seminars and discussions at Colum- teamed up with T. Christian Miller bia University with colleagues and and Marcela Gaviria to produce a experts in trauma science and jour- multiplatform investigation called nalism practice. Rageh, a roving “Firestone and the Warlord” about correspondent for Al Jazeera Eng- the secret relationship between the lish, has been covering Nigeria and American tire company Firestone Kenya for the past year, including NASA/Bill Ingalls (flickr) and the infamous Liberian warlord the aftermath of brutal attacks by the Jorge Ramos speaking at the Na- Charles Taylor. A 90-minute docu- armed groups Boko Haram and Al tional Press Club in Washington, DC. mentary aired on Frontline and a Shabab, and their impact on people’s The Committe to Protect Journal- 20,000-word multimedia report pub- lives. ists granted the Univision anchor lished on ProPublica will become an a lifetime achievement award in e-book and a series of original digi- November. WINNERS Nov. 26 with the Burton Benjamin tal shorts. William Daniels, a French pho- Memorial Award for his lifetime tographer who works for the Lon- commitment to press freedom dur- Jacob Kushner, winner of the don agency Panos Pictures, was ing the annual International Press 2013 Nathan S. Bienstock award, awarded the fourth annual Tim Freedom Awards dinner of the Com- and his writing partner Tom Mur- Hetherington Grant. Jobard’s win- mittee to Protect Journalists. He was phy, spent a year digging into the ning project, “Roots of Africa’s presented the award by OPC mem- failures of a $1.42 billion project Unholy War,” was shot in the Cen- that was supposed to end the water ber Christiane Amanpour, dinner tral African Republic. The grant of host and international correspondent crisis in Tanzania. Working with 20,000 euros, or about $25,000, was The GroundTruth Project and Glo- for CNN. For work described in the established by Human Rights Watch October Bulletin, four journalists re- balPost and funded by the Galloway and World Press Photo to celebrate Family Foundation, they produced ceived International Press Freedom the life of Tim Hetherington, a a four-part series published on Glo- Awards: Aung Zaw of Burma, Sia- photojournalist and filmmaker who balPost in November that examines mak Ghaderi of , Ferial Haf- bled to death in Libya in 2011 after what went wrong and what those af- fajee of South Africa and Mikhail being hit by a piece of shrapnel. Af- fected are doing to survive. Zygar of Russia. Nguyen Van Hai, ter hearing fast action would have a Vietnamese blogger who was re- kept Hetherington alive until he Rawya Rageh, who won the leased in October after two years in 2006 Dan Eldon Scholarship, has re- reached a doctor, Sebastian Junger prison, received his 2013 press free- ceived a Dart Center 2014 Ochberg honored his friend and colleague by dom award in person and called for Fellowship. Thirteen senior and establishing Reporters Instructed in the release of journalists worldwide. mid-career journalists who have Saving Colleagues to train journal- specialized in covering violence, ists in life-saving techniques. Junger The Rory Peck Awards, which conflict and tragedy were awarded and Hetherington shared in the 2007 honor freelance news camera opera- OPC David Kaplan Award for an tors, were presented in November in ABC News-Nightline report from London. Pacôme Pabandji from the the Korengal Valley in . Central African Republic won the Hetherington died eight days before news award for “CAR: Descent Into he was to serve as co-presenter at Chaos.” The features award went to OPC’s 2011 Awards ceremony and a group of six anonymous camera- receive a citation for his own pho- men from North Korea, who were tography under fire in Afghanistan. trained during trips to China by the

Zeinab Mohamed (flickr) Japanese journalist Jiro Ishimaru Rawya Rageh speaking to Egyptian Jorge Ramos, co-anchor of the and produced a film, North Korea: Major General Etman during a evening newscast “Noticiero Univi- Life Inside the Secret State, that of- conference in 2011. sion” on Univision, was presented fered a rare look into a secretive na-

