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Pulitzer Prize Winners Teach Hillel Students
March 16, 2001Comments (0) | Add | E-mail this to a friendMore than 30 Jewish student journalists from across the United States studied with Pulitzer Prize-winners Charles Krauthammer and Glenn Frankel, the editor of The Washington Post Magazine, as well as editors of leading American Jewish publications as part of the Journalism Track of the 2001 Charlotte and Jack J. Spitzer B'nai B'rith Hillel Forum on Public Policy.
The young people, from a variety of schools across the United States, confronted some of the toughest ethical dilemmas of their profession: Can journalists put aside their Jewish identity when covering a news story, especially one that reflects poorly on the Jewish community? How do reporters reconcile Judaism's prohibition of gossip with the demands of their work?
The J-Track program is part of an ongoing collaboration between the American Jewish Press Association and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life to bridge the gap between campus and community, as well as to identify and train students to enter the profession of Jewish journalism. The conference this year was co-sponsored by the Jewish Student Press Service.
Many of the 30 students selected to participate in the J-Track had already done internships with Jewish and secular media outlets. Their experience in the field was reflected in the penetrating questions they posed during visits to The Washington Post, National Public Radio and ABC News Nightline. During a session on Capitol Hill, a student asked Reuters Congressional correspondent Joanne Kenen whether her friendship with Washington public relations professional Steve Rabinowitz affected her coverage of events.
Another young reporter asked New York Jewish Week Editor/Publisher Gary Rosenblatt why stories of harassment by a staff member of the National Council of Synagogue Youth were not reported sooner. Students also participated in a lively discussion on the Jewish perspective on lashon harah (gossip) between columnist Krauthammer and Rabbi Avi Weinstein, director of Hillel's Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Learning.
Traveling across the Potomac to Roslyn, VA, students toured an exhibit on wartime reporting of the Holocaust at the Newseum, a museum dedicated to the media, and later discussed the ethics of publishing Holocaust denial advertisements in their school newspapers.
In addition to sessions on professional and Jewish ethics, students had the
opportunity to discuss their future career with working professionals. Washington Jewish Week Editor Debra Rubin worked with small groups of students to review writing samples, and Jewish Telegraphic Agency Washington correspondent Matt Berger led a session on getting started in the field. Many presenters invited students to seek internships on their staff.
"We are helping young people to 'do Jewish' through journalism," explains Hillel Communications Director Jeff Rubin. "These young people may attend the finest journalism schools in the world but they will not be exposed to a Jewish perspective on professional ethics, or the opportunity to channel their passion for Jewish affairs into a career in Jewish journalism. Through the J-Track we hope to show them that the Jewish community embraces many approaches to Judaism and journalism. Now they can make informed choices."
The J-Track is made possible, in part, by a donation from an anonymous donor. Hillel is seeking additional resources to continue and expand this program.
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