Journal of the Knight-Wallace Fellows at the University of

Volume 20, No. 2 Spring 2011

KWF Travel: A change of scenery changes lives —By Amber Hunt ’11

s he stood outside of the Afro-Brazil Museum in the heart Folha de Sao Paulo headquarters and looked around and there Aof Sao Paulo, Free Press Fellow James Thomas felt were 360 degrees of skyscrapers,” he said. “There was an odd something he never anticipated while 5,000 miles from his life- sense of being in the first and third world at the same time.” long Detroit home. He had never been this far away, yet felt The Fellows’ backgrounds range from travel newbies to like he fit in. world explorers. Matthew Power, contributing editor of Harper’s “We were walking across that covered concrete lot, and here Magazine and the most traveled of the 2011 Fellows, had regaled are middle-aged skateboarders working on their kick-flips, clus- us with tales of assignments in India, Afghanistan and the ters of smiling kids on what looked like a class field trip, and out Amazon but came away struck by the design of the trip. “It

on the pavement, seniors Amber Hunt offered the rare chance riding bikes and power- to directly compare two walking,” Thomas re- fascinating and dynamic called. “I could’ve been places,” he said, “and to any one of them.” hold them up to the light More than that, he and understand them in a envisioned uprooting way that no ordinary as- himself and either finding signment would afford.” or creating a job in Brazil. Elijah Van It was a revelation square- Benschoten, a Fellow’s ly in line with the partner and an artist who Fellowship’s horizon- now hopes to pursue broadening goals. Travel In Buenos Aires, '11 Fellows discuss Argentine civil law with Supreme Court Justice and Fulbright opportunities Vice President of the Court Elena Highton de Nolasco (front row, middle). has been a part of the in Argentina, was equally Knight-Wallace experience for the past decade, and those who impressed by the trip’s conception. “To me, it speaks to the pro- attended this fall’s trip to Brazil and Argentina—which included gram’s savviness in getting meetings and exposure with leaders all Fellows and a handful of spouses and partners—said the excur- that most people even in that country wouldn’t have access to.” sion was about far more than sightseeing, seminars or bonding The trip abroad reassured Emily Richmond—education re- with their fellow Fellows. porter with the Las Vegas Sun—that while she might be on sab- It was about opening doors and shining light on opportuni- batical, that didn't mean her professional skills had to rust. The ties most had never before considered. group’s debates and probing questions of seminar guests carried “Seeing firsthand such an important and emerging nation over onto bus rides between site visits, after-dinner walks and like Brazil helped me reshape my perception of the world and even early morning jogs in Sao Paulo’s botanical park. its players,” said Nick Perry, higher-education reporter for the “Every day I learned something from my colleagues,” Seattle Times. Richmond said. “I never failed to be grateful to be in such “It made me contemplate the importance of international thoughtful company.” news and how in the U.S. we need to avoid the tendency to Politico Fellow Harry Siegel and his wife stayed on for three become too inward-looking.” weeks after the official trip, enough time to internalize some The Paulistas’ habit of equipping their buildings with heli- strong impressions. “Seeing how U.S. politics are viewed and ports and choppering to appointments around town to avoid truly reported in South America was a healthy reminder both of the astonishing traffic challenges impressed CNN.com producer Todd impact our policies have, and the conspiracies—real and imag- Leopold. “There was a moment when we stood on the helipad of ined—that they inspire,” he said. “The scale of Sao Paulo just blew

—continued on page 7 From the Head Fellow An education: Brazil baffles and delights Fellows —By Charles R. Eisendrath ’75 — Alec MacGillis ’11

The Importance of Being There sk the 2011 Fellows for their impres- goers and Elizabeth Bishop aficionados. Schwartsman ’09, star columnist for Folha Asions of Sao Paolo and they will recall We were happy to help correct that. de Sao Paolo and lead organizer of the eople notice when they’re being the national, bipartisan policy of perma- try straps shoot’n iron mores of the Wild easily its boisterous energy, its chaotic sea Before the Fellows could get down to Brazil trip, who with his wife Josiane and Pwatched. They act differently, particu- nent warfare has on the local drain com- West, presence means tough-minded of high-rises, the appealing openness of sober study, a more sensory acclimation daughter Sophia laid out an extraordinary larly when it’s by someone who knows mission. Reports could start with how monitoring of gun shops and gun shows the locals. But inquire where they were in was in order. Within hours of arrival they spread, an augur of culinary indulgences