OPC Bulletin • December 2014 • Page 6 tion. British freelancer Ben Steele today. Calvin Sims, first vice presi- years with UPI and , in Pitts- received the Sony Impact Award for dent of the OPC and president and burgh and then New York, Lluberes Hunted, which explores the world CEO of International House, was a joined the former U.S. Information of Russian vigilante gangs who, en- judge for the award. Agency in 1984 as the Latin Ameri- couraged by anti-homosexual leg- can and Caribbean news editor and islation, catch, humiliate and abuse UPDATES spent the next 11 years covering sto- gay victims. The Martin Adler Prize, KABUL, Afghanistan: Rod ries throughout the hemisphere. He which recognizes the dedication Nordland, a longtime-OPC member also served as the spokesman for the and talent of freelancers who work who is bureau chief here for The United States at the Expo ’92 world’s under challenging circumstances in New York Times, has landed what fair in Seville; national spokesman in their own country, was awarded to people in publishing call a “major Spanish for the former Immigration Palestinian freelance journalist, fix- deal.” He has signed with Harper- and Naturalization Service; public af- er and translator Khaled Abu Gha- fairs field director for the Department li, who has covered intense periods of Housing and Urban Development; of conflict in Gaza, most notably in public affairs chief of the Bureau of 2006, 2009, 2012, and last summer. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Ex- The Rory Peck Awards, sponsored plosives; and, since 2007, as director by Sony, were established in 1995 of communications for intelligence and named after freelance camera and analysis and a senior adviser at operator Rory Peck, who was killed the Department of Homeland Se- in Moscow in 1993. curity. He will spend the winter in Cabo San Lucas, sailing and visiting

Evan Osnos, a two-time OPC Penn State (flickr) friends throughout the Caribbean, award winner who spoke in Sep- Rod Nordland receiving the Distin- and then relocate to Barcelona in the tember at the China Hands Reunion guished Alumni Award at Penn State. spring to research and write a book co-hosted by the on his family’s history. OPC, received the Collins imprint Ecco to write a book non-fiction prize at tentatively titled The Lovers, to be ATLANTA: Ronda Robinson the 65th National published next fall about an Afghan has joined the Ebola communica- Book Awards for couple that married for love despite tions response team at the Centers Age of Ambition: death threats from her family and for Disease Control and Prevention

Chasing Fortune, Lesley Topping criminal charges from authorities. It in Atlanta as a writer and editor. She Truth, and Faith in Osnos is a Romeo and Juliet story. She is is the author of Beyond Politics: In- the New China. Os- Tajik and Sunni Muslim; he is a Haz- spirational People of Israel, which nos reworked reporting he had done ara and a Shiite. Nordland won a Pu- was published in 2011. for The New Yorker’s “Letters From litzer Prize in 1983 for his work in China” feature and added to it to Cambodia, Vietnam and East Timor NEW YORK: Matthew Win- trace China’s journey from poverty for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He kler is being replaced as editor to a world power. won the OPC’s Ed Cunningham in chief of Bloomberg News at Award in 1999 for best magazine the beginning of 2015 by John Gary J. Bass won the Arthur writing from abroad while working Micklethwait, who has been edi- Ross Book Award and its $15,000 for , where he was chief tor in chief of The Economist since prize from the Council on Foreign foreign correspondent. He joined the 2006. A Dec. 9 announcement from Relations for the best book pub- Times in 2009 was named Kabul bu- Bloomberg said Winkler will as- lished in 2013 about international af- reau chief in 2013. sume the new title of editor in chief fairs for The Blood Telegram: Nixon, emeritus and work on strategic ini- Kissinger, and a Forgotten Geno- WASHINGTON: Andrew L. tiatives with Michael R. Bloom- cide. In the book, Bass, a professor Lluberes, a mem- berg, who will return to the helm of at Princeton University, presents the ber of the OPC his eponymous company in 2015 first full account of since 1974, is set- after serving 12 years as mayor of and Henry Kissinger’s secret support ting sail following New York. Winkler left The Wall in 1971 for Pakistan as it committed 30 years of ser- Street Journal in 1990 to become atrocities in Bangladesh that led to a vice to the country founding editor of Bloomberg war between India and Pakistan with and 50 years in the News, where he built a global news workplace. After 12 major strategic consequences for Lluberes Department of Homeland Securrity (Continued on Page 8)

