Tuesday, March 09, 2010
International Reporting and Hal Bernton
Seattle Times reporter Hal Bernton spoke with Professor Scott Maier's Power Journalism class on Tuesday, March 9. He is a veteran international journalist, who has reported from Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan, France and North Africa.
He gave students a window into foreign correspondence by describing conflicts with editors, the role of the Internet, blogging versus traditional reporting, embedded reporting, among other topics.
And he's a good story teller. He mentioned rich details from people and places in Haiti, like unloading aid trucks while lazy locals refused to help; the effects of political-religious policies on Afghan barbers; and a controversial decision by an Army captain regarding the use of force in unknown territory. I think his ability to recall what he saw has been well documented too through his blogs and articles in the Seattle Times.
A student asked if there were days abroad when he wondered why he chose an assignment with uncomfortable living quarters, danger and little sleep. Although he said surviving a few weeks while sleeping only four hours each night was one reason to gripe with the news editors, Bernton felt rejuvenated to talk to people about their lives and societies.
Thus, one of the most riveting revelations of his experiences abroad is Bernton's love of journalism in its traditional form: "a fresher feel when at the scene." Being at the scene means putting away the computers, talking to locals and exploring livelihood.
He seems to feel a part of his early reporting days are lost with Pong and Game Boy.
Bernton said he was looking at a computer more while blogging in Afghanistan than before online news took over the media. He noticed that in lieu of meeting town/residential sources for both context and stories, a lot of background information was available on the Internet.
"I don't have the same sense of place," he said.
Still, his blogs forced him to meet locals as much as security forces allowed.
Aside from telling tales about writing styles, Internet influences and traveling, Bernton said one important factor in the future of foreign correspondence will be paying for good content and warned against being afraid of it, "because ad revenue isn't going to support the industry like the time they did when there were monopolies."
I think Bernton is correct that advertising can't carry news gathering in any form. Although citizen journalists and bloggers are in the spotlight with free content, they too will need compensation for quality investigative and in depth reporting.
Subscribe to Comments [Atom]
