Pulitzer Center's News Points

World Toilet Day is no joke

Peter Sawyer and Maura Youngman, for the Pulitzer Center

On World Toilet Day 2009, sanitation advocates at the U.S. Capitol made the point that going number two in the absence of sanitation is nothing to giggle about -- and that access to clean water is nothing to take for granted.

Nearly 2.6 billion people worldwide, 40% of the world’s population, lack access to basic sanitation; 1.1 billion do not have access to clean water. One result is that 1.8 million people, mostly young children, die each year from easily preventable water related diseases. In sub-Saharan Africa complications from the lack of sanitation and clean water are holding back economic growth -- to the tune of 5% of the region’s current GDP each year, or more than the region's entire share of international foreign aid. The technology to solve the clean water and sanitation problem already exists.  Only political momentum and awareness is in short supply.  

Pulitzer Gateway: "potentially game changing..."

Tatum Taylor, Pulitzer Center

The Pulitzer Center was in Atlanta last week for the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference, with more than 3,000 educators who had gathered to share the latest research and ideas in social studies education and to acknowledge the role of social studies in shaping students' global awareness.

Tatum, Janeen and Nathalie at the Pulitzer Center's NCSS booth

Nathalie Applewhite and Janeen Heath's session on "Global Reporting and New Media: From Information to Participatory Engagement" presented the Pulitzer Center's Global Gateway. The three-tier educational initiative encourages students to think critically about and engage with global issues.

Nathalie, Janeen and I also represented the Pulitzer Center at the Exhibition Hall's "International Alley." Our enthusiasm to share the Global Gateway's educational tools was equaled by the excitement of the steady stream of educators who stopped by the exhibition booth — and left eager to bring the Gateway into their classrooms.

Unlike any other exhibiting organization in its offerings, the Pulitzer Center seemed to be creating a real buzz. We were especially pleased by the detailed report on the Gateway in the Ecology of Education blog post by Tallahassee teacher Jason Flom. He called the Gateway's approach "vital" and "exciting," giving students the information and engagement they need to become "participatory citizens" themselves.

"The importance of such intentional activism cannot be overstated," Jason wrote. "We need students to draw contrasts and conclusions between the lives they lead in the developed western world with the plight of the underserved, underprivileged, and the underrepresented."

Read the whole post from Jason Flom here.

A modest proposal for federal funding of journalism

Joel Kramer, guest author

As the profits and the number of journalists employed in mainstream media continue to shrink, should the federal government step in to help sustain local public-affairs journalism?

In a report released today, former Washington Post editor Leonard Downie Jr. and Columbia University professor Michael Schudson say yes.  It’s one of many suggestions that they make, but it figures to be the most controversial one.  To a lot of journalists, taking money from the government would be an outrageous conflict of interest and an invitation to improper pressure on newsgathering.

Downie and Schudson propose that federal money (from taxes on telecommunications or Internet service providers) be distributed the way National Endowment for the Humanities money is distributed locally:  through state-level councils that review and decide on applications for the funding.  The funding would not be for specific stories, but for broader, longer-range innovations in newsgathering and organizational sustainability. Even so, it’s easy to imagine that that process could become highly politicized.

Unlike some of my colleagues in the journalism profession, I’m open to the idea of some federal funding for journalism, especially at the local and regional level, where the decline of the old business model is doing the most damage. Government funding need not lead to de-fanging the watchdog: look at the quality of the news operation of the BBC. But I think there’s a better way than having councils consider grant applications and dole out funds.

Earlier this year, I teamed up with Jon Sawyer, of the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, to write a paper for a Duke University conference, in which we proposed a donor collaborative for nonprofit journalism.  (PDF here.) The idea was simple: Instead of asking everyone interested in supporting this cause to vet every possible recipient, let’s invite donors to collaborate on a fund that will match donations already made to eligible journalism enterprises.  This would ensure that money was being directed to efforts that (a) had demonstrated community support, and (b) were on their way toward sustaining their enterprises through their own fundraising success.

Why not just have government funding of journalism distributed that way - by matching voluntary donations that journalism enterprises are able to gather in their own communities, both from individuals and foundations?  This would funnel the money to enterprises that are demonstrating that they have community support. 