OPC Bulletin • December 2014 • Page 7 Addario, Jonathan Randal and chairman of CBS Sports. Fager’s ap- (Continued From Page 7) Charles Sennott. pointment as chairman was in part organization with 2,400 reporters Jim Gaines, a member of the seen to provide experienced leadership and editors in more than 150 bu- OPC Foundation board, is leaving and to mentor Rhodes, who joined reaus. Micklethwait will oversee Reuters where last December he CBS from Bloomberg News. Fag- editorial content across all Bloom- was named global editor at large. er’s full-time return to “60 Minutes,” berg platforms, from the news post- Gaines, a former top executive and where he has had a long association, ed on its terminals to its newslet- editor at Time Inc. who was manag- was not considered a surprise. ters and the articles in Bloomberg ing editor of Time, Life and People Rita Cosby, an OPC member and an Emmy-win- ning TV and radio host, celebrated her 50th birthday as the guest of honor at the Wounded Warrior

Gala Nov. 17 at The Commons Wikimedia Hotel Edison in New Cosby York. Geraldo Rivera of Fox News was master of ceremonies at the star- studded party benefiting support ser- vices and programs for injured veter- ans. Cosby, a special correspondent for CBS’s Inside Edition, wrote movingly about the life of her veteran father in Quiet Hero: Secrets From My Father’s

Sprint Flatiron Prow Art Space, courtesy of the curator Cheryl McGinnis Sprint Flatiron Prow Past, a bestseller published in 2010. Anthony Shadid’s helmet-turned-collage on display at an exhibit in the Flatiron building. A group of journalists who cre- ated the Ed Kennedy Pulitzer Project is again trying to convince Pulitzer Businessweek. He has been with magazines, joined Reuters in April Prize administrators to posthumous- The Economist since 1987 and had 2011 as editor, ethics, standards and ly bestow the prestigious award to previously served as business edi- innovation based in New York. Af- Ed Kennedy, a former Associated tor and United States editor. ter five months he became editor, Press reporter who reported the un- Americas, followed by three years conditional surrender of Germany a An art exhibit about war report- as editor in charge, global photog- day ahead of his competition. Kenne- ing that includes press credentials, raphy. In a note to colleagues he dy defied the military’s instructions reporting notes, business cards said: “I will be leaving Reuters at to withhold the story until a public and other mementos contributed the end of the year. I have a book announcement was made. He was by OPC members and other war- to finish, there are interesting jobs vilified by his peers and fired by AP. zone journalists is on display in a in the offing, and, though I take no The campaign began after the 2012 street-level gallery at the prow of great pleasure in leaving, the time publication of Kennedy’s book, Ed the Flatiron building on 23rd St. is right.” Kennedy’s War, and an apology by in New York. Artist Cindy Kane Tom Curley, an OPC member who collected mementos from 50 jour- Jeff Fager in November said he was then CEO of AP, who said AP nalists and collaged the material would step down as chairman of CBS was wrong to fire Kennedy. Curley to Vietnam-era steel helmets. The News to return as full-time execu- wrote the book’s introduction with show is dedicated to the memory tive producer of “60 Minutes.” David John Maxwell Hamilton, an OPC of OPC member Anthony Shadid, Rhodes, the president of CBS News member and the founding dean of who sent Kane a under Fager, will assume leadership the Manship School of Mass Com- medallion, old currency and press of the division but his title will not munication at Louisiana State Uni- badges before he died in 2012 change. Fager and Rhodes were ap- versity. The group’s nomination of while on assignment in Syria for pointed in February 2011 after Sean Kennedy for a Pulitzer in 2013 failed The New York Times. Also contrib- McManus stepped down as chairman but it is asking award administrators uting from the OPC were Lynsey of CBS News to focus on his role as to reconsider its decision this year.

