Campus Progress/The Nation Journalism Conference

On Friday, June 2, I attended the Campus Progress/The Nation Student Journalism Conference. The event, held at the offices of the Center for American Progress, gave progressive students from across the country the opportunity to learn about journalism and participate in skill building break out sessions. I’ve always been attracted to journalism, and the conference introduced me to some basic journalism skills as well as granted me the opportunity to hear some inspirational progressive speakers.

The day began with an introduction by Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation magazine. She emphasized the crucial role that the press plays in equipping citizens with information about the ideas driving politics. Katrina eloquently worked to construct a picture of hope for a democracy with responsible, ethics-driven journalism. Katrina also noted some disillusionment, which was an inescapable motif in the speeches at this left-learning conference. Following Katrina was a panel discussion titled “On Politics: political writing and reporting” and then a lecture by one of David Horowitz’s “101 most dangerous academics,” Victor Navasky, on the importance of opinion journalism.

After the morning’s activities came the first break out sessions. I attended Max Blumenthal's “Reporting About the Right” to learn how to better orchestrate difficult interviews. Matt shared his experiences with the more extreme factions on the Right, including a group of white supremacists. He noted that getting access, especially to ideological opponents, is often a matter of luck. He did, however, emphasize the importance honesty and ethics throughout his presentation even when his stories were unflattering.

The second breakout session I attended was “Getting and Crafting the Interview” with Laura Flanders of Air America Radio. Laura was a compelling speaker who balanced an inspiring combination of both determined idealism and grounded realism. She adhered strictly to the professional ethics of journalism frequently returning to the responsibility of a journalist to the public interest. While she acknowledged the importance of access in a journalist’s career, she regretted that so many journalists are no longer asking difficult yet crucial questions in an effort to maintain access to key Washington players. She noted that often stories can be crafted from other sources and that sound bites from big name interviewees are not a crucial pillar to a good story. She also emphasized setting up goals for each interview and incorporating a narrative arch to structure the discourse. Her most resonating suggestion, at least for me, was to invoke a 2nd level of “why” into the interview. By using this tactic, an interviewer can go beyond the talking points and into the interviewee’s more personal reflections.

Following a panel discussion on “Covering corporate America,” came a final ensemble of Katrina vanden Heuvel, Eric Alterman, and the infamous reporter Helen Thomas. Each panelist had distinct conceptions of the present, past, and the future of progressive politics. Helen Thomas began by expressing her disappointment that the audience was merely sitting in the offices of a think tank instead of protesting in the streets. Her candid and direct announcement roused the audience, but it was quickly countered by the pragmatic Eric Alterman. He emphasized the importance of realpolitik for empowering progressive policies, yet he was consistently challenged by Katrian vanden Heuvel who felt progressives needed an assertive foundation of consistent principles to recapture the public’s confidence. The sparring between both Katrina and Eric was both lively and informative. Overall, the diversity in the panel was satisfying and an appropriate end to the conference.