OPC Scholars Luncheon Keynote Address 2013

A transcript from the speech David Rohde delivered at the 2013 OPC Scholars Luncheon on February 22.


THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I’M LOOKING AT MY WATCH HERE. IT’S EXACTLY 2:00PM. SO I GUESS THAT MEANS WE CAN ALL JUST LEAVE.

ACTUALLY, BILL TOLD ME TO SPEAK FOR ABOUT TWELVE MINUTES. I’LL TRY TO KEEP IT SHORT. THANK YOU FOR STAYING HERE TO LISTEN TO ME. I KNOW YOU’RE ALL VERY BUSY.

THANK YOU, BILL, FOR THAT WONDERFUL INTRODUCTION. IT’S A TREMENDOUS HONOR TO SPEAK HERE TODAY. I ALSO WANT TO THANK EDDIE EVANS, MY COLLEAGUE AT REUTERS, WHO MADE THIS POSSIBLE AS WELL.

I WANT TO SAY SOMETHING BLUNT TO ALL OF THE WINNERS: I KNOW WE DON’T KNOW EACH OTHER BUT I LOVE YOU.

I LOVE WHO YOU ARE, WHAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO DO WITH YOUR LIVES AND WHAT YOU REPRESENT FOR OUR PROFESSION. YOU ARE OUR FUTURE.

NOW, LET’S BE HONEST. WE ALL SHARE ON TRAIT IN COMMON: OUR FAMILIES – PARTICULARLY OUR MOTHERS – THINK WE’RE CRAZY TO CHOOSE THIS PROFESSION.

IN OTHER WORDS, THIS IS A CALLING. AND A WONDERFUL CALLING. I’VE LOVED EVERY MINUTE I’VE SPENT IN JOURNALISM, PARTICULARLY AS A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT.

I HAVE TWO SIMPLE LESSONS THAT I WANT TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT TODAY. FIRST, PATIENCE AND PERSISTANCE PAYS. SECOND, GROUND TRUTH MATTERS.

I TOLD CHARLIE SENNOTT EARLIER THAT HE HAD RUINED MY SPEECH BY ALREADY TALKING ABOUT GROUND TRUTH. WE DECIDED, INSTEAD, THAT I’D JUST CONTINUE WITH THE SAME RIFF, LIKE WE WERE THE ZZ TOP OF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS.

NONE OF THE WINNERS KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.

HOW ABOUT THE JUSTIN BEIBER AND SELENA GOMEZ OF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS?

JOKES ASIDDE, THERE WILL BE UPS AND DOWNS IN YOUR CAREERS; MOMENTS OF SHEER ECSTACY AT WHERE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE HAS BROUGHT YOU. AND THERE WILL BE MOMENTS OF SHEER DESPAIR. BUT I WOULDN’T TRADE IT FOR THE WORLD.

WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE, I WAS WORKING AS A RESEARCHER AT ABC NEWS IN NEW YORK AND STIR-CRAZY. I WORKED FOR ALLAN DODDS FRANK, A PAST PERSDENT OF OPC WHO IS HERE TODAY. ALLAN TERRIFIED THE SAVINGS AND LOAN OWNERS WHO WERE TARGETS OF HIS INVESTIGATIONS. HE TAUGHT ME TO DIG.

AFTER ABOUT A YEAR ON THE JOB, I DID SOMETHING THAT MY MOTHER THOUGHT WAS CRAZY. I GOT A VISA TO GO TEACH ENGLISH IN LITHUANIA. MY MOTHER WAS LIKE, ‘YOU’RE WORKING AT ABC NEWS? WHY WOULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT TO GO TO LITHUANIA?’

I THOUGHT THERE MIGHT BE A WAY TO WRITE STORIES FROM THERE. I WROTE A HALF DOZEN NEWS ORGANIZATIONS TO SEE IF THEY WANTED A STRINGER IN LITHUANIA. NOT ONE REPLIED.

EARLIER, ONE OF THE WINNERS SPOKE ABOUT LUCK.HE WAS EXACTLY RIGHT. LUCK IS A BIG PART OF THIS.

