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Home , Clare Hollingworth, Farnaz Fassihi, Fred Ryan, Gerald Loeb Award, Kati Marton, Lara Setrakian

THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA, NEW YORK, NY • January 2017 Blumenstein to Address Scholars at OPC Foundation Awards Luncheon

By Jane Reilly challenges today,” he Rebecca Blumen- said. “She has come to stein, deputy editor-in- speak to our winners and chief of The Wall Street understands our program Journal, will be the key- very well. We are thrilled note speaker at the an- nual OPC Foundation that another major news Scholar Awards Lun- organization such as the cheon on Friday, Feb. 24, Journal has become a 2017, at the Yale Club. (Continued on Page 4) She is the highest-ranking woman to lead the paper’s news organiza- tion to date has and also served as page-one editor, deputy managing Panel Set for editor, international editor and Chi- na bureau chief, overseeing March Reunion coverage for the Journal. EVENT PREVIEW: March 1 Bill Holstein, president of the On March 1, the OPC and Inter- OPC Foundation, was especially national House will host a “Middle pleased to see Blumenstein head- East Hands Reunion” for foreign line the Foundation’s signature correspondents who covered the event. “Rebecca has earned her way to the top of a major news region. Deborah Amos, the OPC’s organization, having started out at first vice president, will moderate a regional newspapers and climbing panel to discuss the shifting geopo- the ladder at the Journal in part litical landscape and media cover- by living in China and winning a age in the wake of recent changes. Pulitzer Prize. She thus has a com- Amos covered the Middle East for manding view of the news media’s NPR News and is now a domestic correspondent reporting on refugees Inside. . . in America. Panelists include: Mo- hamad Bazzi, an associate profes- Mentorship for Women Journalists...2 sor of at New York Uni- Panel Recap: Russia and Trump...... 3 versity and a former Middle East bureau chief at Newsday; Rukmini OPC Holiday Party Photos...... 3 Callimachi, a governor of the OPC Celebrating John Morris...... 5 and foreign correspondent for The People Column...... 6-8 New York Times who writes exten- sively about ISIS; Farnaz Fassihi, Press Freedom Update...... 9-10 (Continued on Page 2)

Q&A: Deborah Steinborn...... 11 Click here to RSVP for the Middle East Hands Reunion. New Books...... 12 Join a Mentorship Revolution for Women Journalists

By Kiran Nazish complaints about discrimination, sexual harassment and The Coalition for – a global unhealthy competition that hampers women’s careers. peer-support network – is thrilled to begin launching Coalition member and UMass Amherst Journalism Pro- chapters in twelve countries in the coming months. fessor Shaheen Pasha said that women face “discrimina- Starting this month, we launch in four countries: India, tion within newsrooms as much as they do in society. Of- Pakistan, Turkey and Mexico. The coalition is a global (Continued on Page 10) network aimed at establishing the spirit of stewardship among woman journalists. Our network of individuals and organizations is working to help women journalists make the most of their skills and maximize understand- ing of the environment they work in. Developed to fos- ter mentorship for women in the industry, we connect female journalists to mentors who can help and guide them through a complex assignment or situation. Men- torships are offered to applicants pro bono (with a $12 processing fee) based on personal or professional need. Left to right: Arbana Xharra, editor-in-chief of Zeri; Una Our mentorship network is created by established jour- Hajdari, independent journalist; Jeta Xharra, editor-in- chief and country director, BIRN; Lura Limani, editor of nalists who are masters of a beat, region or country. The Prishtina Insight; and Valerie Plesch, freelance journalist coalition focuses on handling stress and trauma, and can based in Kosovo, who moderated the panel. offer mentorship and counseling for journalists looking (‘Middle East’ Continued From Page 1) to recover from a tough assignment or year. senior writer at focusing on the UN Board members include Alexis Gelber, Janine di & global diplomacy after 14 years of covering wars and up- Giovani, Kati Marton, David Rohde, Jay Newton Small risings in the Middle East; and Ben Taub, a contributor to and me, Kiran Nazish. Mentors include Salome Ander- The New Yorker on jihadism in Europe and the war in . son, Rana Ayub (India), Alice Driver (Mexico), Dalia Taub won the OPC Foundation’s 2015 Emanuel R. Freed- Ezzat (Middle East), Mac McCleland (Haiti) and Amna man Scholarship. Nawaz (ABC News), among others. The event begins with a reception at International House, As the number of women foreign correspondents 500 Riverside Drive, at 6:30 p.m. The program follows at and freelancers steadily increases, so has the number of 7:30 p.m. in Davis Hall. OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA • BOARD OF GOVERNORS PRESIDENT ACTIVE BOARD Charles Graeber Robert Nickelsberg ASSOCIATE BOARD PAST PRESIDENTS Deidre Depke Hannah Allam Freelance Journalist Freelance ­MEMBERS EX-OFFICIO New York Bureau Chief Foreign Affairs and Author Photojournalist Marcus Mabry Marketplace Correspondent Bill Collins Michael Serrill Michael Oreskes Director, Public & McClatchy Steve Herman Senior Vice President David A. Andelman FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Newspapers of News / Business Affairs John Corporon Deborah Amos Senior Diplomatic Ford Motor Company Correspondent Editorial Director Allan Dodds Frank Correspondent Molly Bingham NPR Alexis Gelber Voice of America NPR President & CEO Emma Daly William J. Holstein OrbMedia, Inc. Mary Rajkumar Communications SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Douglas Jehl International Enterprise Director Larry Martz Calvin Sims Foreign Editor Editor Rukmini Callimachi The Larry Smith President and CEO Foreign Richard B. Stolley International House Sarah Lubman Correspondent Roxana Saberi Freelance Journalist Partner Anjali Kamat Brunswick Group EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THIRD VICE PRESIDENT Patricia Kranz Pancho Bernasconi Correspondent Anupreeta Das Lara Setrakian Vice President/News Fault Lines Daniel Sieberg Reporter Co-Founder & CEO Getty Images English News Deeply Global Head OFFICE MANAGER Wall Street Journal of Media Outreach Boots R. Duque TREASURER Scott Kraft Martin Smith Google Chris Dickey President EDITOR Abigail Pesta Deputy Managing Editor Rain Media Freelance Journalist Foreign Editor Minky Worden Chad Bouchard The Daily Beast, Times Charles Wallace Director of Global Initiatives OPC SECRETARY Rachael Morehouse Freelance Writer Liam Stack Human Rights Watch ISSN-0738-7202 Breaking News Scott Gilmore Associate Producer Vivienne Walt ­Copyright © 2015 Reporter International Columnist CBS News Correspondent Over­seas Press Club The New York Times Maclean’s Magazine 60 Minutes TIME and FORTUNE of America 40 West 45 Street, New York, NY 10036 USA • Phone: (212) 626-9220 • Fax: (212) 626-9210 • Website: opcofamerica.org OPC Bulletin • January 2017 • Page 2 Experts Draw Crowd for Panel on U.S. Election Hacks

