Journalists' pilgrimage to B'Way
Wayne Dawkins
Associate Professor at Morgan State University - School of Global Journalism and Communication
I’ve come off my cloud after an amazing pilgrimage April 19-20 to the annual Columbia J-school Alumni Weekend at 116th & Broadway.
Here is one of the two sacred journalistic trips analogous to going to the Vatican or Mecca. When you arrive here you get a strong dose of journalism religion, inspiring reminders of our mission and responsibilities.
Which leads to the obvious.
Columbia University was a locked-down fortress under siege because hundreds of students and citizens engaged in John Lewis’ “good trouble.” The people loudly protested the starvation and slaying of tens of thousands of Palestinians during the six-month Israel-Hamas conflict.
Alumni who arrived to celebrate, attend seminars, and rekindle friendships were necessarily inconvenienced, which was Ok.
It was a joy to witness Cheryl R Devall, J-’82, receive one of five Distinguished Journalism Alumni Awards, presented by my classmate, Alumni Board President Rex Smith, J-’80. Devall is editor of the 43-year-old monthly BA Network newsletter, and my successor because after four decades in the seat, I am now the editor emeritus. https://www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol9no1/9%20(5).pdf
It was also a joy to see Benjamin Davis, J-’84, multimedia journalism chairman at Morgan State University, and my colleague. Davis celebrated his class’ 40th reunion. https://www.morgan.edu/sgjc/multijournalism
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I also saw my classmates, Renee Edelman, Alexis Gelber, James McBride [prominently in a video], Margaret Scott, and Rex. Looking forward to our 45th class reunion next year. My cup overflowed with gratitude and blessings.
BTW, I often immodestly refer to my J-school Class of 1980 as my fellow badasses. As evidence, Exhibit A is Betty Winston Baye, who last month was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. https://uknow.uky.edu/campus-news/7-be-inducted-kentucky-journalism-hall-fame
And how about this classmate:
Globally, our alumni nation is 15,000 strong, said Dean Jelani Cobb. His predecessor, Steve Coll a few reunions ago said the school prides itself on rigorous reporting, therefore, "if you are not comfortable talking to people, you have no business here."
As an example of asking direct questions and verifying details, in pop culture, "Don," a fictional j-school alum/senior producer, was spotlighted on an episode of HBO's "The Newsroom": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ECgjvStB5U
Creator of The Upstate American and New York journalist
10 个月It was a terrific weekend, Wayne, for sure. Can't wait till next year already, when more of the "Badasses of 1980" will join us. Thanks for posting this.