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. Rebecca Blumenstein (Continued on Page 4) She is the highest-ranking woman to lead the paper’s news organiza- Middle East 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 China 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 journalism 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 Women in Journalism – 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 The Wall Street Journal 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 Syria. 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 Marshall Loeb SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Douglas Jehl International Enterprise Director Larry Martz Calvin Sims Foreign Editor Editor Human Rights Watch Rukmini Callimachi The Associated Press Larry Smith President and CEO Foreign The Washington Post Richard B. Stolley International House Sarah Lubman Correspondent Roxana Saberi Freelance Journalist Partner The New York Times 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 Al Jazeera 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, Los Angeles Times Charles Wallace Director of Global Paris 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 Over seas 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 Donald Trump, 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 Columbia University’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 General Motors. 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.