EVENT RECAP By Chad Bouchard A standing-room crowd of more than 170 gathered at the Harriman Institute on Jan. 18 to hear thoughts from Russia experts about the uncertain relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President , the impact of Russian hackers on the U.S. presidential election, and the future of a shifting world order. The event, co-sponsored by the OPC, the Harriman Chad Bouchard Institute and ’s Graduate School of Left to right: Alexander Cooley, Will Englund, Masha Ges- Journalism, was held just two days before U.S. president sen, Kimberly Marten, and Paul Sonne. Donald Trump’s inauguration, and on the heels of a CIA Committee and the country’s direct influence on the Open Source division report on Jan. 9 strongly suggest- election outcome. ing Russian interference in the election. “I’m surprised that we’re at a point where legacy me- The declassified report concluded – with high confi- dia pick up products of illegal actions without debate,” dence – that Putin had ordered an “influence campaign” she said, citing New York Times coverage of the story. to help Trump win the election. “I mean they ran with the WikiLeaks publications the Masha Gessen, author of The Man Without a Face: day after they appeared. The argument that’s being made The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin and other books, by the report of the intelligence agencies is that it was was not convinced the CIA showed strong evidence to (Continued on Page 5) support its conclusions, saying the connection is thin Click here to watch video clips from the panel. between Russia’s hacking of the Democratic National OPC Holiday Party Kicks Off 2017 Event Calendar Photos: Chad Bouchard

Patricia Kranz, left, and Left to right: Edith Lederer, Lilian King, Clarissa Left to right: Albert Goldson, Minky Worden. McNair, Deidre Depke, Abigail Pesta and Allan Robert Sullivan and Sandy Dodds Frank. Coliver.

Left to right: Allen Alter, Lindsay Krasnoff, Yvonne Dunleavy, left, and Left to right: Emma Daly, Evelyn Leopold, Marcus Mabry and Terrell J. Starr. Linda Fasulo. Andy Katell and Deborah Amos.