SEVERAL WEEKS AFTER I GOT THE VISA, THE 1991 SOVIET COUP HAPPENED. THE SOVIET VISA THAT I HAD IMMEDIATELY BECAME VERY VALUABLE.

TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, I WORKED AS A STRINGER FOR THE NY TIMES, GOT A CLIP FROM A.P. AND HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH EDITORS AT THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR.

I RETURNED HOME FOR CHRISTMAS IN 1991 THRILLED. I HAD TWO BYLINES IN THE NEW YORK TIMES AND ONE FROM THE A.P. I WAS ELATED. A SEEMINGLY FOOLISH MOVE HAD PAID OFF.

THEN I GOT A CALL FROM THE SPORTS EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES A FEW DAYS AFTER CHRISTMAS. ONE OF MY STORIES WAS ABOUT THE PROSPECTS OF THE NEW LITHUANIAN OLYMPIC TEAM. THE EDITOR ASKED ME IF I HAD MET “Rolandas Mazhuolis,” THE LITHUANIAN SWIMMER WHO I SAID HAD WON A SILVER MEDAL IN THE 1988 OLYMPICS. I SAID NO. I HAD ONLY SPOKEN WITH SOMEONE FROM THE LITHUANIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE.

HE ASKED ME IF I HAD LOOKED AT A SPORTS ALMANAC. I SAID NO. (IN THOSE DAYS, THERE WAS NO INTERNET. WE HAD TO ACTUALLY LOOK IN ALMANACS.)

WELL, IT TURNED OUT THAT “Rolandas Mazhuolis” DIDN’T WIN A SILVER MEDAL IN 1988. FOR THE RECORD, STEFAN PFEIFFER OF WEST GERMANY WON THE SILVER [IN THE 1500 METER MEN’S FREESTYLE.]

SO I ENDED UP HAVING A GIANT CORRECTION RUN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SECOND STORY I EVER WROTE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES. I WAS DESPONDENT. I WAS SURE I’D NEVER WORK IN JOURNALISM AGAIN.

I ENDED UP GETTING A JOB COVERING SCHOOL BOARDS IN SUBURBAN PHILADELPHIA FOR THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. I WAS A CONTRACT WRITER AND HAD NO HEALTH INSURANCE. AFTER COVERING LATE-NIGHT SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS I WAS DESPONDENT, AGAIN.

ON WEEKENDS I WROTE FREELANCE STORIES FOR THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR FROM PHILADELPHIA. AN EDITOR WHO I HAD GOTTEN IN CONTACT WITH WHEN I WAS IN LITHUANIA HELPED ME. AND WHEN THERE WAS FLOODING IN ST. LOUIS, I FLEW THERE FOR MY VACATION AND ALSO WROTE PIECES FOR THE MONITOR.

IN 1994, THE MONITOR HIRED ME AS A COPY EDITOR AND REPORTER. I LIVED AT MY MOTHER’S HOUSE IN SUBURBAN BOSTON AND DROVE MY GRANDFATHER’S SILVER FORD AT THE AGE OF 26. I WASN’T VERY COOL. I FELT PATHETIC AND FOOLISH.

THEN, LUCK STRUCK. THE MONITOR CORRESPONDENT WHO WAS COVERING THE WAR IN BOSNIA WAS EXPELLED BY THE SERBIAN GOVT. TO MY AMAZEMENT; I WAS SELECTED TO REPLACE HIM.

I ARRIVED IN BOSNIA ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED AND IN OVER-MY-HEAD. AND THERE IS ANOTHER LESSON FOR YOU HERE. I ASKED FOR MY HELP OVER AND OVER FROM MY COLLEAGUES.

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS. THERE ARE NO DUMB QUESTIONS, PARTICULARLY WHEN YOU ARE REPORTING ABROAD. YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS BUT SEEK OUT REPORTERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE AND WORK WITH THEM.

MOST OF ALL, WORK WITH GREAT LOCAL JOURNALISTS. SOME OF THE BEST AND BRAVEST REPORTERS I’VE EVER WORKED WITH WERE AFGHANS AND PAKISTANS.

