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January 2011
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Missouri Honor Medal Master Classes Enlighten, Provoke and Entertain
Edited by Sarah Wice
Strategic Communication Student
Some of the world's best journalists and an advertising expert shared how they serve their communities while reporting under gunfire, capture the impact of climate change using innovative photographic techniques, plant the Honda brand into America's heartland and use wine as a platform for discussing the larger issues of life and more during a daylong series of Missouri Honor Medal master classes in October.
The distinguished guests were on campus to receive a 2010 Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism, one of the industry's highest honors. The recipients were James Balog, founder and director, Extreme Ice Survey and Earth Vision Trust; Cathleen Black, chairman, Hearst Magazines; Ignacio Gomez, executive director, representing the Foundation for the Freedom of the Press, Bogata, Colombia; Dorothy J. Gaiter, wine columnist and author; Myron Kandel, financial journalist; Larry Postaer, co-chairman, Rubin Postaer and Associates; Sandy Rowe, editor; and Adela Navarro, co-editor, representing ZETA Weekly Newspaper, Tijuana, Baja California.
Students packed the meeting rooms to learn from the best, and highlights of each master class are included below.
Earth Vision Trust and Extreme Ice Survey: Using Art and Science to Inspire Positive Social Action
James Balog
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James Balog
Founder and Director, Extreme Ice Survey and Earth Vision Trust
It is correct that we have a problem with climate change, and we have to do something about it.
Being a photographer is about being adaptive. You have to morph yourself all the time to function physically, emotionally and psychologically in different places and with different people around the world. There is more to concerned documentary photography than war poverty, famine and disease, which is why I capture the interactions between humans and nature.
If anyone has ever studied any type of science, they have probably heard of tectonics or plate tectonics. I have taken that concept and evolved it to human tectonics, or the study of human effects on nature and how they have become a dominant agent of change on nature today.
In the Extreme Ice Survey, our team has traveled around the world installing time-lapse cameras at various glaciers to record how they are changing. The cameras shoot every 15 minutes. They create a visual memory of landscapes that are vanishing. Without that memory, humanity would be entirely clueless as to what was actually happening.
With all the knowledge we have about climate change, our society has no excuse for complacency or denial. We have plenty of technological and economic solutions at hand. We need to think long term instead of short term. We need to recognize that we gain tremendous benefits in terms of new jobs, military security and health benefits if we change the energy regime of today. We can tell our children and our children's children that we did the right thing at the right time if we change the path that we're on.
It is our job as journalists to bring out these issues so we can get the rest of society up to speed. Most people are in denial about climate change, and journalists have an obligation to properly emphasize accurate information and not be bamboozled by the propagandists that are working so hard to confuse the general public.
From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: Re-inventing Success in Media and Life
Cathleen Black
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Cathleen Black
Chairman, Hearst Magazines
Happiness is way more important to success than success is to happiness.
The media need you. The younger generation has outpaced our generation. You are more intuitive, flexible and the reason behind the new social media. In fact, we refer to you all as "generation text."
I want to challenge you all to think about your own success in all of life. In terms of passion, doing what you really love and going home to whom you love. That is what is really important. You can love your job, but your job won't love you back, so have a life beyond your cubicle.
When innovating or creating new things, you don't have to be a jerk. You just need to be so driven to succeed that everything else falls by the wayside. I grew up in a man's world. Men edited all the women's magazines, and it took a really long time to put women in these sorts of positions, until sales. It didn't matter what gender you were, only the revenue you brought in.
There are very few stupid mistakes; instead think of them as teachable moments. You can make a bad mistake; you can make a big mistake. Just don't put the two together and make a bad, big mistake.
There is no such thing as a valueless experience in either work or life. You learn, revise your game plan, grow, move forward and don't look back. Don't be afraid to change or relocate because you have to take risks as you move forward through life.
Telling Stories under Crossing Fire in Colombia
The FLiP
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Ignacio Gomez
Executive Director, Foundation for the Freedom of the Press, Bogatá, Colombia
I have two bodyguards, report in an armored car and am forced to wear a bulletproof vest.
For many Colombians, freedom of expression is like the flag of the country. It is like the U.S. in that way that expression lives in foundation of Colombia. However, over the years it has become quite diminished because of the overwhelming amount of narcotic traffickers, corrupt politicians and military out of law. Since 1978, when drug trafficking started to be like an industry in Colombia, 186 journalist have been killed on duty.
Ignacio Gomez
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Narcotic traffickers are an anti-communist organization aiming to gain political and economic power. They campaign on fighting against communism but kill any social leader or organization that has a political voice. They kidnapped four leading journalists in 1991, two of which were children of former Colombian presidents who were trying to voice their opinions about past killings.