OPC Bulletin • January 2017 • Page 3 (‘Blumenstein’ Continued From Page 1) sides addressing a distinguished audience of more than full-fledged media partner.” 200 luncheon guests at the Yale Club, the award winners Blumenstein joined the Journal in 1995 as a reporter will meet with Holstein and veteran international journal- in the Detroit bureau, where she covered . ists in a pre-luncheon breakfast and with several foreign She began her journalism career at The Tampa Tribune, editors following the luncheon. For many, said Holstein, and then moved to Gannett Newspapers and Newsday. the opportunity to meet and observe prominent journalists She received a New York Newswomen’s Award in 1993 in action is as valuable as any monetary awards. for best deadline writing for her coverage of the after- For the third year in a row, on Saturday after the lun- math of the Long Island Railroad shootings. In 2003, cheon, the OPC Foundation will offer a day of risk assess- she was part of a team that won the ment and situational training for the winners, this time at for deadline writing for coverage of WorldCom. She CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. Frank Smyth, oversaw the China team that won the Pulitzer Prize for president and founder of Global Journalist Security, a International Reporting in 2007. She is a graduate of the hostile environment training firm based in Washington , where she served as editor-in- DC, will again lead the program. Those who participated chief of the student newspaper. in the past called the experience invaluable. “We have a responsibility to make sure our winners engage in the At the luncheon, the Foundation will award a com- world’s stories in ways that keep them safe,” said Hol- bination of scholarships and fellowships to 15 graduate stein. “We will continue to do what we can, as fiscal spon- and undergraduate college students aspiring to become sors of the ACOS Alliance, to see that journalists through- foreign correspondents. The winning recipients are from out the world have the training and support they need to City University of New York, Columbia, Duke, Har- do their jobs as well and as securely as possible.” vard, Johns Hopkins, New York University, University Up to 12 of this year’s winners will receive fellow- of -Berkeley, University of , Univer- ships to work in the foreign bureaus of the Foundation’s sity of Missouri, University of Texas at Austin, and Yale. media partners, including The Associated Press, Reuters, “Never has there been a time in our profession, our craft, The Wall Street Journal, GroundTruth Project and Forbes. when we need to work harder to defend the values we The fellowships will ensure that the awardees gain valu- believe in, particularly as it relates to what is happening able experience and insight working with veteran editors in the world,” added Holstein. and reporters. In 2016, the Foundation funded fellowships “Are we going to continue to support on-the-ground in bureaus across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and telling of truth or will we be swamped by non-truths and the Middle East. The Foundation picks up the cost of the non-facts from the spinmeisters?” asked Holstein. “These airfare and one to two months of living expenses for the young people are part of the answer to that question. They winners. have excellent language skills and some have multiple Holstein is grateful to Bloomberg, which again hosted passports. They have astute eyes for detail and the ability the judging in December, and to the dedicated panel of to capture the complexity of what they see in prose. They judges who chose the 2017 recipients: Allen Alter; Bob have the right stuff. They are ready to go. Dowling; Joe Flint and Michelle LaRoche of The Wall “Even though the economic model that has long sup- Street Journal; Allan Dodds Frank; Sharon Gamsin; Tim ported international journalism has taken a terrible beat- Ferguson of Forbes Asia; Sally Jacobsen; Felice Levin; ing, these winners inspire me every year because they Larry Martz; Marcy McGinnis; Kate McLeod; Ellen want to travel down what I regard as the sacred path of Nimmons of AP; David Rohde of Reuters; Charlie Sen- bearing witness. They just want a chance. Our imperative nott of The GroundTruth Project; Michael Serrill; Steve is to help train them and keep them safe as they explore Swanson of the New York Botanical Garden; and Karen the world,” he said. Toulon of Bloomberg. Holstein also served as a judge. Events for the 2017 winners will last three days start- Luncheon tickets are $85 for OPC members and $150 ing on Thursday afternoon, when for the first time, the for non-members. The Foundation encourages media and Foundation will host two panels at Reuters for those corporate support at its three levels of giving: Benefac- award winners interested in or televi- tors, $9,000; Patrons, $6,000; and Friends, $3,000. Tables sion news. That evening, Stephen Adler, editor-in-chief seat 10. The reception is at 11:30 a.m.; the luncheon ends of Reuters, will host the traditional reception for current promptly at 2:00 p.m. All proceeds benefit the OPC Foun- and past winners of OPC Foundation awards at the news dation. For further information, contact Jane Reilly at 201 organization’s Times Square headquarters. On Friday, be- 493-9087 or [email protected].

OPC Bulletin • January 2017 • Page 4 Colleages Celebrate John Morris’ 100th Birthday

By Sonya K. Fry Over 200 people celebrated OPC member John Mor- ris’ 100th birthday in Paris, but one person was absent – John himself. The previous week, John had an operation and could not be released from the hospital in time for the party, so he was Skyped in. His opening words: “this is the happiest and saddest day of my life.” John always loved a party, but he had to miss this very important one. The OPC presented a proclamation, which was writ- ten by Mort Rosenblum, and we were eager to read it to John in person because we were sure he would enjoy it. Instead Gabriel Morris Moscovitz, John’s grandson, made a video of the three OPC members, Vivienne Walt, Sonya Fry and Mort Rosenblum, each reading a line. We trust that John will be able to see and enjoy the video sometime soon. Mort said “I think he will laugh.” John Morris has been an OPC member since 1954 when he was the executive editor of Magnum Photos. Since John was ’s editor at Life magazine Photos courtesy of Sonya Fry he has always been a special member of the OPC fam- ily of journalists. The OPC has sponsored the Robert Top left: A signed proclamation in honor of John Morris. Capa Gold Medal Award since 1955 and it is one of the Bottom left: Jim Bitterman of CNN, Vivienne Walt of TIME most prestigious award for photojournalists because it and Sonya Fry, former OPC executive director. requires courage and enterprise. Updated news on John’s health: Gabriel sent this mes- Bottom right: Fry and other attendees speak to Morris via sage: on Jan. 10: “My granddad is doing better! He’s out Skype from the hospital. of the hospital now and in a rehab facility nearby where Click here to watch a video of Mort Rosenblum he will be for at least a couple of weeks convalescing.” reading the proclamation. (‘Russia’ Continued From Page 3) Englund served three tours as a U.S. intelligence agencies could be RT that played a key role. It would correspondent, two for the reluctant to disclose how they arrived be quite difficult to argue that- Rus Baltimore Sun and one for the Post, at conclusions about the influence for sia influenced the American election from 2010 to 2014, and was one of fear of putting sources at risk. three co-recipients of the 1997 Whit- “The flip side of the argument is by using the New York Times.” RT, man Bassow Award at the Sun for that they don’t have the goods,” he or Russia Today, is an international their “The Shipbreakers,” a series said. “So then we’re in this tricky po- news channel funded by the Russian about U.S. Navy scrapping programs sition of being asked to simply believe government. overseas. in the conclusion of this great Ameri- Will Englund, Asia and Russia editor Kimberly Marten, director the can institution at a time when we are on The Washington Post’s foreign desk, U.S.-Russia relations program at Har- probably in one of the greatest crises agreed that it is difficult to know how riman, said Russia had tried many of faith in institutions in America.” much impact the hacking really had. times to influence Western elections, Sonne writes about national secu- “It may have helped to feed the with “singularly unsuccessful” results. rity and was the Journal’s Moscow scandal a little bit. [Hillary Clinton] “Maybe [Putin] actually blew it,” correspondent from 2013 to 2016. did get nearly three million more votes she said, “because the intervention He was the OPC Foundation’s 2008 than Trump did, so how can you say was so ham-handed that it was easy Stan Swinton scholar and served as what motivated the 70,000 people in for CrowdStrike to figure out what intern in AP’s Moscow bureau. He the three states that made the differ- was going on. He never intended to was also part of a Wall Street Jour- ence?” he said, adding that rumors have this made as public as it was.” nal team that won the OPC’s 2011 of Russian influence “helps toshake CrowdStrike is the private firm Malcolm Forbes Award for “Censor- things up a little bit, perhaps cast that identified the fingerprints of Rus- ship Inc.,” a series of articles on how doubt on the legitimacy of the election sian hackers in the leaks. Western and Chinese tech compa- the sanctity of the election. Perhaps Paul Sonne, Pentagon correspon- nies enabled , , and that was really the intention.” dent for The Wall Street Journal, said Syria to spy on dissidents.