LITTLE OVER A YEAR AFTER ARRIVING IN BOSNIA, I WAS ABLE TO WRITE A SERIES OF STORIES THAT HELPED EXPOSE THE MASS EXECUTION OF OVER 8,000 MEN AND BOYS AROUND THE TOWN OF SREBRENICA.

I WILL ALWAYS CONSIDER WRITING THOSE SREBRENICA STORIES THE GREATEST HONOR OF MY LIFE. I WAS ABLE TO BRING A SMALL BIT OF RECOGNITION TO THE WIVES AND CHILDREN OF THOSE WHO PERISHED.

I LATER JOINED THE NEW YORK TIMES AND SPENT FIFTEEN WONDERFUL YEARS THERE. NO ONE MENTIONED THE CORRECTION ON THE LITHUANIAN OLYMPIC STORY.

I WORKED AS A METRO REPORTER, SOUTH ASIA BUREAU CO-CHIEF AND INVESTIGATIEVR REPOTER. AND I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE PART OF A TEAM OF REPORTERS WHO WON A PULITZER PRIZE FOR OUR COVERAGE OF AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN. WORKING ON THAT TEAM OF AMERICAN, BRITISH, AFGHAN AND PAKISTANI JOURNALISTS WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST HONORS OF MY LIFE.

AND YES, AS BILL MENTIONED, I WAS KIDNAPPED BY THE TALIBAN WHILE RESEARCHING A BOOK ABOUT WHAT HAD GONE WRONG WITH THE AMERICAN EFFORT SINCE 2001. I WAS ABDUCTED WITH TWO AFGHAN COLLEAGUES, TAHIR LUDDIN, A JOURNALIST AND ASAD MANGAL, A DRIVER.

WE WERE TAKEN TO THE TRIBAL AREAS OF PAKISTAN AND HELD CAPTIVE THERE FOR SEVEN MONTHS. WITH THE HELP OF ONE OF MY AFGHAN COLLEAGEUS, WE WERE ABLE TO ESCAPE FROM CAPTIVITY.

TODAY, I’M A FOREIGN AFFAIRS COLUMNIST FOR REUTERS. As Alix Freedman, Reuters’ Global Editor for Ethics and Standards, said at last night’s reception for the award winners, “Reuters remains the world’s largest international news provider. We employ more than 2,800 journalists in nearly 200 bureaus, and operate in 132 countries. “ 

I’M INCREDIBLY PROUD TO BE PART OF AN ORGANIZATION COMMITTED TO BEING SUCH A GLOBAL PRESENCE ON THE GROUND. I’M ALSO INCREDIBLY PROUD TO BE PART OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT HAS SUCH AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO BEING AN UNBIASED NEWS SOURCE.

NOW, I DO HAVE ONE MORE LESSON FOR YOU. JOURNALISM CHANGED BETWEEN MY TWO CAPTIVITIES.

WHEN I COVERED BOSNIA IN THE 1990S, JOURNALISTS WERE SEEN AS A GROUP THAT THE DIFFERENT SIDES IN THE CONFLICT DIDN’T NECESSARILY LIKE BUT TRIED TO MANIPULATE.

IN AFGHANISTAN, JOURNLAISTS WERE SEEN AS PART OF THE U.S. WAR MACHINE.

BE CAREFUL. YOU ARE TARGETS. IF SOMETHING HAPPENS, YOUR CAPTORS WILL NOT BE RATIONAL. WHETHER YOUR NATOINALITY IS AMERICAN OR BRITISH, OR WHETHER YOU ARE A STAFFER OR A FREELANCER, THEY WILL SEE YOU AS A SOURCE OF A VAST POTENTIAL RANSOM.

WHEN I WAS KIDNAPPED BY THE TALIBAN, I TOLD THEM WITHIN THE FIRST 24 HOURS ABOUT THE STORIES I HAD WRITTEN IN BOSNIA. I TOLD THEM I HAD WRITTEN STORIES THAT HELPED EXPOSE THE KILLING OF 8,000 MUSLIMS.

