THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA, NEW YORK, NY • January 2016 Kathy Gannon to Give Keynote at Scholars Luncheon By Jane Reilly fornia. “We’ve been doing Kathy Gannon, senior correspon- this now for more than 20 dent for Pakistan and Afghanistan years,” said Bill Holstein, for the Associated Press, will be president of the OPC Foun- the keynote speaker at the annual dation, “and it’s clear that OPC Foundation Scholar Awards we have created a whole Luncheon on Friday, Feb. 26, at the new generation of foreign Yale Club. The recipient of several correspondents who are press awards, including the Burton based all over the world for Benjamin Memorial Award from the many top publications. But Michael Danes Committee to Protect Journalists for we need to keep expand- Kathy Gannon lights a ceremonial candle in a lifetime of distinguished achieve- ing what we do to address honor of journalists killed, imprisoned or missing ment in the cause of press freedom, the many unmet needs that at last year’s OPC Awards Dinner. Gannon has covered South Central young journalists, in particular, face. Niedringhaus, a German photogra- Asia and elsewhere for the AP as The industry’s economic shift to- pher, when a police officer walked a correspondent and bureau chief ward greater reliance on freelancers up to their car, said “Allahu Akbar,” since 1988. and the perilous climate in which and opened fire on them. Niedring- At the luncheon, the Foundation they ply their trade shows no sign of haus was killed in the attack, and will award a combination of scholar- abating.” Gannon was seriously wounded. ships and fellowships to 15 graduate Given the dangers many journal- In presenting the CPJ award and undergraduate college students ists face, Holstein described Gan- to Gannon, Christiane Amanpour, aspiring to become foreign corre- non’s selection as keynote speaker chief international correspondent spondents. The winning recipients as the perfect choice. “She did ev- for CNN, said Gannon’s long years are from City University of New erything right that day, and yet trag- York; Columbia University; New of experience based in Islamabad edy struck,” he said, alluding to York University; University of Cali- gave her “unbelievable insight into April 4, 2014, the day before nation- fornia, Berkeley; University of Chi- an often impenetrable region” and wide elections in Afghanistan. Gan- cago; University of Montana-Mis- that Gannon always followed her non was at a police compound with soula; University of North Carolina; vision of journalism. “Be fair, be her friend and AP colleague Anja (Continued on Page 4) and the University of Southern Cali- Inside. Rod Nordland to Discuss ‘The Lovers’ Preview: Encryption for Journalists....2 tween 40th and 41st Streets). EVENT PREVIEW: Jan. 27 Preview: Book Night for ‘One Child’....3 Nordland, an OPC member since Preview: Remembering Castro..........3 The OPC and The New York 1985, is currently correspondent-at- Azmat Khan on Al Jazeera America.3 Times’ Asian Heritage Network are large and bureau chief in Kabul for the Times. He won the OPC’s Ed Cun- President’s Award..................................3 hosting a Book Night with author and OPC award winner Rod Nordland to ningham Award for best magazine History: Castro and the OPC..............3 writing from abroad in 1999 while discuss The Lovers: Afghanistan’s Preview: Russia Hands Reunion........4 working for Newsweek. Romeo and Juliet, The True Story of People Column...............................6-8 To reserve a spot, please register Holiday Party Photos.......................8 How They Defied Their Families and on the RSVP link included in OPC Press Freedom Update..............9-10 Survived an Honor Killing Program. email event reminders and event The event will begin at 6:30 Q&A: Anita Snow...........................11 listings on our website at www.op- p.m. at The New York Times build- New Books.....................................12 cofamerica.org or call the office at ing, 620 Eighth Avenue (be- 212 626-9220. Protect Yourself and Your Sources Book Night to Discuss ‘One Child’ EVENT PREVIEW: Feb. 2 EVENT PREVIEW: Feb. 9 Encryption is just as important as a flak jacket in to- Bring a prospective OPC member to enjoy Chinese day’s dangerous reporting environment. Learn about treats and seasonal cocktails at this one-of-a-kind book when and how to use encryption from Ryan Tate and Er- night/Chinese New Year gathering at the home of OPC Governor Minky Worden in Manhattan. The person inn Clark of The Intercept, published by First Look Me- who signs up the most new members will receive a free dia. Founders of The Intercept include Glenn Greenwald copy of One Child: The Story of China’s Most Radical and Laura Poitras, who helped Edward Snowden leak a Experiment. massive trove of National Security Agency documents. Mei Fong was a The event is co-sponsored by the OPC and New York longtime China cor- University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute and respondent for The Wall Street Journal, will be held at the Carter Institute. and shared a Pulitzer The event begins at 6:00 p.m. Prize for her China To make a reservation, please register on the RSVP coverage. Part anal- C-SPAN2 link included in OPC email event reminders and event ysis, part journal- OPC member Evan Osnos in- terviews Mei Fong on C-SPAN’s listings on our website at www.opcofamerica.org or call istic memoir, Fong After Words. the office at 212 626-9220. weaves in her own struggles with infertility with stories from people liv- ing with the consequences of China’s rigid fertility controls, taking the reader from the wreckage of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to a Kunming hospice and the IVF clinics of Beijing and California. Andy Jacobs, a longtime China correspondent for The New York Times, will moderate. To reserve a spot, please use the RSVP link included in OPC email event reminders, call the office at 212- 626-9220 or send an email to [email protected]. Read more about One Child in this month’s book Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images review section on page 12. OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB OF AMERICA • BOARD OF GOVERNORS PRESIDENT ACTIVE BOARD Scott Gilmore Paul Moakley ASSOCIATE BOARD PAST PRESIDENTS Marcus Mabry Jacqueline Albert- International Columnist Deputy Director MEMBERS EX-OFFICIO U.S. Lead Simon Maclean’s Magazine Photography and Brian I. Byrd Michael Serrill U.S. Bureau Chief Visual Enterprise Twitter Moments Time magazine Program Officer David A. Andelman Politique Internationale Peter S. Goodman NYS Health John Corporon Editor-in-Chief FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Hannah Allam Robert Nickelsberg Foundation Allan Dodds Frank Calvin Sims International Freelance Alexis Gelber Foreign Affairs Business Times President and CEO Correspondent Photojournalist Bill Collins William J. Holstein Director, Public & Marshall Loeb International House McClatchy Mary Rajkumar Newspapers Charles Graeber Business Affairs Larry Martz Freelance Journalist International Enterprise SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Editor Ford Motor Company Roy Rowan Deborah Amos and Author The Associated Press Larry Smith Abigail Pesta Correspondent Freelance Journalist Emma Daly Richard B. Stolley NPR Steve Herman Lara Setrakian Communications Bureau Chief Co-Founder & CEO Director Molly Bingham Southest Asia News Deeply EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THIRD VICE PRESIDENT Human Rights Watch Patricia Kranz Pancho Bernasconi Freelance Journalist Voice of America Vice President/News Martin Smith Rukmini Callimachi President Daniel Sieberg OFFICE MANAGER Getty Images Anjali Kamat Rain Media Foreign Correspondent Global Head Boots R. Duque Correspondent Fault Lines of Media Outreach TREASURER The New York Times Liam Stack Al-Jazeera Breaking News Google EDITOR Tim Ferguson Chad Bouchard Anupreeta Das Reporter Editor Azmat Khan The New York Times Minky Worden Forbes Asia Reporter Wall Street Journal Investigative Reporter Director of Global Charles Wallace Initiatives OPC BuzzFeed News Financial Writer SECRETARY Chris Dickey Human Rights Watch ISSN-0738-7202 Deidre Depke Foreign Editor Dan Klaidman Vivienne Walt Copyright © 2015 New York Bureau Chief The Daily Beast, Deputy Editor Correspondent Over seas Press Club Marketplace Paris Yahoo News 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 2016 • Page 2 ANALYSIS: Why Al Jazeera America Didn’t Last By Azmat Khan too serious, or too toxic a work environment to ever re- When Al Jazeera announced ally succeed, and that oil prices and a litany of lawsuits it would be launching an Ameri- made it financially unviable. But from my experience can news network in early 2013, working there, it was digital naïveté that doomed it more many journalists believed it than anything else. could be a game changer – my- Take a moment and imagine what AJAM could self included. have been if Al Jazeera had spent $2.5 billion on an ex- During the Arab Spring, its perimental digital media enterprise – not a cable news English channel’s live stream channel. had drawn millions of first-time Azmat Khan Now consider what it actually did: Al Jazeera bought viewers in the United States. To those watching, the (Continued on Page 5) coverage was refreshingly bold, the reporters fierce, and the mission – to give voice to the voiceless – ex- FEB. 3: OPC LUNCH hilarating. Even after Egypt’s protests ended, Americans REMEMBERING CASTRO continued to watch and read Al Jazeera online. The fact On Feb. 3, the OPC is hosting a lunch at the that it had attracted a growing digital audience seemed Club Quarters dining room to share stories with to challenge prevailing beliefs about journalism, par- two journalists who interviewed Fidel Castro and ticularly the idea that there’s little American appetite for Che Guevara in their early years.