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March/April 2008 Christiane Amanpour and Marvin Kalb Tackle Risks of War Coverage
Amanpour Encourages GW Journalism Students to ‘Believe in the Profession’ During March 10 Kalb Report The challenges facing today’s foreign correspondents and approaches to covering global news were among the topics CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour discussed with Marvin Kalb in front of a capacity crowd in the National Press Club Ballroom. The March 10 Kalb Report was the third of four forums in the 2007-2008 series on democracy and the press. Amanpour, who spent much of her childhood in Iran, vividly described how her family was forced to flee the country after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The life-altering experience was instrumental in her decision to become a journalist. “I think being a war correspondent is a little like being an emergency room surgeon,” she said. “You must get the job done. You must be clear eyed and have the stamina to be able to think and act and do it without getting overwhelmed by what you’re faced with.” Amanpour, who has been with CNN for 25 years, also described her coverage of the genocide in Sarajevo, Bosnia, in the early 1990s, saying that she “found her voice” in the stories she told about the victims and had to redefine for herself what objectivity and truth mean in journalism. Amanpour advised aspiring journalists not to despair at the challenges they face and not to “stay silent” about their beliefs. “Believe in this profession,” she said. “We who have this platform have an immense responsibility on our shoulders—and that is to use it well, to use it to the best of our abilities, and to use it for the right purpose and not for the wrong purpose, because we all have a choice.” The Kalb Report is produced by GW, in partnership with Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center, and The National Press Club and is underwritten by a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. On March 12, Amanpour visited the GW campus, participating in a discussion on “America’s Role in the World,” along with former Defense Secretary William Cohen, former Sen. Sam Nunn, retired Gen. Anthony Zinni, and Pew Research Center Chair Andrew Kohut. GW President Steven Knapp offered welcoming remarks at the inaugural Cohen-Nunn Dialogue, a series of discussions around the country sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Howard Gilman Foundation.
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