The Emerging Journalists' Experience

“The schedule is very tight, there is not much time between sessions, but I knew this was to going to be something intense when I applied,” says Thomas Hedges, student at Colgate University in New York and one of the twenty five-scholars who participated in the "Investigative Journalism Workshop in memory of journalist David Halberstam."

David Halberstam dedicated over fifty years of his life to write about variety of subjects including politics, business and sports. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage on the Vietnam War in 1964. He is well-known for his dedication to find the truth in every story he wrote and for supporting the young journalists. He died on April 23, 2007 in a car accident in California.

The intensive seven-day workshop took place at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT from June 8-14, 2008 and was sponsored by the Center for the Study of Responsive Law and other local supporters.


Ralph Nader, current independent candidate for the U.S. 2008 presidency, decided to honor the life and career of his boyhood friend, Halberstam by creating a journalism project. Nader wanted to give young journalists a small taste of the field with some of the top journalists in the country, including former ABC news reporter Jim Wooten and Pulitzer Prize winners Seymour Hersh and Patrick J. Sloyan among others.

David Burnham, co-director of the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) and Nader’s long-time friend says he felt motivated to participate in the workshop because he believes investigative journalism is a great tool for everybody.

“It is [the] holy guardian to democracy, without it you have an uninformed public,” says Burnham.

The idea started to develop last year when Nader and a group of supporters met for the first time in spring 2007 and started to elaborate. In a record time of six months of planning, the idea consolidated. At the beginning of 2008, Adam Tapley, organizer of new projects for Nader in Washington D.C. was selected as coordinator for the workshop. He recalls that the most difficult part was to obtain support from Halberstam’s family.

“They did not want to get involved because they wanted to focus on the project that they started last year ‘Teach of America’,” says Tapley.

Nevertheless, Halberstam’s colleagues, supporters, and long-time friends decided to continue with the project and changed the title of the workshop to, “In honor of David Halberstam.”

The program main focus was investigative journalism. Tapley says the workshop became more significant because it is a term that many people question and this was the work that Halberstam developed.

“In terms of Halberstam it gives connection to go the extra mile and try to get to the truth” says Tapley.

As the deadline approached, the workshop still lacked a director. Lance Tapley, freelance investigative and political writer for the Portland Phoenix was appointed for the job due to his experience in the field and his commitment to contribute with his long-time friend Nader. Adam Tapley says he did not expect to work with his father in the project, however, due to the limited timeline they did not have many options.

“We needed a journalistic director… and one that was willing to stay for a week, come here in a short notice and have the proper credentials,” says Adam Tapley.

Starting April 2008, the workshop’s organizers started sending information to schools across the United States to recruit students. Scholarships of 250 dollars were awarded to qualified students to pay registration. By May 17, 2008 about 100 applications were received and the election began. Students were chosen based on their journalistic work, aspiration and interest in the filed.

On Sunday June 8, 2008, the rising journalists arrived.

Mariana Stebbins, student at the University of Rio de Janeiro and University of Connecticut says she was glad to be part of the first generation of students in the one-week camp. The speakers for the workshop were her motivation to apply.

“When I saw the program I saw they were trying to get the top journalists and I thought to myself when else and where else could I have this opportunity in my life to meet them and engage this experience”, says Stebbins.

She adds that investigative journalism is important and it means to go below the surface.

“Investigative journalists should have the drive, as they [the panelists] say, 'if you turn one more stone you may find the answer you are looking for'.”

As the days went by, the workshop became more intense, and the daytime was not enough for the overloaded agenda. As a final project, students were required to write an article and post it in the journalism workshop website. For many of them their sleep time was reduced to less than five hours. Most of them tried to take as much advantage possible to meet the panelists and other fellows.

On Wednesday morning the group took a tour of The Hartford Courant, the largest newspaper in CT. They had the opportunity to attend a morning meeting with the newspaper’s staff. On Thursday they participated in the radio show for WNPR Where We Live, hosted by John Dankosky. The show was broadcasted live in the Fisk Room of Wesleyan University. On Saturday morning they watched and discussed two documentaries related to war.

Yazmin Khan, student of the University of Connecticut Stamford says if selected, she knew the workshop would have a great impact on her career. She says that journalists should have a good understanding of how society works.

“Investigative Journalism for me means being able to use my writing as a tool for social change and social justice, knowing how to pick all my indignation and be committed to find who is responsible of the wrongs made” says Khan.

She also believes that journalists should give voice to the voiceless and bring light to the shadows.

Rising journalists heard from other expert speakers such as Roberta Baskin, veteran journalist and Director for WJLA-TV in Washington D.C., Samuel Freedman, columnist from the New York Times and Chris Hedges writer and 2002 prize-winning of the New York Times team. The masters shared their good and bad experiences in the field and gave advices to the group.

Pulitzer Prize winner, Patrick J. Sloyan says he was glad to inspire young journalists in their careers. In his session, he gave some of his best tips to write good articles and to go beyond the regular interviews.

“Good stories require more involvement, double check something, look at some documents, know where are the news, who to talk to, always introduce your self, smile” says Sloyan.

He added that all journalists should have persistence and don’t be satisfied with someone who says no.

Students met every day for one week starting at 8:00 a.m. and continuing with the established agenda until 9:00 p.m. Lance Tapley says that the workshop was very intensive.

“I admit it, we over scheduled the students but that makes the workshop worth it because the experience is important,” says Lance Tapley.

At the end of the week-long boot training, students left grateful with their learning experience and with many pages to read on their way home on how to become better journalists.

“This week I have learned the hierarchy and the structure of journalism institutions, the role of the editor and the role of the publisher. I am also seeing the difference in the discipline of journalism... It requires for you to be self-teaching in your researches,” says Christopher Hedbon student at the University of California, Berkeley.