OPC Bulletin • January 2017 • Page 5 PEOPLE... By Trish Anderton

OPC SCHOLARS Washington, D.C.; a local govern- count of extrajudicial killings in Simon Akam, the 2009 Eman- ment and transportation staff writer Manila for The New York Times has uel R. Freedman Scholar, has been at The Washington Post; and a crime sent ripples across social media. The named a 2017 fellow at the Carey reporter at the Columbia Daily Tri- story is an “instant Pulitzer contend- Institute for Global Good’s Logan bune in Missouri. He was also a er,” tweeted The Nonfiction Program for 2017. Akam postgraduate research scholar at Co- Wall Street Jour- will continue working on his Penguin lumbia University, and co-authored nal’s James Grimal- Random House book on the recent the journalism school’s independent di, while the BBC’s evolution of the British Army. The review of Rolling Stone magazine’s Nomia Iqbal called Logan Nonfiction Program supports now-retracted campus rape story. it “astonishing jour- deeply-reported, longform nonfic- Kravitz won the 2014 Harper’s nalism.” Berehulak tion about the most pressing issues Magazine Scholarship in memory of spent 35 nights on Berehulak of the day and helps to disseminate it I.F.Stone. the streets of the Philippines’ capital, on a variety of media platforms. photographing and writing about the Matt Whittaker, the Stan Swin- victims of government-sponsored Tess Taylor’s second book of ton winner in 2004, is now a con- death squads that have targeted al- poetry, Work & Days, was named tributing writer at US News & World leged drug users and dealers. One of among the best poetry books of 2016 Report, where he covers natural re- the images was included in TIME’s by The New York Times. Taylor won sources. His work has appeared in list of the top ten photos of 2016. the 2004 Harper’s Magazine Schol- The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s arship in memory of I.F.Stone. and other international publications. Apple has removed the New Whittaker has reported from the York Times news app from the Chi- Sophia Jones, Reuters Scholar- Americas, Europe and Asia. nese version of its app store, citing a ship winner in 2012, has joined the request by Chinese authorities. Ac- Fuller Project for International Re- Pete Vernon, 2016 Theo Wilson cording to , the government porting as a senior editor and jour- winner, is now a Delacorte Fellow has been blocking its websites since nalist reporting from Istanbul and at the Columbia Journalism Re- 2012 when it published a series of surrounds. She has spent the last view. He did an OPC Foundation stories on riches accrued by relatives three years as a Middle East cor- fellowship in the Reuters bureau in of then-Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. respondent for the Huffington Post. Johannesburg. The International Business Times The Fuller Project is a global team of called the move the “highest profile journalists, photographers and film- WINNERS instance of Apple’s acquiescence to makers and researchers dedicated to The GroundTruth Project will re- China’s efforts to censor certain con- in-depth and independent reporting, ceive an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia tent.” with an emphasis on the traditional- University Award on Jan. 25 for ly underrepresented role of women the two episodes of its Foreverstan The Committee to Protect in media. Their articles regularly ap- project, “The Girls’ Schools” and Journalists saw a spike in dona- pear in The New York Times, Foreign “Razia’s Way.” The episodes focus tions after Meryl Streep gave them Affairs, CNN, TIME, VICE, ELLE, on the efforts of one Afghan woman a very high-profile callout at the Newsweek, and other from Massachusetts who returned Golden Globe Awards. Streep used outlets. to her country to educate girls. her acceptance speech for the Ce- GroundTruth is a nonprofit interna- cil B. DeMille Award for lifetime Derek Kravitz is now a contrib- tional news organization founded achievement to criticize Trump and uting research editor at ProPublica. and headed by OPC member Charles highlight the importance of indepen- Previously, he was Sennott. Foreverstan combines vid- dent media. “We need the principled a reporter and editor eo, podcasts, text and photos to doc- press to hold power to account, to for the Greater New ument America’s longest war – the call them on the carpet for every out- York section of The conflict in Afghanistan. rage,” Streep said. “So I only ask the Wall Street Journal; famously well-heeled Hollywood a national econom- UPDATES foreign press and all of us in our ics writer for The NEW YORK: OPC member community to join me in support- Associated Press in Kravitz Daniel Berehulak’s harrowing ac- ing the Committee to Protect Jour-

