Guilford Affiliating with Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting
Guilford and two Triad universities are teaming up to join the Campus Consortium of the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, a Washington, D.C.,-based organization that supports the cause of international reporting. The other schools are Wake Forest University and High Point University. All have jointly entered into a two-year agreement with the Pulitzer Center that will bring top foreign correspondents to the Triad twice a year. The affiliation provides a global perspective to journalism education on the campuses.
Fellowships for students at each school are also part of the agreement. Students can pursue overseas stories under the mentorship of Pulitzer-sponsored reporters. Guilford already has a student Fellow in the program, junior Keyla Beebe, an English major communications minor from Kingston, Wash., who is spending three weeks in Cambodia through March 18.
Beebe said her project aims to outline the effectiveness of policies seeking to deal with current causes of deforestation in Cambodia as well as how it has affected rural households.
She said, “Cambodia is a country with a very violent history that has affected both the people and the environment. The project that I propose connects both of these issues. While the environmental destruction in Cambodia has been well documented, the attempts to help it recover have not. On this subject, I would like to cover Daran Kravanh and the Khmer Anti-Poverty Party who have set a goal to plant 10,000 trees.
“This goal that is not popular with the government as it highlights their shortfalls on environmental protection. Expanding my focus on the environment, I would also address the lack of educational institutions in Cambodia, and how that has affected the treatment of the environment.”
The partnership, which came together last fall, launches in early April when a reporter and photographer from National Geographic visit the three campuses to discuss a project of theirs that recently attracted global attention – the heart-breaking, age-old ritual of brides as young as eight years in countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen and Ethiopia.
Photographer Stephanie Sinclair and reporter Cynthia Gorney, who spent months on their story, will meet with faculty and students on the campuses during the week of April 2. They will be at Guilford April 4-5, and their schedule is as follows:
- Wednesday, April 4
11:30 a.m. – Journalism class visit, Duke 103. Students in the class plus others from The Guilfordian. - Thursday, April 5
4 p.m. – Center for Principled Problem Solving reception, remarks, Q&A, King Hall Room 126. Open to anyone with student journalists, other students and faculty invited.
7:30 p.m. – Public presentation, short film, remarks, Q&A, Bryan Auditorium. Open to anyone, free.
A highlight of the journalists’ area visit is an evening presentation in the “Voice of our Time” series at Wake Forest Tuesday, April 3.
“I’m excited about the Pulitzer connection because it will expand and deepen our global coverage,” said Jeff Jeske, Dana professor of English. “The Guilfordian has for many years had a world and nation section, but our writers have seldom had the opportunity to travel abroad to do their reporting on-site, or to benefit directly from the guidance of professional journalists who report internationally.
“Keyla’s upcoming experience in Cambodia epitomizes these benefits. She developed the topic on her own but without the financial support of the Pulitzer Center and the assistance of professionals within their organization, she would not be able to carry the project off on her own. We know that Keyla will do great work.”
The Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting provides resources for freelance foreign correspondents in all mediums to pursue important stories around the globe that are then fed back into newspapers, television news programs and web sites. The Campus Consortium now has 15 members. It helps connect the work of those overseas journalists with students and faculty members around the country.