what to look for. Somehow, however, the budgeted $428.5 million a day going balanced by engaged coverage of how Rieck Birgit to come. the elemental part of journalism called to support the efforts in Iraq and hunting contributes to the economy, the The next day brought a visit to the presence got lost in the smoke of our de- Afghanistan might instead help reduce environment and the ethos of what it Embu das Artes colonial-era street market cade-long professional sweat lodge on the amount of the deficit owed by each means to be part of the food chain, if only outside the city, followed by an extended standards. I’m talking about actual, feet- one of us. The increased taxes and de- for a weekend. Yes, it’s complicated. You sojourn at Casa di Lica, a lovely inn nes- on-ground presence. Not the virtual kind, creased services, after all, are local. can’t disentangle it if you’re not there. tled in the hills that offered an endless as in the Detroit Free Press announcing We don’t have much journalism about stream of delicacies as toucans looked on atop page one, “On Guard for 179 years”— such things and it shows in the lack of from the trees above. Luckily, the group— with the skeleton editorial staff permitted public debate even as we prosecute two joined at this point by KWF board mem- by the Gannett Company. I mean bearing wars few understand. ber Jill Abramson of the New York Times witness by having reporters—that’s right, The New York Times literally owned —was able to work off some of the calories reporters—in the police stations and sub- the Pentagon Papers story but its impact that evening at the Escola de Samba Perola stations, in the courtrooms, in the legisla- was amplified exponentially by hundreds Negra. At first, only the boldest Fellows ture, the statehouse, governmental agen- of journalists elsewhere, exploring dozens took part in the arresting spectacle of cies, the banks, even when there’s no news of angles. The Washington Post broke what dozens of dancers shimmying around the that minute or hour…even entire days. became “Watergate,” but Nixon resigned warehouse-like hall to the relentless per- Presence means covering not only because a huge pack of newshounds bay- cussive din of the band. But finally even Federal Reserve decisions, but the actions ing up and down Main Street threatened No rest for the Fellows: even pool time is seminar time; CNN Turk’s Ferhat Boratav the laggards (i.e., the men) were coaxed (seated on right) discusses Turkey and its relationship with Latin America. of its regional affiliates and the local his local backers who had their own elec- onto the floor by the persuasive overtures banks, too. This would include why after tions to win, beginning with coverage by Sao Paulo—that is, put a map in front of were enjoying an all-choral program in the of one of the house dancers. Even the rep- fattening themselves with Federal cash, the local media. Presence gave Dr. Martin them and ask them to retrace their steps— handsome Sala Sao Paulo, a concert hall resentative of the Grey Lady was an enthu- they prefer to starve their communities Luther King and others a forum to explain and they will look at you in dumb terror. converted from a train station. That eve- siastic participant in the decidedly un-grey for loans. If you are a Somebody, it is the civil rights movement, even during the Even your humble correspondent, who is ning, they visited the home of Helio scene. —continued on page 7 more difficult to permit yourself indul- Presence means medical reporting long lulls between news events. To vary- often less than humble about his sense of Rieck Birgit gences if you know that in the next tennis that includes regular visits to hospitals ing degrees, presence enabled those dedi- direction, found himself utterly disorient- game, scout meeting or cocktail party you with questions about the way care is deliv- cated to improving the environment and ed in the amorphous, boundless mass of risk being seen not as a Captain of the ered. It is far easier for administrators to building rights for women and gays. this archetypal mega-city. Universe but rather as a capital creep. Just continue inefficient, under-coordinated As I write this column, applications This much was clear even before the ask unindicted but identified associates of service without skeptical reporters on the for the next class of Knight-Wallace group arrived in Sao Paulo: the 2010 addi- Bernard Madoff. This includes children. case locally, quoting friends, neighbors, Fellows are being sent in 27-pound boxes tion of Brazil to the South America trip is Anyone’s personal jury convenes in the colleagues to health executives, them- (they will be weightlessly online next looking more justified than ever. The fifth- back of the van. selves. This is an industry with the world’s year!) to our applications committee. In most populated country in the world, Presence on the battlefield is the priv- model system willing to share any of its each person selected, we will invest every- Brazil is demanding to be reckoned with ilege of the few media companies willing practices and very, very few who bother to thing we have to pay for stipends, tuition, —joining Turkey in freelance negotiations to bear the cost. But presence also means try emulating how the Mayo Clinic deliv- health insurance and travel, betting on with Iran, joining China and Germany in regular visits to local reserve units and ers brilliant, efficient medicine…at a prof- them to continue the best in journalism— condemning the Fed’s “quantitative eas- hospitals at home. Not just for feature- it. If you live near Detroit, the parallels to including a dedication to presence.  ing,” defying the global recession with its ready tales of sacrifice, but also the quality how GM ignored the lessons of Toyota are robust growth. Yet the country remains far of their equipment and leadership. Above hair-tearing. from the minds of most Americans, with all, the effect that the economic drain of What to do about guns? As the coun- Matt Power and Alec MacGillis take a moment to enjoy the view from the exception of soccer fanatics, Carnival Folha de Sao Paulo's helipad.