OPC Bulletin • January 2017 • Page 6 nalists, because we’re going to need disc up on the computer, I couldn’t tions were sharply up in 2016, and them going forward, and they’ll believe what I saw,” she told the he singled out the Post’s campaign need us to safeguard the truth.” The Columbus Dispatch, adding that she coverage for praise. CPJ received about 500 online dona- was moved by the images’ “human- tions after the remarks aired, accord- ity.” The 36 photos recently made Election-season hacking “was ing to Poynter.org. their US debut at the Ohio History not something that was done casu- Center. ally, this was not something that The New York Times will consol- was done by chance,” NSA Direc- idate its space and begin subletting ISIS’s vaunted propaganda ma- tor Adm. Michael Rogers told OPC “at least eight floors” at its -head chine is stumbling, a reflection of member Rebecca Blumenstein at quarters, according to Politico. “The the pressure the terror group is fac- a Wall Street Journal election fo- current way we have configured our ing in Syria and Iraq, OPC member rum in mid-November. “This was a office makes us slower and less col- Kathleen Caulderwood writes for conscious effort by a nation state to laborative. It is also, frankly, too VICE News in a piece co-bylined attempt to achieve a specific effect.” expensive,” wrote Times publisher by Nick Miriello. Researchers have Rogers said the answer to cyberat- Arthur Sulzberger and president and found that the group’s posts to its of- tacks must be an integrated approach CEO Mark Thompson in a note ob- ficial channels dropped to just under by the public and private sectors, and tained by the news site. Sulzberger 200 in August 2016, from 700 in Au- he urged the public to get involved. and Thompson added that their large gust 2015. “Statehood is essential to Blumenstein has been deputy editor offices would be eliminated in the the IS brand,” said Mara Revkin, a in chief of the Journal since 2013. new layout. resident fellow at Yale Law School’s Center for the Study of Islamic Law PHILADELPHIA: Liberian OPC member Seymour Topping and Civilization, adding that it’s journalism is suffering a “brain drain” celebrated his 95th birthday in Scars- uncertain how well the group can as NGOs lure talented journalists dale in December with “children, continue recruiting members and away with offers of better pay, OPC grandchildren and great grandchildren funders since it has “failed to live up member Prue Clarke told the Asso- plus so many to whom ‘Top’ gave a to its slogan of ‘remaining and ex- ciation of Liberian Journalists in the start in the business,” according to panding.’” Americas in late October. “If anyone Politico. Topping worked for 34 years has a chance to earn a good wage in at The New York Times as a foreign New York Times veteran Ian government or aid agency they will correspondent and top editor. He later Fisher will be the paper’s next Je- go there,” she told the gathering. “In spent nearly a decade as the adminis- rusalem bureau chief. His previous many cases we are getting hustlers, trator of the Pulitzer Prize at Columbia positions include East Africa bureau who see journalism as a way to get University, retiring in 2002. chief and Rome bureau chief. Re- money before stepping into an aid or The Associated Press is laying uters has named Simon Robinson government job.” Clarke said media off two dozen employees in its glob- as its regional editor for Europe, the organizations in many parts of Africa al news operation, Politico reports. Middle East and Africa. Robinson must pay journalists better in order “Like so many media companies, has been with the wire agency since to develop the profession. She is the especially in the news business, AP 2010. Meanwhile, The Associated co-founder and executive director of must reduce expenses in order to Press has promoted veteran reporter New Narratives, a project supporting continue to provide its objective, and editor Michael Weissenstein independent media in Africa, and di- indispensable news report around from Cuba bureau chief to Carib- rector of the International Reporting the world,” the newswire said in a bean news director. Program at CUNY. statement. At least two of the cuts targeted the statehouse bureau in Al- WASHINGTON, DC: The ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA: bany, NY. Washington Post is adding “dozens Craig Newmark, the founder of Craig- of journalists” to its staff, publisher slist, has given the Poynter Institute a OPC member Cyma Rubin has and CEO Fred Ryan told Politico million dollars for a five-year program launched an exhibit of Korean War in late December. Ryan declined to on fact-checking, accountability and photos that languished for years in name an exact figure but the news ethics in journalism. “I want to stand the photographer’s basement. For- site, citing unnamed sources, esti- up for trustworthy journalism, and I mer AP photojournalist Max Des- mated it at more than 60. Ryan wrote want to stand against deceptive and for called Rubin to offer her the in a memo to staffers that the paper fake news,” said Newmark in an an- images in 2013. She had the black- would “finish this year as a -profit nouncement. The gift is the largest in and-white negatives converted into able and growing company.” He Poynter’s 41-year history. a digital format. “When I put that said digital ad revenue and subscrip- (Continued on Page 8)