A group of journalists joined efforts to fight against the violence, the impunity on those killings, other threats and brainstormed ways to restore freedom of express in Colombia. At the beginning we got self-censored newspaper journalists able to cover their findings with collective reports about Mafia gangs. Then we created a handbook offering advice on how to survive as a journalist in Colombia because of the mass number of journalists being killed on the streets.
In 2000, I was attacked at my house but survived. More than 20 journalists who tried to speak out and criticize the government supported by narcotics were forced out. It is a big deal for journalists to contradict the government and separate the real from the fake threats from officers. One reporter received a threatening phone call saying how her daughter was going to be killed and have her fingers spread around the house.
FLiP has put few programs in place to help protect 84 journalists with body guards, armored cars, police protections and bulletproof vests. They aim to stop the killing of journalists because no person should be harmed for what they think or say. Freedom of expression is not protected by my bodyguards; they only protect my life.
Drinking for Fun and Profit
Dorothy J. Gaiter
Wine Columnist and Author
Dorothy J. Gaiter
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We loved wine, but it was our special, private passion. We never intended ever to write about it. But the point is, you never know where a hobby will take you, what an employer may need.
We decided right away that we were writing a lifestyle column, not a wine column. The audience for a column about love and family and life is far, far greater than the audience for a column just about wine. So we used wine to discuss large issues. Our readers also let us know what they wanted to know. We read every letter and answered most.
Twice a year, we told readers the guiding principles behind the column. We told them that we wrote the column, which was called Tastings, with the same journalistic principles we'd always had, which included not accepting anything free because nothing really is free. Fortunately, the Journal was willing to pay for the wine and our travel to wine regions. We insisted on buying our wine for a number of reasons, including to make the very important point that all of the wines that were among our favorites had been on store shelves, there for any adventurous wine drinker to discover, although no fine wine is made in ginormous quantities and distribution is dicey.
We tasted about 50 wines for each column. We listed our favorites only to give readers an idea of how they tasted to us and about how much they cost. Price and value are two different things. Sometimes a $100 bottle of wine is a good value because it's transcendent. You could taste it and want to cry. And sometimes a $10 wine is a terrible value because it's undrinkable. You could taste it and want to cry for a wholly other reason.
Because the Journal is a national newspaper, we took pains to purchase wines from stores across the country. We tasted wines blind, from bottles in brown bags so that we wouldn't be influenced by the names on the labels. One reason for the column's popularity is that we did not accept anything free - no free wine, no free meals, no free trips.
There will always be a need for content that is journalistically pure.
The Media and Business: Friend or Foe?
Myron Kandel
Financial Journalist
Myron Kandel
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The ideal first job for any young journalist would be to work for the toughest boss with the highest standards because that is where you'll get the best training that will stay with you throughout your career.
The business world and the media world both want accuracy, honesty and credibility. However, business generally wants to be in control of how and when its news comes out, while the media's goal is to report business developments as soon as possible. It also seeks to uncover matters that business might not want to see the light of day, particularly examples of fraud or other misdeeds. It is our job as journalists to try to uncover these negative effects and report on them. Reporters need to have a certain amount of skepticism, but they also must be fair and accurate in dealing with the reputation of a person or company. The business community depends on the media not only for the facts but also for intelligent interpretation.
I am a big advocate of whistleblowers and believe they are the unsung heroes of our society. They may be risking their jobs and their careers when they report inappropriate behavior. We as journalists need to applaud and support investigatory journalism.
Reporting and analyzing numbers is a skill that can be valuable to all journalists, no matter what field they're covering, whether it be local government, sports or cultural activities. Every journalist should have knowledge of economics and finance. Don't be afraid to ask questions if something isn't clear to you.
The Internet has been great and terrible about coverage of businesses. It is great in the sense of the vast amount of information out there, but there also may be a serious lack of editing. In the traditional media, there are layers of expertise backing up what reporters produce.
I can still remember the mistakes I made 40 or 50 years ago and wish I could redo them. I call it the "cringe factor." These days I feel that many younger people don't take their mistakes seriously. The best way to avoid making mistakes is to remember the ones that you made in the past.
The Little Engine Company that Could: Building the Honda Brand in America
Larry Postaer
Co-chairman, Rubin Postaer and Associates
Larry Postaer
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In 1981, I was transferred from Needham Harper/Chicago to their Los Angeles office as creative director, my primary client a small but promising car company called Honda.