OPC Bulletin • December 2014 • Page 8 IRIN, an United Nations news Dec. 11 while on assignment in Li- Lester Bernstein, who died agency, was about to become a vic- beria. Marty Baron, executive edi- Nov. 27 at his home in Lido Beach, tim of the humanitarian crises it tor of The Post, said du Cille suf- N.Y., was a former top editor of writes about when it was rescued by fered a heart attack and collapsed Newsweek who also wrote for The the Jynwel Foundation, a charitable during a hike from a village where New York Times, served as a foreign foundation backed by the family correspondent for Time magazine of Hong Kong billionaire Jho Low. and while working at NBC, helped A tight budget from increasing aid organize the first televised debate needs caused the U.N. to cut funding between presidential candidates. He to IRIN as of Dec. 31. In November, was 94. His wife, Mimi, whom he the Jynwel foundation said it would had been married to for 65 years, put up $25 million over 15 years to died eight days earlier. Bernstein save the agency, originally known was Newsweek’s chief editor from as Integrated Regional Information 1979 to 1982 and also was a theater Networks. With an audience of aid columnist for The Times; a Rome workers, academics, government and London correspondent for Time; Keith Jenkins (flickr) staff and members of the media, Michel du Cille speaking to students and a senior Newsweek editor in the IRIN serves as sort of a trade pub- at Ohio University during a sympo- 1960s and ’70s. As vice president lication for the $22 billion humani- sium on photojournalism of NBC in 1960, he worked with tarian industry. It also has syndica- and new media. members of CBS, ABC and the tion deals with the Guardian and Al he had been covering the Ebola staffs of then-Vice President Rich- Jazeera. crisis. Du Cille, who won two Pu- ard M. Nixon and then-Sen. John F. litzer Prizes for photography with Kennedy to arrange the historic 1960 Jon Stewart is not a journalist but the Miami Herald in the 1980s, television debates. His three surviv- as host of the popular “The Daily joined The Post in 1988 and shared ing children are journalists: Nina Show” on Comedy Central, Stew- his third Pulitzer in 2008, with Post Bernstein, a reporter of The Times; art ranks as a key news source for reporters Dana Priest and Anne Lynn Brenner, a personal finance many young Americans. With the Hull, for a series on the treatment journalist; and Paul Bernstein, a release in November of Rosewater, of veterans at Walter Reed Army former Washington Post editor. Stewart’s first movie as a director, Medical Center. He served as The he is drawing his wide audience Post’s director of photography and Richard Eder, who died at age to a story about the dangers jour- as an assistant managing editor 82 on Nov. 21 in Boston, joined The nalists face working in repressive before returning to be a full-time New York Times in 1954 as a copy regimes. Rosewater was adapted photographer, the job where he said boy, reached his goal of becoming from a memoir by Maziar Bahari, he was most comfortable. His work a former foreign correspondent and a London-based journalist, about his covering Ebola put him in the news then made a shift to arts critic. He incarceration in Iran. Bahari won in October when Syracuse Univer- won a 1987 Pulitzer Prize for his OPC’s 2009 Joe and Laurie Dine sity withdrew an invitation for him book reviews in The award for best international report- and his wife Nikki Kahn, also an Times. His first foreign assignment ing dealing with human rights. award-winning photojournalist at for The Times was as Latin America The Post, to review portfolios at a correspondent and he interviewed A new fellowship at the Arthur L. journalism conference. Although Fidel Castro in Havana in 1964. Dur- Carter Journalism Institute at New du Cille was symptom free after a ing various postings in Europe, he York University will allow interna- 21-day monitoring period follow- wrote about a Greek military coup, tional journalists to pursue a mas- ing a return from Liberia, univer- unrest behind the Iron Curtain, strife ter’s degree in one of 10 reporting sity officials told him not to come in Northern Island and a rebellion concentrations over a 16-month pe- because of fears about Ebola. “I am that deposed the fascist government riod. The deadline to apply is Jan. 4. disappointed in the level of journal- of Portugal. He was bureau chief in ism at Syracuse, and I am angry Paris from 1980 to 1982. He was a PEOPLE REMEMBERED that they missed a great teaching theater and film critic for The Times Michel du Cille, a 58-year-old opportunity,” du Cille said at the in the late 1970s before moving to Washington Post photojournalist, time. “Instead they have decided The Los Angeles Times as book critic. winner of the OPC’s John Faber to jump in with the mass hysteria.” In 1987 he won both the Pulitzer and award in 2000 and a three-time Baron said du Cille had returned to the National Book Critics Circle’s ci- winner of the Pulitzer Prize, died Liberia two days before his death. tation for excellence in reviewing.