OPC Bulletin • January 2017 • Page 7 (Continued From Page 7) SAN FRANCISCO: Online pub- WELCOME NEW MEMBERS lishing platform Medium has laid off Sabra Ayres Larissa Karr 50 people, “mostly in sales, support, Freelance Asheville, NC and other business functions,” accord- Belgrade, Student ing to a message from Ev Williams, its Active Overseas founder and CEO. Williams wrote that Henry Peck the company was trying to break away Pak Ling Cheng Freelance from an ad-driven system to “find a Apple Daily Beirut new model for writers and creators Correspondent Active Overseas – Young to be rewarded, based on the value New York (29 or under) they’re creating for people.” Active Resident – Young (29 or under) Theo Padnos TORONTO: Print is not dead, Freelance declared OPC member John R. Mac- Sima Diab Paris Arthur at a forum hosted by the Ca- Freelance Active Overseas nadian Journalism Foundation in No- vember. “We’re finding (through) our Active Overseas Krithika Varagur subscriber surveys, that the vast ma- Freelance jority of our readers still prefer to read Mellissa Fung Jakarta on paper,” the Harper’s president and Freelance Active Overseas – Young London (29 or under) publisher said, as quoted by the Brit- Active Overseas ish media organization FIPP. “I want to dispute the premise that there is Emily Gogolak still gold in them there digital hills,” Freelance he added. “If we just figure out how to New York monetize it, or how to manipulate the Active Resident – Young digits ... I just don’t buy it.” Harper’s (29 or under) currently allows users to read one free article per month on its website but covered previously secret facts about ing the height of its sectarian conflict, requires a print subscription to read KGB mole . His book The died in on Dec. 3. He was 64. more. First Casualty, about war correspon- Austin was a television and radio re- dents’ struggles with government in- porter for 10 years at the BBC before DHAKA: OPC member Hasan fluence and their own biases, won the moving over to lead the broadcaster’s Mahmud was recently honored by OPC Award for Best Book on Foreign public relations department in Belfast. the Srejon Laletocola Academy, a Affairs in 1975. Hunter was struck by a car in Bahrain Dhaka-based arts and cultural organi- zation. Mahmud has been a reporter while working for the nonprofit North- for newspapers and TV in Bangladesh Iva Drapalova, who covered ern Ireland Co-operation Overseas. for over twenty years; his reporting Soviet-era Czechoslovakia for The has included the conflict in South Su- Associated Press, the Los Angeles Clare Hollingworth, the reporter dan, the World Trade Organization, Times, The New York Times and other who broke the story of the start of and, in 2016, covering the U.N. from outlets, died at age 91 on Dec. 31. The World War II, died in Hong Kong on New York. AP hired Drapalova as a translator in Jan. 10. She was 105. Hollingworth 1968, the year the USSR invaded. Af- had been a journalist for less than a PEOPLE REMEMBERED ter the agency’s correspondent left the week when she saw tanks massing on Investigative reporter Phllip country, she began filing copy herself. the German-Polish border and filed a Knightley died on Dec. 7 at age 87 She worked under continuous surveil- story for predict- in London. Knightley, an Australian, lance during two decades of Soviet ing imminent invasion. She went on to began working at the Sunday Times of rule; in 1989, she obtained thousand- report from all over the world, includ- London in the 1960s, giving the news- page file on her activities that had been ing Vietnam, Algeria, India, Pakistan, paper a new investigative heft. He fa- amassed by the secret police. China and . Hollingworth mously exposed the birth defects asso- spent her last few decades in Hong ciated with the morning-sickness drug Irish journalist Austin Hunter, Kong, where she was a regular at the Thalidomide in the 1970s, and un- who reported on Northern Ireland dur- Foreign Correspondents’ Club.

OPC Bulletin • January 2017 • Page 8 PRESS FREEDOM UPDATE... Due to Turkey’s crackdown on in relation to their work, which was Vernon is currently a CJR Delacorte journalism, the number of jour- also a decline in comparison to pre- Fellow. nalists in prison worldwide hit its vious years. highest level in 2016 since the Com- Peruvian journalist Marco Anto- mittee to Protect Journalists began OPC member John Daniszewski nio Ramón may lose the vision in detailed tracking in 1990. Turkey posed a pointed question about press his left eye after being shot with rub- accounts for 81 of the 259 jailed freedom in Azerbaijan to President ber bullets while covering protests journalists; the next-biggest offend- Ilham Aliyev at the News Agencies in Lima in early January. Ramón, ers are China, Egypt, Eritrea and World Congress in Baku on Nov. 17. 25, has traveled to the U.S. for treat- Ethiopia. Iran fell out of the top five Noting that there are several journal- ment. He is a reporter for newspa- since many arrested in a 2009 crack- ists behind bars there, Daniszewski per Peru21. According to the Knight down have served their terms and asked Aliyev to outline “steps you Center for Journalism in the Ameri- been released. The vast majority of might take to reassure the world cas, local news reported that police journalists jailed worldwide work about Azerbaijan and press free- were firing in the faces of both pro- online and/or in print. Twenty of the dom.” According to a transcript on testers and journalists. 259 are female. the president’s official website, Ali- yev replied that “freedom of press is Reporter Nazmul Huda was ar- Longtime OPC member Rod wholly provided in Azerbaijan” and rested while covering a strike by Nordland was denied entry to Tur- that there are many countries where garment workers in Dhaka, Bangla- key on Jan. 17. The veteran New “journalists commit crimes and then desh in late December. According to York Times reporter was detained on they are prosecuted.” He then criti- Reporters Without Borders, he was arrival at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, cized the U.S. for its treatment of charged with reporting false infor- then forced to fly to London. The Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. mation and encouraging the strike. Turkish government has offered no Daniszewski is vice president and Huda is said to be the only journal- explanation. Times executive editor editor at large for standards at The ist to expose structural problems at , also an OPC member, Associated Press. The CPJ ranked Dhaka’s Rana Plaza factory before it said in a statement that “The Turk- Azerbaijan 5th on its list of most collapsed in 2013, killing more than ish government’s action is an af- censored countries in 2015. a thousand workers. He works for front to freedom of the press and an Bangla Daily and Ekushey TV. effort to keep the world from hav- Pete Vernon, the 2016 OPC ing access to independent reporting Foundation Theo Wilson Scholar, The offices of popular Tanzanian from Turkey.” feels journalists missed an opportu- website Jamii Forum were raided in nity to stand in solidarity at a January December, and its founder and two Journalist murders were on press conference employees arrested. The press free- track to end lower in 2016, accord- where President- dom organization Article 19 reports ing to the CPJ. The press freedom Elect Trump refused that founder and editor Maxence organization found that at least 48 to take a question Melo was detained for refusing to journalists were killed in connection from CNN. In the disclose the names of several con- to their work between Jan. 1 and heat of the moment, tributors who posted “controversial Dec. 15, 2016. It is probing at least Vernon writes in the Michael Dames content.” He has since been charged 27 other deaths to determine whether Columbia Journal- Vernon under the country’s controversial they were connected to the victims’ ism Review, “it’s understandable cyber-crimes law. Jamii Forum is work. Combat and crossfire deaths that no one stopped to consider the known for intense discussions of ticked upward to 26. More than half implication of Trump’s actions.” But politics and corruption among its of the killings were attributable to he wishes the rest of the news scrum commenters. political groups, including Islamist had picked up the same line of ques- militants. Photographer and camera tioning, or even refused to ask more Uzbek journalist Muhammad operator were the most dangerous questions until Trump acknowl- Bekzhanov is due to be released this jobs, and nine out of 10 journalists edged CNN. “As an industry, we month after 17 years in prison. But killed were local. The International must be prepared for more moments the CPJ reports he has been moved Press Institute found that at least 81 like today’s, and we must be ready to to solitary confinement, and his fam- journalists worldwide were killed respond accordingly,” he concludes. (Continued on Page 10)