2 3 Justin Pope ride, he got separated from the more expe- rienced group. So he set off after them— at a gallop, and managed to stay aboard. KWF in Argentina: After a seminar in Ann Arbor which traced how dance has reflected and influ- enced the cultures in both Brazil and passion, politics & pampas Argentina, Fellow Emily Richmond be- — Nick Perry ’11 came an enthusiastic dancer on the trip Birgit Rieck Birgit

ome tragic street dra- Rieck Birgit Sma unfolded during our December 2010 visit to Argentina—making our meetings with key political players that much more fascinating. The Knight-Wallace Fellowship seems to have Laura Tillman '11S, discusses politics with Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri. a knack for this sort of thing. Nine years ago, the Fellow Chris Sherman, who taught These days, ESMA serves as a muse- Fellows found themselves English in Buenos Aires during the late um and memorial to the Dirty War horror, in the midst of riots and 1990s, was surprised at the city’s quick a chilling place that had a profound im- tear gas during the ouster rebound: “I’d expected to see it in a more pact on me and other Fellows when we of President Fernando de distressed state,” he said. visited. Sherman said Argentina is “finally la Rúa. While nothing as Sherman was also impressed that confronting its past in a very public way.” Justin Pope's first foray into Argentina's dramatic happened this Argentina had opened the doors to the Between seminars, Argentine Fellow asado-heaven. time, we soon realized notorious Buenos Aires ESMA facility, Ana Laura Perez showed us around the where, she said, “it all came alive. Samba we’d landed in a place where the Argentine Navy imprisoned city’s cafes and bars and made us feel at is about community and expressing joy; where people are as pas- and tortured thousands of political oppo- home at her downtown apartment. Tango is about embracing a heritage.” sionate about politics as nents during the 1976 to 1983 Dirty War. A highlight of the trip was a day at a Then there was the food. Nobody they are about soccer. Many prisoners were later killed, thrown ranch on the pampas northwest of Buenos could figure out where Justin Pope, a We arrived in from Navy planes into the ocean. Aires. Most of us had little horse-riding classic human beanpole with mysterious Buenos Aires the same Fellows learn about Argentina's history on the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires. “I remember walking by when I experience. Fellow Alec MacGillis was un- inner dimensions, was putting all the week two people were lived there, when it was still in the hands der strict instructions from his wife Rachel steaks. “They elevated the entire killed when police tried to remove a group looking exhausted—understandable, selves Peronists, for instance, seem to de- of the Navy,” Sherman said of ESMA. not to attempt such foolishness. Of course, Fellowship experience,” he said.  of immigrant squatters from a city park, given the circumstances. But he gamely fine the term in almost any way that suits. “They still had guards at the fence.” he saddled up anyway. An hour into the Amber Hunt bringing the death toll to three. Day after answered our questions, taking a very dif- Beyond politics, Argentina had much Rieck Birgit day the situation escalated, as thousands ferent view than the president and hinting to offer. Buenos Aires was bustling and vi- more squatters arrived in solidarity, neigh- at his own political ambitions. brant, a well-designed city with a riot of bors started to take the law into their own We met a second man with presiden- overlapping architectural styles. With the hands, and the military was called in. tial aspirations: Francisco de Narváez, city’s gleaming new buildings in the The situation became a test for the national representative of the Buenos Puerto Madero neighborhood and the President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Aires Province. Narváez could have been crush of commerce at the San Telmo who blamed Buenos Aires mayor and a character from some action movie— street market, it was hard to imagine potential rival presidential candidate Chinese characters tattooed on his neck; that Argentina’s economy collapsed less Mauricio Macri for inflaming the situation married to a model; working from ultra- than a decade ago. for political ends. We got to meet with hip, techie offices. Indeed, while serious financial prob- Macri in the midst of this and ask him Even after our meetings, Argentine lems remain—unofficial estimates put about it ourselves. politics remained inscrutable compared to inflation as high as 30 percent—the econ- Fellows prepare for the River vs. Estudiante match by Argentine Alumni and Fellows meet (from left to right): Carlos Prieto '02, Macri arrived at the meeting late and politics in the U.S. People who label them- omy has been robust in recent years. playing a soccer game of their own: U.S. against the world Patricia Kolesnicov '09, Ricardo Braginski '09, Taos Turner '07, (including the dogs at the Estancia). and Matilde Sanchez '04.