OPC Bulletin • December 2014 • Page 9 PRESS FREEDOM UPDATE... By Susan Kille Free press advocates are increas- cerned” that charges were brought have drawn international attention ingly outraged over the continued and that not allowing Rezaian to to violence against journalists and its detention in Iran of Jason Rezaian, speak to a lawyer was a “clear viola- impact on press freedom. The vast an Iranian American who is bureau tion of Iran’s own laws and interna- majority of journalists killed, how- chief in Tehran for The Washington tional norms.” ever, have deaths that go largely un- Post. Rezaian and his wife, also a jour- marked. They local journalists report- More than four months after be- nalist, were arrested along with an- ing on issues of importance to their ing detained on July 22, Rezaian was society, including corruption, crime brought before a judge Dec. 6 in Teh- and human rights. The Committee to ran to hear charges against him. A re- Protect Journalists reports that in 90 quest for bail was denied. The court percent of cases since 2004, there is appearance came two days after word “total impunity – no arrests, no pros- arrived in the West that a continuing ecutions, no convictions.” investigation would extend Rezaian’s detention until mid-January. These deaths were reported since Rezaian was not allowed to speak the last OPC Bulletin: to a lawyer hired by his family. His family, lawyer and employer said ● Fernando Raymondi, a jour- after the hearing they did know the nalist working at Peru’s leading charges lodged. newsmagazine who was investigat- As of Dec. 8, Rezaian had been ing contract killings, was at his fa- imprisoned for 137 days, the longest ther’s grocery in a town south of the time Iranian authorities have held other couple, a photographer and capital city of Lima, on Nov. 9 when any Western correspondent. OPC her husband. The three others were two gunmen burst in. The father told member Roxana Saberi, an Amer- released. reporters that although the gunmen ican-Iranian journalist who works In the U.S., the House of Repre- were told where the money was kept, for Al Jazeera America, was held for sentatives adjourned without voting one gunman shot Raymondi twice in 100 days in Iran in 2009 on charges on what would have been the first the chest and then the pair fled on a of espionage. She says she believes major reform of the Freedom of In- motorcycle without taking anything. international pressure helped lead to formation Act since 2007. The Sen- Raymondi died on the way to the her release. ate on Dec. 8 unanimously approved hospital. the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014 and sent the bill to the House, which ● Shortly after telling a friend he passed a similar bill without dissent feared his life was in danger, Abdiri- earlier in the year. sak Ali Abdi, a freelance journalist Among other provisions, the in Somalia, died Nov. 18 after being Senate’s FOIA Improvement Act of shot in an attack by two unidenti- 2014 would have codified President fied individuals at a restaurant in the ’s requirement for fed- Puntland town of Galkacyo. Abdi eral agencies to act with a “presump- covered local politics for Puntland- tion of openness,” make it easier to based Radio Daljir and HornCable access federal information electroni- TV in Somaliland. cally and limit the ability of agencies to withhold documents after 25 years. ● MNV Shankar, a senior re- Jason Rezaian When the bill came back to the porter for the Telugu language daily House, however, members were newspaper Andhra Prabha in India, Rezaian’s mother said she re- caught up in a $1.1 trillion spend- died early on Nov. 26, from head ceived a surprise telephone call from ing bill and did not take action on the injuries incurred when unknown as- her son on Thanksgiving and that he FOIA bill. A hold placed on the bill sailants attacked him with iron rods told her he had been instructed to say by Jay Rockefeller, the retiring West as he returned from work late at night he had been treated well. Virginia Democrat, kept the Senate to his home in the Guntur district of After Rezaian’s court appear- from voting until Dec. 8. The House Andhra Pradesh. The Indian Journal- ance, Secretary of State John Kerry adjourned Dec. 11. ists Union and local journalists said called for the journalist’s immediate The murders of American free- they suspect Shankar’s coverage of a release in a statement that said he lancers James Foley, Luke Somers black market in rationed kerosene oil was “deeply disappointed and con- and Steven Sotloff in the Mideast was the motive for the killing.