OPC Bulletin • January 2017 • Page 9 (Continued From Page 9) cal news reports, Que had recently on illegal logging and timber smug- ily fears the state is preparing to ex- written a column accusing officials gling. The 35-year-old had worked tend his sentence yet again. Bekzha- of negligence in the case of an ille- for Eleven Media News for two nov was editing a pro-opposition gal methamphetamine laboratory in years. newspaper in when he was the province. extradited in 1999 along with Yusuf ● Radio journalist Jesus Adrian Ruzimuradov, a reporter for the pa- ● Activists claim a sports jour- Rodriguez Samaniego, 41, was per. The two were sentenced to 14 nalist murdered in Riffa, Bahrain shot to death in his car outside his and 15 years, respectively, on charg- on Dec. 23 was killed by a member Chihuahua City home on the morn- es including publishing a banned of the nation’s royal family. A man ing of Dec. 10. Rodriguez was a newspaper and attempting to over- shot Eman Salehi, 28, in the street veteran journalist who reported on throw the government. They have while her six-year-old son watched state and municipal government and since had their sentences extended, from their car, according to The politics for GRD Multimedia at An- and have been imprisoned longer Telegraph (UK). He then immedi- tena 102.5 FM in Chihuahua City, than any journalists in the world, ac- ately turned himself in to police. according to the El Paso Times. “He cording to CPJ data. Members of Bahrain Watch, a hu- was born to be a reporter,” his em- man rights group, told the AP the ployer said in a statement. MURDERS killer was a member of the ruling al- ● Filipino newspaper editor Lar- Khalifa family. Salehi was a popular ● Brajesh Kumar, a journalist ry Que was shot to death in the Cat- reporter on state-run television. for a Hindi daily, was shot dead in anduanes province town of Virac on Salakhni village in the state of Bi- Dec. 19, according to the CPJ. Que ● Newspaper reporter Ko Soe har, eastern India on Jan. 3. It was was the publisher of Catanduanes Moe Tun was found dead in Mony- the third murder of a journalist in News Now, a weekly community wa, northwestern Myanmar, on Dec. Bihar in nine months. The Hindu- newspaper established less than a 13, with bruises and wounds to the stan Times reports people in an SUV year ago. He also wrote a column head. His wife told the Myanmar opened fire on Kumar as he stood for the paper, and owned a local in- Times she believed his killing was talking to laborers outside his house. surance company. According to lo- related to reporting he was doing He was 28 years old.

(‘Mentorship’ Continued From Page 2) ing from male bosses and colleagues. ten socially accepted behavior becomes accepted within Many women journalists suffer from stress, PTSD, the newsroom. Mentorship is critical to guide women postpartum depression, anxiety and a number of other on how to navigate a relatively changing environment.” mental health issues that we found thorough our net- Though increasing numbers of women are breaking works. In conversations with many of these women, we found that these symptoms stem from feelings of isola- into foreign reporting, women still receive proportion- tion, discontent and worthlessness. ately less recognition for their work than men. In the Saba Eitizaz, a coalition mentor for the Pakistan last two decades, nearly three times more Pulitzers have chapter, said this stress negatively effects journalists’ gone to men than women for foreign reporting. Over performance in the field. the last ten years, the OPC’s Robert Capa Gold Medal Discrimination is often carried out unconsciously, and for photojournalism was awarded to nine men and one can be fought with knowledge and awareness. We are woman. Why are these numbers so low? Research pub- working with faculty at NYU, UMass Amherst and Har- lished by the Women’s Media Center and various other vard Kennedy School to learn more about the science of outlets show women journalists still lag behind male bias and other cultural and behavioral factors that foster counterparts in terms of opportunity. gender discrimination within the industry. The coalition aims to understand why these numbers We need your support and participation to better un- have not improved, what needs of women journalists are derstand the needs of women journalists working abroad. not getting addressed and how mentors can help sharpen If you have any suggestions or would like to offer or seek goals and strengthen journalism. mentorship, email [email protected]. We will be Coalition members spoke to 120 women journal- happy to assist with basic mentorship training for those ists, including editors and reporters, in twelve countries who would like to learn more. Follow the coalition on about their experience working in the field. We learned @CfWiJ for more updates. that women face sexual harassment and security threats OPC member Kiran Nazish freelances for the Los An- from various sources in the course of their work, includ- geles Times and Al Jazeera.