4 5 —KWF Travel­, continued from page 1 me away; it was the biggest thing I’d ever crash course many couldn’t have envi- sioned on their own. Wayne Drehs, a 2011 Knight-Wallace Fellows seen. Buenos Aires left me with something Publisher: Charles R. Eisendrath ’75 different, an insight into a strange, neurotic 2010 Fellow and a writer with ESPN.com, Editor: Julia Smillie ’06S Philip Dattilo and incredibly fascinating alternative said the experience was life-altering. Production and Design: Kathleen Horn, Blue Skies Studio Europe. Finally, I understand (Jorge) “To have my sense of the world Borges.” completely blown up was a good thing,” Views expressed in the Journal are not necessarily those of the Fellowship Program The impact of the KWF trips lasts Drehs said. “For any journalist, the more or the . experiences we have in our lives that we long after the Fellowship year ends. Mike and Mary Wallace House Memories linger of schedules packed can draw on, the better storytellers and University of Michigan, 620 Oxford Road with seminars and social events, a cultural reporters we can be.”  Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2635 Telephone: 734-998-7666 FAX: 734-988-7979 —An Education­, continued from page 3 ingly well-appointed, the second one, www.kwfellows.org Ears were still ringing the next morn- hard by some of the city’s sprawling fave- The Regents of the University ing, but it was time to get down to busi- las, state-owned and far more Spartan; Julia Donovan Darlow, Ann Arbor Laurence B. Deitch, Bingham Farms ness with the week’s string of informative and, perhaps most memorably, to the roof Olivia P. Maynard, Goodrich seminars on Brazilian society. Fellows en- of the Folha building, from which the Rebecca McGowan, Ann Arbor Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor gaged with experts over the country’s ra- Fellows enjoyed a panorama of the whole Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park cial landscape, the complexity of which is mind-blowing expanse, the closest they S. Martin Taylor, Grosse Pointe Farms Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor vividly displayed in the pages-long list of came to getting a handle on the concrete Mary Sue Coleman (ex officio) terms that Brazilians use to describe their cacophony. University of Michigan racial identity; its efforts to broaden edu- The Fellows got another high-rise Nondiscrimination Policy Statement cational access and reduce inequality (with perspective courtesy of the New York The University of Michigan, as an equal op- portunity/affirmative action employer, com- some apparent success, thanks to former Times’ man in Sao Paulo, Alexei plies with all applicable federal and state laws Amber Hunt Barrionuevo, who re- regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action, including Title IX of the Education ceived the group for a Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the brief visit at his upper- Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The University of Front Row, left to right: Middle Row, left to right: Top Row, left to right: Michigan is committed to a policy of nondis- floor perch. The Fellows crimination and equal opportunity for all Liu Tianzhao, commentator-in-chief, Matthew Power, contributing editor, Ted Mellnik, database editor, The Charlotte then made their way to a persons regardless of race, sex*, color, reli- Southern Metropolis Daily (Guangzhou); Harper's; Transportation and Other Urban Observer; Using Hyper-Local Data to gion, creed, national origin or ancestry, age, reunion with KWF alumni marital status, sexual orientation, disability, The Influence of Media- and Internet Issues in the 21st Century. Evaluate Neighborhood Public Services. in Brazil: Claudia Collucci or Vietnam-era veteran status in employ- Activism on Social Movements. ment, educational programs and activities, Amber Hunt, reporter, Detroit Free Press; Todd Leopold, producer, CNN.com; and Mariana Lajolo ’10; and admissions. Inquiries or complaints may Laura Daverio, China correspondent, Embracing Empathy in Urban Crime Increasing the Social Merit of Marcelo Mendonca ’92; be addressed to the Senior Director for Institutional Equity and Title IX/Section 504 La 7 (Italy) and RSI Swiss Italian TV; Reporting. Entertainment News. Vitor Paolozzi ’96; and Coordinator, Office of Institutional Equity, Maria Tereza Gomes ’00. 2072 Administrative Services Building, Ann The Appeal of Authoritarianism. Antonio Gois John Walton, , reporter, Folha de Sao Paulo; senior broadcast journalist, Arbor, Michigan 48109-1432, 734-763-0235, The trip ended with a visit Juseung Lee, senior reporter, MBC-TV School Evaluations: What They Really Tell BBC (London); Data-Driven Journalism TTY 734-647-1388. For other University of to Folha’s gleaming pro- Michigan information call 734-764-1817. (Seoul); Climate Change—Crisis or Us about Schools and Teachers. and its Uses in Interactive Storytelling. After a day of intense seminars, the Fellows let loose at night, mingling with Brazilian dancers and learning how to Samba. duction facility outside *Includes gender identity and gender Chance? Charles R. Eisendrath, director, Knight- Christopher Sherman, Rio Grande Valley expression president Lula da Silva’s expansion of cash the city, where presses running at full ca- Ana Laura Perez, reporter, Viva Magazine, Wallace Fellows at Michigan. correspondent, The ; The transfers to poor families); its perpetually pacity offered vivid proof—like the fully- Clarin' (Buenos Aires): The Role of Traitors Psychological, Physical and Economical Birgit Rieck, assistant director, Knight- fraught but ultimately pragmatic relations staffed newsroom downtown—that the in the Context of Argentina in the 70s. Effects of Armed Conflict on Local Wallace Fellows at Michigan. with the U.S.; its growing evangelical pop- Brazilian press is still in a growth phase the talk of Argentina’s malaise and turmoil Populations. Justin Pope, national higher education re- William Foreman, South China chief, The ulation; and its push to profit from its ear- that has long since passed us by in the when compared with Brazil’s momentum porter, The Associated Press; Challenges Associated Press; The Transformation of Nick Perry, higher education reporter, ly move into the business of converting States. At lunch with the paper’s top brass, and stability, Buenos Aires was for most of Mass-Scale Higher Education. North Korea. The Seattle Times; Are American Colleges sugar cane to ethanol fuel. the group managed to avoid saying any- Fellows a far more familiar sight, with its Failing their Students? Interspersed with the seminars were thing to implicate this year’s Folha Fellow, well-planned street grid, European aura, Emily Richmond, education reporter, James Thomas, web editor, Detroit Free further forays into the city’s dense, heavily Antonio Gois, whose wry insights into his and more advanced stage of development. Las Vegas Sun; Evaluating Single Sex Press; Improving Technical Know-How Harry Siegel, contributing editor, Politico; graffitied maze—to the Afro-Brasilian mu- country were appreciated all week. But the allure of the Sao Paulo labyrinth Education. in the Newsroom. The Impact of the Internet on Social Discourse. seum; to two big hospitals that displayed The ensuing contrast with Buenos lingered. All agreed they had not been the big social divisions that remain post- Aires only confirmed the dislocation the there nearly long enough to crack the Alec MacGillis, national staff reporter, The Lula, the first privately-owned and exceed- Fellows experienced in Sao Paulo. For all code. 2014 World Cup, anyone?  Washington Post; America's Political Agenda.

