When Phil Bremen organized this year's 13th annual Fall News Roundup, he had two goals in mind: to educate students on how to tell news stories effectively and for students to understand the importance of the world around them.
Bremen, assistant professor of telecommunications, used to be an NBC news anchor and covered the first war in Iraq. For the convention, he assembled two panels consisting of top directors and reporters from news stations around Indiana, a photojournalist serving duty in Iraq, a documentary filmmaker and other Indiana-based journalists and public relations representatives.
When it came to understanding the world around them, Bremen had two primary concerns for students. He said he was disconcerted that the public was, for the most part, oblivious to the ongoing war in Iraq and that the intense interest in this year's presidential race was distracting people from other equally important races for state government positions.
"We live in a time when people can change the channel when they lose interest," Bremen said. "The challenge is to hold their interest on subjects that really matter."
For the first part of Friday's Fall News Roundup, television news professionals from across the state offered tips on preparing for a career and landing a job.
The first panel featured Sgt. Aaron Strader, a news photographer for WXIN-TV Fox 59 Indianapolis, who is serving as an Indiana National Guardsman in the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Strader, was broadcast via satellite and spoke to attendees about his "nat packages." These are natural sound pieces using the sound bites of soldiers coupled with video and pictures to tell stories about the war from their perspective.
"The national media can only show so much," Strader said. "I want to give people the personal aspects of the war."
By giving the war a more personal touch, Strader and others said they think this will re-energize interest in becoming informed about the war and put the issue on the forefront of voters' minds in November.
After Strader presented a few of his nat packages, Omer Salih Mahdi took the floor to educate students on the power of journalism. Salih Mahdi, a Ball State graduate student on the Fulbright Scholarship who is also a former Iraqi doctor, made the documentary film "Baghdad Hospital: Inside the Red Zone." He told students that because of journalists' ability to reach many people with their work, their power is integral to voicing struggles that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.
"A journalist has more power than a doctor," Salih Mahdi said. "A doctor can heal the physical ailments of a few; a journalist can help heal the ailments of many."
After his speech, Salih Mahdi showed a clip from his documentary and a PowerPoint presentation detailing the dangers for journalists reporting in Iraq.
The last speaker on the panel, Pam Elliot, a WISH-TV news anchor who did a seven-part news series in Iraq called "The Unseen War," said she encouraged students to continue to care about what is happening overseas.
"Our money is going to these wars," Elliot said. "We cannot stop caring. We must take a vested interest in the lives of the soldiers and the lives of their families."
Although the panel sought to galvanize interest and discussion about the Iraq war, the convention was not agenda driven.
"It's not about being for the war or against the war," Bremen said. "It's about paying attention to the people who are still fighting it for us."
The convention concluded with a second panel that discussed Indiana's role in the presidential race and how news stations cover political issues. During the discussion an emphasis was put on students and voters understanding how not only national government works, but how state government works as well.
When Theresa Wells-Ditton asked students in the room if they knew where the ninth district was, no audience members raised their hands.
"You need to be informed," Wells-Ditton, director of planning and politics for WTHR, said. "You have to know about the districts. People need to be more educated on state government."
Although the two panels discussed two different issues, their message was analogous.
"We hear a lot about the need for journalists to speak truth to power," Bremen said. "We have to remember that in a democracy, power resides with the people as well as public officials."
Bremen said speaking truth to power means telling people things that they don't always want to hear.
Speakers
- Sgt. Aaron Strader; News photographer for WXIN-TV Fox 59 Indianapolis, who is serving as an Indiana National Guardsman in the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team
- Omer Salih Mahdi; Ball State graduate student, filmmaker and former Iraqi doctor
- Pam Elliot; WISH-TV news anchor and anchor of a seven-part series in Iraq called "The Unseen War"
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