OPC Bulletin • December 2014 • Page 10 Meet the OPC Members: a Q&A With Chriss Swaney By Susan Kille Chriss Swaney has more than 20 years of experience as a reporter and editor for national and international publica- tions, including Reuters, UPI, The New York Times and Gannett. She spent 13 years as at Carnegie Mellon Uni- versity as its media relations and public relations director for the College of Engineering.

Current Job: Managing editor for Dick Jones Commu- nications, a boutique public relations agency in the Pitts- burgh region that works to tell great stories through ideas. The firm primarily focuses on areas that intersect with higher education.

Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa. Courtesy of Chriss Swaney Education: Duquesne University, BA Degree in Journal- Chriss Swaney interviews Dan Rooney, chairman of ism and Master’s in Marketing Communications. the Pittsburgh Steelers and former U.S. ambassador to Ireland, about his book My 75 Years with the Pittsburgh Languages: French and German. Steelers and the NFL. Northern Ireland where I was stopped by British troops First Job in Journalism: Worked as a general assign- near a former IRA bomb site. I was asked what my reli- ment reporter for the Greensburg Tribune-Review News- gion was and I responded: “I’m an agnostic.’’ The British paper in Greensburg, Pa. My first assignment was a chew- commander called me a “smart ass’’ took my camera, de- ing tobacco contest at the county fair where I promptly stroyed all my film and then released me. won the contest but was sick for a week from swallowing tobacco juice. My journalism heroes: Ernie Pyle who had a wonderful ear for the laconic remark, and who covered the “Greatest Countries I’ve reported from: Northern Ireland, Great Generation,’’ which included my late father who served Britain, South Africa, Germany and Japan. as a Marine Corps aviator in the Pacific theater of World War II. And journalists Danny Pearl, James Foley and When I joined the OPC: I joined the OPC about 20 Steven Sotloff who paid the ultimate price for trying to years ago because the organization offers a great oasis for bring some journalistic civility to a lawless, brutal region reporting and taking stock of one’s assignments from a of the world. wonderful cache of partner clubs in just about every ex- otic foreign location one could imagine. Advice to journalists who want to work overseas: Es- tablish a safe house, know your contacts, learn the lan- Best advice about journalism received: I had the great guage, get reliable drivers and translators, and get in and fortune to meet ’s William E. out quickly. Blundell when I was a business reporter in Alaska. Bill thanked me for being a “great Alaskan guide’’ and also How has a background in journalism helped in other admonished me to remember the common demand of work: There is no formula for how to write or convey readers everywhere: “For Pete’s sake, make it interesting. stories. But my journalism background and inquisitive Tell me a story.’’ nature gives me the tools to take the first glimmer of an idea to final editing. Over the years, I’ve learned that all Worst experience as a journalist: When former Prime writing and reporting is about solving a problem. It may Minister Margaret Thatcher visited Anchorage, I got too be a problem of where to find the facts or what angle to close to her motorcade and was detained by British secu- take. rity agents. They took my camera, but I eventually got to interview Thatcher for 15 minutes when she heard about My pet peeve about editors: They need to listen more. my reporting tenacity. I also gave her a brief history les- Sometimes their preconceived notion about a topic or son about Cook Inlet. story can taint a writer’s style.