AND I THINK THAT BILL MENTIONED THIS EARLIER, I TOLD THEM THAT I WAS ARRESTED BY SERBS, BY CHRISTAINS, FOR TEN DAYS AND THEY SAID I WAS TOO CLOSE TO MUSLIMS.

MY CAPTORS RESPONSE? THEY SAID ‘GOOD, THAT MEANS YOURE WORTH MORE.’

THE INITIAL DEMANDS FOR OUR RELEASE WERE $25 MILLION IN CASH AND THE RELEASE OF FIFTEEN PRISONER FROM GUANTANAMO. BY THE TIME WE ESCAPED, THE DEMANDS WERE $7 MILLION IN CASH AND 7 PRISONERS FROM GUANTANAMO.

I DREW TWO LESSONS FROM MY DECISION-MAKING BEFORE EACH OF THOSE CAPTIVITIES.

I STAND BY MY DECISIONS IN BOSNIA. I WOULD DO THE SAME THING AGAIN. HELPING EXPOSE THE MURDER OF 8,000 PEOPLE WAS WORTH THE RISK.

BUT IN AFGHANISTAN, I LET COMPETITION GET THE BEST OF ME. DOZENS OF REPORTERS HAD SAFELY INTERVIEWED THE TALIBAN AND I WANTED WRITE THE DEFINITIVE BOOK ABOUT WHAT HAD GONE WRONG SINCE 9/11. I HAD ALSO MOVED BACK TO NEW YORK AND FELT I HAD FALLEN BEHIND THE REPORTERS WHO STILL LIVED IN THE REGION.

THIS SUMMER AND THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREERS, YOU’LL BE UNDER PRESSURE GET OUT THERE AND TAKE RISKS.

PLEASE STOP. THINK OF THE POTENTIAL STORY YOU’RE GOING TO GET. AND ASK YOURSELF IS IT WORTH IT? WHAT IS THE BEST POSSIBLE STORY I GET BY GOING INTO THAT VILLAGE OR INTERVIEW? WILL THE STORY STILL BE THERE TOMORROW?

YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES ON YOUR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE. TO MY MOTHER’S DELIGHT, I HAD GOTTEN MARRIED AT TWO MONTHS BEFORE I WAS KIDNAPPED IN AFGHANISTAN.

MY NEW WIFE SPENT THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF OUR MARRIAGE TRYING TO WIN MY RELEASE. IT WAS EXCRUCIATING FOR MY FAMILIESAND FOR MY EDITORS AT THE TIMES.

IF YOU TAKE A RISK, IT WILL BE YOUR EDITORS AND YOUR FAMIKLY WHO WILL SUFFER. AND YOUR CAREER WILL BE CHANGED FOREVER.

AFTER MY SECOND KIDNAPPING, I DECIDED THAT MY DAYS AS A WAR CORRESPONDENT WERE OVER. MY WIFE AND FAMILY HAD BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH. I’M NOW THE PROUD FATHER OF A TWO-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER.

THERE WILL BE MANY LOVES IN YOUR LIFE. MY WIFE KRISTEN, WHO SUFFERED SO MUCH DURING THE FIRST MONTHS OF OUR MARRIAGE, IS MY GREAT LOVE. AND SO IS MY DAUGHTER.

I ALSO LOVE THIS CALLING. BEING A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT IS A GREAT HONOR. WE ARE PAID TO GO PLACES OVERSEAS, MEET PEOPLE AND ASK QUESTIONS. WE ARE PAID TO EXPLORE AND LEARN EACH AND EVERY DAY.

I CONGRATULATE ALL OF YOU. I URGE YOU TO SEARCH FOR GROUND TRUTH. BUT BE PATIENT AND PERSISTENT.

THIS PROFESSION IS ONE OF THE FEW JOBS WHERE YOUR GOAL AT THE END OF THE DAY IS TO TELL THE TRUTH. TO ME, THAT IS A RARE HONOR.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LISTENING. THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING THIS CALLING.