I wish I'd kept track of all the group photos I've taken at African reporting workshops through the years. There must be at least a dozen by now. This is one of the best. Such a fine bunch of serious, enthusiastic, focused young people. And I REALLY enjoyed spending time with the white guy at the far right of this shot. John is a former NPR colleague who's now coordinating training and programming in Sudan for Voice of America. We're both former "Nippers" as ex-NPR employees call themselves, who have managed to move on to even more challenging, more interesting gigs. When this training was coming together, John asked me to come up and help out, seeing as how it would take place in my neck of the woods.
We both feel pretty lucky to be doing what we're doing at this moment in time. The American media business is going through major mid-life crisis, and that's putting it mildly. It's a perfect time to be a Journalist Without Borders, to travel to new places and approach our craft from a different angle. If the rest of my career plays out through helping other people become better journalists, that feels right, somehow.
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