Hardest story to write: One of the most difficult sto- The country I’d return to: South Africa. I was there ries was about baboon liver transplants. I was a Reuters during Apartheid and it was like a pre-Civil War USA. stringer in Pittsburgh and to reach the primary story con- I would like to return and see the massive change. The tacts I had to wade through throngs of protestors dressed wildlife, people and varied cultures are fascinating and like monkeys. It was a bit unnerving. challenging.

Most demanding story: Probably, the story I did for Want to add to the OPC’s collection of Q&As with mem- Dynamic Business magazine about a freelance trek to bers? Contact Susan Kille at [email protected].

OPC Bulletin • December 2014 • Page 11 Despite meticulous prepara- MEMOIR New Books tions and interviews and networks OHN PALMER, A VETERAN set up in advance, Dahlby shows J NBC News correspondent, was FIELD REPORTS that the on-the-ground reality in a FTER A DECORATED CAR- known for his geniality and engag- foreign country can be the reverse ing storytelling. In News- Areer in international news, Tra- of what you expected. cy Dahlby is a journalism pro- catcher: A Memoir [KCM Flexibility is needed. Publishing, October], he fessor at the University of Dahlby provides ad- at Austin who found students with shares the stories he collect- vice on successful trav- ed and covered in a 40-year ambitions to report abroad need- el planning, managing ed and wanted more than exten- career that ranged from war fixers, dealing with zones to the White House sive digital skills and knowledge circumstances both and the Today show. of journalism history. They had friendly and formida- Palmer had finished writ- questions about the nuts and bolts ble, and talking your of foreign reporting. way into a far ing Newscatcher before he “Good foreign report- place or out of died from pulmonary fi- ing is mainly the result a tight spot. brosis in August 2013. His of hard digging and nim- Dahlby wife Nancy, who he met in ble, prodigious footwork spent 13 years living in 1979 when NBC assigned her to be in the field,” Dahlby in Asia, where he served his production assistant, finished writes in Into the Field: as Tokyo bureau chief the photo research and pushed the A Foreign Correspon- for The Washington Post book to publication. Tom Brokaw, dent’s Notebook [Uni- and then Newsweek. In the former NBC Nightly News an- versity of Texas Press, 1987, he became manag- chor, wrote the afterword and his October]. To explain ing editor of Newsweek successor, Brian Williams, wrote what he means, he takes International. As a regu- the foreword. readers “into the field” lar contributor to Nation- Palmer tells about a gamble that as he tells the stories behind the al Geographic magazine between paid off in a series of exclusive stories of a half-dozen pieces from 1993 and 2002, he specialized interviews with President Anwar around the South China Sea he in writing about Asia. His book Sadat of Egypt; describes how an- wrote for National Geographic. about Islamic fundamentalism in other president almost made him The result is a spirited memoir and Indonesia, Allah’s Torch: A Report late for his wedding when shortly a how-to handbook. from Behind the Scenes in Asia’s before the ceremony Ronald Rea- , was published in gan called to tell the story of how 2005. He was part of a Newsweek he “married his Nancy”; and re- team that won OPC’s Morton counts his 1980 scoop of breaking Frank Award in 1985 for a report the news of the Carter administra- Upcoming Events on the rising economic power of tion’s failed attempt to rescue the South Korea. American hostages held in Iran. The New World Disorder: — By Susan Kille 7:45 a.m. Dec. 17

OPC Holiday Party: 6:00 p.m. Jan. 7

Book Night With Roger Cohen: 6:30 p.m. Jan. 14

Mixer at The Half King: 6:00 p.m. Jan. 15

OPC Screening ‘The Rise of ISIS’: 6:30 p.m. Jan. 22

OPC Bulletin • December 2014 • Page 12