Chief International Correspondent for CNN and Global Affairs Anchor at ABC News Christiane Amanpour discussed her career, modern journalism and the role of women in her field to a crowded Cabot Auditorium on Friday for the 18th annual Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism.
University Trustee and Co-Chairman of the Board of Loews Corporation Jonathan Tisch (A 76) moderated the forum. The event was sponsored by the Communications and Media Studies Program, along with the Edward R. Murrow Center for Public Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Tisch College of Public Citizenship.
Amanpour, a University of Rhode Island graduate, highlighted parallels between the Boston Marathon bombings and the violence she has witnessed while working abroad. As a foreign correspondent who has reported in the midst of several wars, Amanpour said she has learned how to repress her fear in order to share news on television.
It was about managing [fear] and figuring out how to sum up the adrenaline and intuition to stay safe, Amanpour said. Genuinely, I believe Ive been lucky. So many of my friends and colleagues have been injured and killed.
Though she grew up in a patriarchal society, Amanpour, who was born in Iran, said she never felt that her gender restrained her ambitions. Being a woman in war scenarios has allowed her to enter places, such as homes and hospitals, that are sometimes restricted to male correspondents, she said.
These days, war is about women and children as well [as men], she said. Its about societies where women have much more access than men.
Amanpour also spoke more broadly about womens issues in political and economic situations. Gender inequality is especially evident in areas like the Middle East, where men tend to have more political power than women, she said.
Such inequality also exists in the United States, where women must demand equal pay for equal play, Amanpour said.
The time is over to treat womens issues as a social experiment, she said. We make up half the world, more than half of university populations. Its time we all leveraged our economic power and learned how to negotiate to get what we want.
Before getting married and having someone to stay alive for, Amanpour put all her energy into her work, she said. After she left Iran in the midst of the 1979 revolution, Amanpour said she knew she wanted to be an international reporter.
I was able to watch this revolution unfold and was old enough to appreciate it and learn, she said. I knew I wanted to be in there and tell the stories and somehow use this as my career.
Amanpour also discussed current journalism, noting that reporters have an obligation to check information and maintain objectivity in publications and broadcasts.
We need to have a more rigorous accountability, she said. Were trained journalists, and we presumably have a duty to cross-reference, check and verify sources. You cannot just rely on armchair analyses and thrice-removed social media to give you firsthand accounts.
At the end of the discussion, Amanpour answered questions from the audience. Many individuals, including a YouTube channel host and a filmmaker, asked Amanpour about her use of multiplatform journalism and emotional attachment to stories.
After the forum, representatives from the universitys student press asked Amanpour about reporting just the facts when some media outlets frequently incorporate emotion into their broadcasts.
This is a profession where you dont want to be liked, Amanpour said. You have to understand like an emergency room doctor what your mission is. Our job is to put out the right information.