Subsequently, we've created and produced hundreds of TV commercials, a number of which were designed to firmly plant the Honda brand in the heartland of America.
Early on, there was resentment of imports most strongly felt by people living between the two coasts. (At the time, Chrysler, close to bankruptcy, was bailed out by the government. Sound familiar?) Making our job easier, Honda was about to become the first Japanese auto manufacturer to build them in Marysville, Ohio. We made advertising hay, albeit low key, of their major commitment to America and American workers.
Though we've never identified them, over the years, the announcers in our commercials have all been Oscar-winning actors - Burgess Meredith, Jack Lemmon, Richard Dreyfuss and, currently, Kevin Spacey. Celebrity is not why we use them; rather it's the special persona they bring to our copy.
You'll often hear Honda's name mentioned in competitors' commercials. In all the years, we've never resorted to name-calling. Honda has great respect for the intelligence of its customers and considers itself a guest in America. We've always tried to reflect that humility and character in our advertising.
How have things worked out? In 1981, Honda sold 28,000 cars a month in the U.S., all made in Japan. Twenty-five years later, Honda sold that many a week, all made in America.
The first thing I learned from Professor Bob Haverfield back in AdPrin 101 was that there is always somebody who doesn't get the message. He was right. Today, 66 percent of Americans believe that Honda is contributing economically to our society.
Not too shabby, but we've got a few miles left on our journey.
Lessons from a Life in News
Sandy Rowe
Editor
Sandy Rowe
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The best stories are rarely about one thing. They are always hit at the intersections of issues.
Accountability stories are the best of these and the most crucial to society. These stories are complex, high risk and high impact.
Twenty years ago, I was dreaming about the perfect newspaper for me and decided on three main categories of stories: local accountability stories you couldn't get anywhere else except in a daily newspaper, human interest stories of humanity and useful stories that really did help you with daily decisions. These are still the stories that matter. Then, in my hypothetical world, I would put the rest of news back by classifieds. That was when newspapers still had classified advertising.
Investigative and accountability stories are like a high-wire act. They provide risks to the individual, organization and to the community. At The Oregonian, the higher the risk of the story, the more likely I would be involved in taking a final edit. My editing helped me develop a habit of saying, "Could the opposite be true?" or "Is there another explanation for this?" It is important for an editor to have a level of skepticism and ask those tough questions. If you make a mistake, you will carry it with you forever, whether or not others remember.
Accountability reporting has been diminished over the years. It is very expensive and rarely ends up where you think it will. There are several reasons for this. Today, the digital demands are urgent and necessary and that takes scarce resources. Second, publishers have always longed for a Nielson rating and now they have it online. Now papers go off how many hits they receive. And, even when there was more accountability reporting, too much has been poorly done. We are not always good at defining the right stories, and it is essential that you have a core story that will help citizens take action.
Journalists need to be watchdogs and hold institutions responsible. We need more than just "got ya" stories. Many of the best accountability stories are really explanatory stories with an edge that breaks news and explain complexity and how power works. The audience must be ready, engaged and able to take action.
Investigating Narcotics Trafficking
ZETA Weekly
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Adela Navarro
ZETA Weekly Newspaper, Tijuana, Baja California
It is our job to show the bad people in this movie.
Journalists risk their lives everyday reporting on narcotics trafficking and organized crime. ZETA Weekly Newspaper has exercised its right to a free press but with many consequences. Over the past 30 years, three partners have been killed and there have been many attempted murders, leaving one in a delicate state for the rest of his life. The killers were identified and denied U.S. visas, but the crime still remains unsolved because of the corruption in the government.
Adela Navarro
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Drug trafficking reached the borders around the '90s, and ZETA was the first newspaper to investigate organized crime. Our mission is to put names to the face of the leaders, which is something the authorities and police have not done. In fact, the policemen are involved in the organized crime. It is the newspaper's job to identify them and publish their names. In one investigation, ZETA found that policemen were involved in the organized crime. The paper identified those officers and published their names along with their photographs. They also mentioned the drug lords who were paying off the policemen. The column ran in April 2004, and one staff member was killed in June 2004 right in front of the police station. They never found a single witness to the case.
After the murder of 2004 we thought about closing down the paper, but we had to carry on. Otherwise journalism will seize in Mexico. The staff at ZETA carries on with their jobs because they appreciate and respect their readers. Seventy percent of the information received from our readers and then fact-checked by the paper. The work that goes in and out of the paper has to be rigorously checked and goes through many different filters before it is published. It could take two to five years to get a story published.
ZETA puts pressure on the government to take action. By showing the people who damage our society, the government has to chase them. They cannot let organized crime continue.
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