Join us for a hands-on day of panels and one-to-one discussions, by and for journalists, with some of the most experienced reporters and editors in the business. The conference, featuring reporters and producers from the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR and PBS Frontline World, will focus on the “nuts and bolts” of covering the story outside the United States. We’ll talk about field preparations, reporting from conflict zones, covering business and the environment. We’ll discuss how international journalists are adapting to the rapid development of technology. We’ll address the different ways of covering a war zone. We will also try to answer a frequently-asked question: why should we, as readers, listeners, and viewers, care about a story halfway around the world? And, journalists from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America will analyze and critique Western correspondents’ coverage in their own countries and how differences in culture and nationality affect the story.

The Graduate School of Journalism at Berkeley invites you to this event. Take the opportunity to get closer to the process of creating the story overseas.

The conference, which includes morning coffee, a box lunch, and an afternoon reception, is free to UC Berkeley Journalism School students, staff, and alumni, and $40 for other journalists.

Reservations must be made by April 10. Registration will take place on the day of the conference.

E-mail Shelly Meron at smeron@gmail.com to reserve a space.

Tentative conference schedule:

(Some panelists have been invited but not confirmed)

8:30 to 9 Breakfast/coffee

9-9:15 Introductions by Dean Orville Schell and Sandy Tolan

9:15-10:45 Plenary Panel: Why Should I Care?: Bringing Remote Storeies Home.

Moderator: Cynthia Gorney, Graduate School of Journalism

Panelists:
Neil MacFarquhar (reporter, New York Times)
Jeanne Carstensen (managing editor, Salon.com)
Mimi Chakarova ( Graduate School of Journalism)
Steve Talbot (senior producer, Frontline World)
Sandy Tolan (international reporting program, Graduate School of Journalism).

10:45-11:00 break

11:15-12:45 Plenary panel: Fresh Eyes or tired cliches?: Foreign reporters comment on American coverage of their countries

Moderator: Lydia Chavez (Professor, Graduate School of Journalism)

Panelists:
Omar Fekeiki (student, Graduate School of Journalism; formerly in the Baghdad bureau, Washington Post),
Zhao Moming (student, Graduate School of Journalism),
Tom Segev (columnist, Ha’aretz, Israel),
Patricia Mercado Sanchez, (editor-in-chief, El Economista, Mexico City) Additional panelists TBA.

12:45-1:45 Lunch (Box Lunch Provided)

1:45-3:15: Breakout Sessions:

1) Covering war and conflict in the Middle East:

Moderator: Rone Tempest (reporter, Los Angeles Times; instructor, Graduate School of Journalism)

Panelists:

Steve Fainaru (reporter, Washington Post),
Omar Fekeiki (student, Graduate School of Journalism; formerly in the Baghdad bureau, Washington Post),
Neil MacFarquhar (reporter, New York Times),
Tom Segev (columnist, Ha’aretz, Israel),
Additional panelists TBA.

2) Environmental reporting abroad

Moderator: Orville Schell (Dean, Graduate School of Journalism)

Panelists:
Kate Cheney Davidson (student, Graduate School of Journalism),
Sandy Tolan (international reporting program, Graduate School of Journalism),
Mark Schapiro (editorial director, Center for Investigative Reporting).

3) Reporting on business abroad

Moderator: Marcia Parker (Director, Bloomberg Business Reporting, Graduate School of Journalism)

Panelists:
Andreas Kluth (reporter, The Economist),
Greg Chang (reporter, Bloomberg Business News)
Patricia Mercad Sanchez, (editor-in-chief, El Economista, Mexico City)
Michael Zielinziger (former Pacific Rim correspondent, San Jose Mercury News, and author of Shutting Out the Sun).

3:15-3:30 Break

3:30-5:15 Plenary panel: Multimedia and the future of international reporting

Moderator: Paul Grabowicz (Director, New Media Program, Graduate School of Journalism)

Panelists:
Mark Brecke (independent filmmaker and documentary photographer),
Todd Carrel (instructor, Digital TV and the World, Graduate School of Journalism)
Robert Padovick (senior producer, “Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone,” Yahoo news),
Jessica Partnow (founder and lead audio producer, Common Language Project),
Kim Perry (principal content producer, San Diego Union Tribune online).
Sarah Stuteville (founder and lead journalist, Common Language Project).

5:15 – 6:45 Closing reception and refreshments.