MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

A unique one-week course for mid-career journalists offered summer 2006 by the Washington Program of the Medill School of Journalism

"Journalists who cover wars and humanitarian emergencies of the post-Cold War world know far better than their audiences or their critics how much they are operating in uncharted territory. Understanding what is going on in the midst of all the havoc, confusion and disinformation is anything but simple."--"Crimes of War"

For the first time, Medill's Washington Program will offer a limited-enrollment graduate-level seminar for mid-career journalists to examine contemporary war--from the small, faraway conflicts that spell future trouble to major interventions involving the United States and its allies. It will feature leading U.S. experts on war, military tactics and war crimes and will include a hazardous environments course given by Centurion Risk Assessment. It is designed for both defense specialists and general reporters.

Meeting from Aug. 26 to Aug. 31, the seminar will investigate the changing nature of war, challenges for embedded as well as unilateral reporters and the coverage issues raised by terrorism. It will address U.S. military history and practice as well as the nuts and bolts of military organization. The Centurion course, a two-day version of the training now required by many media organizations, will focus on minimizing risks in situations of combat or civil unrest.

The aftermath of 9/11 has added a challenge to the news media that reporters on the whole are not equipped to meet. The attack on the United States was launched from a country engaged in an endemic civil war that had gone largely uncovered. The presence of Osama bin Laden had received media attention, but the force and infrastructure he created in Afghanistan as part of the civil war have not received adequate coverage.

So reporters, the U.S. public and even parts of the government are not in a position to analyze the threat, explain it or judge how well it is being addressed. Successive administrations have tended to ignore small wars unless and until they present a direct threat to U.S. interests. Yet we know all too well that small wars often require a drug trade to support one or both sides; they lead to crimes against humanity and genocide. They provide a cover under which terrorists can operate, and many eventually end only with a U.S.-led intervention. The Bush administration has acknowledged that the places where these small wars are endemic are now a major threat to world security.

It is time to reconfigure journalists' training to recognize this reality.

Newsday Foreign Editor Roy Gutman and Medill Assistant Dean Ellen Shearer will lead the seminars with guest speakers from the Marine Corps, Army, State Department, Justice Department and other institutions as well as reporters with experience on the military beat and covering wars.

Applicants should be working journalists with at least three years of experience. Enrollment is limited. To apply, please send Ellen Shearer (shearer@northwestern.edu) an e-mail letter of application indicating how this will help you and what you hope to gain. Include a bio or resume.

The course is funded through a grant from the McCormick-Tribune Foundation. Lodging, registration fees and some meals are provided.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 30, 2006.

Send to:
Covering Conflicts
Medill News Service
1325 G St. NW, Suite 730
Washington, DC 20005

For more information:
Contact Assistant Dean Ellen Shearer at 202-661-0102 or go to http://www.medillnewsdc.com.