OPC Bulletin • January 2017 • Page 10 Meet the OPC Members: Q&A With Deborah Steinborn By Trish Anderton As an American journalist living in Hamburg, Germany, Deborah Steinborn covers economics, politics and society. She has interviewed heads of state from Europe to Asia and heads of corporations from Starbucks to Berkshire Hathaway. A Knight-Bagehot fellow in business journalism at Columbia University from 2001 to 2002, she has received a German Marshall Fund grant and a Dow Jones & Co. Award for Excellence in Journalism. Steinborn’s work has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Die Zeit, Financial Times, The Christian Science Monitor,

Businessweek, and other outlets. She is author of a book Courtesy of Deborah Steinborn on women in the global economy. Deborah Steinborn

Hometown: Queens, New York (just down the road ignored, yelled at, bullied and threatened. from Donald Trump’s childhood home). Best journalism advice received: Don’t follow the pack Education: BA from Binghamton University, Masters (from a wise old professor at Columbia University). degrees in Journalism and International Affairs from Columbia University. Worst experience as a journalist: It’s a toss-up between being shot at in the Cambodian countryside Languages: English and German. and a particularly grueling interview with a German billionaire. First job in journalism: Production assistant for the public radio and television broadcaster Deutsche Welle When traveling, you like to… talk to locals, chat with in Cologne, Germany. I was hooked on journalism my people on the street. Go for a walk or a run to explore very first day there. the neighborhood. Shop at a supermarket and talk to the deli counter folks. Countries reported from: Germany, the U.K., Iceland and pretty much all the continental European countries, Journalism heroes: Martha Gellhorn. Edward R. Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, South Africa…and of Murrow. I love to read Jane Kramer in The New Yorker. course the U.S. Advice for journalists who want to work overseas: Year you joined the OPC: 2001. Pick a place you like. Do your research before moving. And beware: you might wind up staying longer than What drew you to business reporting? I minored in expected. business and economics in college. At the time, I thought it was a little boring. But one of my first assignments as a Most over-the-top assignment: Probably the weirdest reporter was to cover Polish car theft rings in Germany. reporting trip I ever took was to Iceland shortly after I saw how it all fit together – economics, politics, the the global financial crisis of 2008. It’s such a small lives of ordinary people. A car thief told me all the jobs country that everyone knows everyone else. A stranger in his town had dried up after the Berlin Wall fell. The even stopped me on the street one day, asked me if I was only hospital in that town had shut down as a result and Deborah, then started gossiping about other people I was no one could get proper medical care. So he and a group trying to track down. One of them was in jail, she told of friends in town, including a policeman, had set up me, just across the street. She offered to take me there this “business” of used, stolen cars in order to revive for a visit. their town. Twitter handle: @deborahsteinbor Major challenge as a journalist: Getting billionaires to talk. One of my regular freelance gigs is for the Want to add to the OPC’s collection of Q&As with mem- annual Forbes Billionaires List. I’ve been by turns bers? Please contact [email protected].

OPC Bulletin • January 2017 • Page 11 role of China in American transform your global out- New Books development. He details look, and push your limits.” CHINA how profits from trading Dorsey is currently HEN THE SONS OF LIBER- with China fueled Ameri- an Executive Editor/ Wty famously dumped 342 chests can industrialization, and Correspondent for CBS of tea into Boston Harbor in Decem- Chinese labor built the News Radio. He previously ber 1773, they were striking back at American West. Today, freelanced out of Istanbul, England – but the tea they upended Chinese-made goods fill Moscow and Brisbane. For into the chilly waters hailed from every American home. Meanwhile, those interested in following in his China. That’s just one of the factoids the U.S. has exported its culture, re- footsteps, he lays out a detailed path John Pomfret dangles in The Beauti- ligions and ideas to China. A young to deciding whether and where to ful Country and the Middle Mao admired George launch a freelance career. Kingdom: America and Washington and Theodore Early chapters deal with China, 1776 to the Present Roosevelt, and Xi Jinping issues like choosing a destination, [Henry Holt and Co., No- sent his daughter to Har- including factors like cost of living, vember 2016] as he builds vard even while criticiz- competition for strings, safety, his case that America’s ing U.S. influence on his ease of reporting, and the quality future has been bound up country. with China’s since birth. “If the new leadership of life you’re likely to have in “Chinese and Americans in Washington wishes to your chosen destination. Dorsey arouse deeply conflicting feelings in get a sense of the broad sweep of outlines strategies for networking each other,” he writes. “Yet no other American history with China, I can with colleagues in-country, as well two nations’ mutual dependence is think of few better places to start as developing sources and finding as vital to the fate of the world as the than this book,” writes Howard W. news. one between these two great pow- French in the Wall Street Journal. Later sections are devoted to ers.” The South China Morning Post managing money and producing A former correspondent for the says Pomfret “does a masterful job stories, with a focus on new media Washington Post, Pomfret shared of presenting the good, the bad and and social media. The final chapter the OPC’s Malcolm Forbes Award the ugly from generations of interac- discusses how to weigh the risks of in 2000 with his colleagues there. tions.” conflict zones, and how to prepare In this thoroughgoing book, a hefty to report from them. The appendices FREELANCING 700 pages long, he explores the vital are packed with practical reference PROOTING YOUR LIFE materials, such as a sample invoice “Uand traveling across the world and a detailed checklist for assessing without the guarantee of a steady the riskiness of conflict zones. Dorsey paycheck is not something to take Upcoming Events lightly,” writes Steve Dorsey in draws on his own experiences, and The Global Freelancer: Telling those of other freelancers, to root the OPC Mixer and Selling Foreign News [Focal book in the contemporary freelance at The Half King Press, July 2016]. “It can end re- landscape. 6:00 p.m. Jan. 25 lationships, plunge you into debt, In a review for SAGE Journals, and even stall your career. But if Giovanna Dell’Orto calls The Glob- you’re successful, the move could al Freelancer a “practical book that Middle East Hands every journalism student (or, really, Reunion re-energize your love of journal- ism, allow you to make the world anyone else) keen to cover foreign 6:30 p.m. March 1 your office, introduce you to news should read.” characters and people who could — By Trish Anderton

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