6 7 Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Ann Arbor, MI Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellows Permit #144 University of Michigan Mike and Mary Wallace House 620 Oxford Road Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2635

Our Great Geniuses Richard Lee Colvin ’01 was named execu- Scott Huler ’03 has been named the third Americas editor for International Finance tive director of Education Sector, an Piedmont laureate, a position designed Review, a Thomson Reuters publication. independent think tank located in to promote the art of writing in the Washington, D.C. Colvin joined the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Sam Skolnik ’08 has authored his first organization after having directed the Huler, a former feature writer and reporter book, “High Stakes: The Rising Cost of Hechinger Institute on Education and at The News & Observer, has written six America’s Gambling Addiction.” The the Media at Teachers College, Columbia nonfiction books. publication is due July 2011 from University, since 2003. Beacon Press. Harris Meyer ’91 penned a feature article Stephanie DeGroote ’09 produced the Sky published in the May 2010 issue of Health Christine Tanaka ’05 returned to XETV San News documentary “Libya: the Stolen Affairs. The peer-reviewed publication is Diego 6 in October 2010 as news director. Children,” which was shortlisted for the leading journal of health policy Tanaka had been the station’s managing a Royal Television Society Award in the thought and research. editor before her Knight-Wallace Current Affairs—International category. Fellowship. Most recently, she served as The RTS is Britain’s leading forum for Robin Pomeroy ’09 moved to Tehran in manager of content presentation at television and related media. April 2010 to serve as deputy bureau chief WCMH in Columbus, Ohio.  in Iran for Thomson Reuters. Previously, Scott Elliott ’05 joined the Indianapolis Star Pomeroy was senior sub-editor at Reuters Send your doings and a as education reform reporter. Elliott previ- World Desk in London. print-resolution photo ously was an editorial writer at the Dayton to Birgit Rieck at [email protected] Daily News, after serving ten years as the Amy Resnick ’07 left her position as editor- paper’s education reporter. in-chief at The Bond Buyer to serve as