Student Media Conference Addresses "Attack Mentality"after 9/11

Michael Oreskes of the New York Times (and CCNY grad, Class of 1975) delivering his keynote address. View photos.

Greeting the more than 500 attendees at a Graduate Center conference on "Attack Mentality: A Student Conference & Survival Guide on Journalism, Media, Internships & Jobs in the Age of 9/11," Chancellor Matthew Goldstein remarked that the event "forcefully demonstrated we have a diverse student body with some of the brightest future professionals you will find anywhere: hundreds of student newspaper editors, radio station managers, web publishers, video producers, and students enrolled in journalism and media courses across CUNY's six community and 11 senior colleges." Convincing evidence for the proud boast was immediately forthcoming, when the Chancellor turned to introduce the conference's keynote speaker, Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Oreskes of the New York Times.

Oreskes—who has risen during his 20-year career at the Times from metropolitan reporter to assistant managing editor and director of electronic news—began his journalistic career as a prodigious reporter on the CCNY campus and editor of the college paper, the Campus. While there Oreskes won a Newspaper Fund scholarship, interned at the Wall Street Journal and contributed to the Daily News as the campus "stringer" (he graduated in 1975).

Recognizing Oreskes' distinguished career and his loyalty to the University, Goldstein surprised him and the audience in the Proshanksy Auditorium with the conferral of the Chancellor's Alumni Achievement Award in Journalism.

In his address at the March 1 event, Oreskes recalled his days as an undergraduate, and reminded the students assembled that they share in a unique tradition of access and excellence that has helped uplift generations of New Yorkers. "Carry it proudly," he advised.

The Oreskes keynote highlighted a day of panels, discussions and an extremely popular Career and Job Fair organized by Vice Chancellor for University Relations Jay Hershenson and University Director for Media Relations Michael Arena, with strong support from a special faculty steering committee. In morning sessions, conferees explored several topics on methods of generating and delivering information.

Correspondents described their experiences in a panel on "War Stories: From CUNY to Covering the Middle East and Afghanistan," while war stories of a professional kind were offered by the panel on "Hard Knocks: Lessons from the Job World." The art of interviewing was addressed by a panel wittily titled "Velvet Gloves, Rubber Mallets and Other Useful Techniques.”

Other panels considered "Journalism and the Law," "Big Sports on Campus: How to Cover Your Team," "WebDesign/ Newspaper Design: The Look, the Feel, the Message," and "Crisis on Campus: How Two Student Journalists Responded to 9/11."

University journalism professors moderated many panels, and panelists were among the city's leading professionals in television, radio, print and web media. They included: Joseph Calderone, Daily News investigations editor; former CNN general counsel Eve Burton; NY1 political analyst and co-host Dominic Carter; News Channel 4 reporter Ti-Hua Chang; New York Times columnist (and CCNY ‘66 grad) Clyde Haberman; Lonnie Isabel, Newsday assistant managing editor; Clem Richardson, Daily News columnist; Nelson Wong, Sony New Music Lab senior director; and former New York UPI bureau chief (and current assistant to Chancellor Goldstein) Judith Watson.

Sheila Rule, left, of the New York Times offers career advice at the Job Fair. More than 25 media recruiters attended.

Burton, nationally recognized for her work in defense of the First Amendment and a frequent lecturer at journalism graduate schools, was struck by the intensity—and diversity—of her audience. "The newsrooms need you in print and broadcast," she said. "One of things missing in my view is people of all different backgrounds reporting from all different perspectives. I urge you not to give up on your desires. Go forward into the mainstream newsrooms in our country."

The number of student journalists attending represented a nearly five-fold increase from the previous media conference. Of particular interest to them was a mid-day Job Fair held in the Graduate Center Concourse. Representatives from 25 organizations, including major newspapers, several TV stations and magazines, were there to speak about employment opportunities.

A lively special session of CUNY Forum was also taped at CUNY-TV. Hosted by Bob Liff, journalists from the Village Voice, the Washington Post and El Diario-La Prensa debated how New York is coping with the events of September 11 and fielded questions from students and faculty in the audience.

Appraising the conference earlier at the afternoon plenary session, Executive Vice Chancellor Louise Mirrer called it "a model of what can be accomplished through the collaboration of committed people pooling their resources and talents in the service of a common goal."

Reiterating Chancellor Goldstein's boast, Mirrer concluded her remarks by underscoring the distinct advantages of her audience's location—in New York and on a CUNY campus. "Having you here in one room reinforces Chancellor Goldstein's ideal of a truly integrated City University, a force that combines strengths to make a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts," she noted.

CUNY, she added, is "a great place to become involved in the media, perhaps even to focus on a kind of urban journalism˜New Yorkers have a gritty sophistication and a special way of seeing the world. And we have that New York edge. These are our strengths, and they carry over to our student body, which reflects the city's ethnic diversity, many of them minority, many foreign born, many women."

The Executive Vice Chancellor concluded by urging the organizers of the conference to build upon this success. "I hope you can use today's event as a launching pad for further collaborative activities. I am pleased to be with you today and I'd like to offer the full support of the Office of Academic Affairs for future endeavors."