Under such a system, there would be no politics involved in the decision-making. There would be no accusations that the administration is favoring one ideology or using its clout to reward or punish. And the matching funds would make it a lot more attractive for local news organizations to ask their readers or viewers for voluntary support. It costs money to raise money, but if the money you raise will be matched, it becomes a better use of an organization’s limited resources. 

What do you think?  Should the federal government support public-affairs journalism?  Should journalism enterprises be willing to take the money?  If so, how should the dollars be distributed?

Originally published Oct. 19 on MinnPost.com

Pulitzer Center journalists cover Afghanistan

Tatum Taylor, Pulitzer Center

As the post-election drama continues and publicity over the US military's counterinsurgency strategies grows, journalists are increasingly turning their attention towards Afghanistan. Pulitzer Center  journalists have been consistently reporting from Afghanistan in order to inform the conversation, and we wanted to share with you the range of their work. 

After numerous accusations of fraud following the August 20 presidential election in Afghanistan, the Electoral Complaints Commission on September 8 ordered a partial recount of the ballots. For the past year, Jason Motlagh has been reporting from Afghanistan for the Pulitzer Center, and he has followed the election, from the preparations and Taliban threats to the aftermath of rising tensions and fraud charges. Most recently, Jason examines Germany's role in the war in Afghanistan (TIME) and reports on the increased Taliban attacks in north Afghanistan (The Washington Times). Also, Jason speaks again with Joe Rubin on FRONTLINE/World's iWitness, this time about his experiences reporting from Afghanistan and on the controversial election results. For all of Jason's reporting from Afghanistan, see Afghanistan: Civilians Under Siege.

Vanessa Gezari and Nir Rosen provide two different angles on the US military's counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan. In Human Terrain: The new counterinsurgency? Vanessa examines an experimental Pentagon program sending teams of civilian anthropologists into the war zones. Currently embedded with a Human Terrain team attached to the Marines in Helmand Province, she answers questions about her article in The Washington Post Magazine on the human terrain program in Afghanistan. Nir has also embedded with troops in Afghanistan and offers his observations on counterinsurgency in Afghanistan: The Limits of Counterinsurgency. He reports on the war in Afghanistan and his embedding experience on Democracy Now!

Foreign Exchange is featuring an interview with Nir on his reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Shaun McCanna's video "Afghanistan: Education in Peril." Learn more about Shaun's reporting project, Education in Afghanistan: Opportunity in Peril. Both videos begin airing September 11 and will be available for viewing online after September 15. Find out where and when to watch Foreign Exchange.

Join in the discussion on counterinsurgency in Afghanistan - we are eager to hear your viewpoints!

Nonviolent Peaceforce and the work of reconciliation

Tatum Taylor, Pulitzer Center

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) is an unarmed, professional civilian peacekeeping force that is invited to work in areas of violent conflict around the world. Mel Duncan, the co-founder and Executive Director of NP, and David Grant, the Strategic Relations Director, recently met with the State Department, leaders on Capitol Hill, and the US Institute of Peace to discuss nonviolent reconciliation. While in Washington, D.C., Mel and David visited the Pulitzer Center. Mel explains below the founding of NP and the role of civilian peacekeepers in seeking resolution to worldwide conflict.

Since its conception in 1999 at a conference in the Hague, and its 2002 Convening Event, NP has been working to raise awareness about nonviolence and recruit civilian peacekeeping teams. Nearly 70 member organizations from five continents assist NP in this mission. Members of NP's peace teams come from diverse backgrounds, but all are non-partisan and trained to respect the cultures of the areas to which they are deployed, and to apply the principles of non-violent peacekeeping to the overall strategy regarding each individual situation.

Currently, NP has teams working in Sri Lanka and the Philippines, both of which have been the subjects of reporting projects for the Pulitzer Center. Pulitzer journalist Maura R. O'Connor has reported on the disappearance of citizens in Sri Lanka, a problem which NP is working to alleviate. In a photographic documentary for the Pulitzer Center, Ryan Anson examined the peace process in Mindanao, southern Philippines. Below, Mel provides an overview of NP's own work in Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and David looks ahead to the work NP hopes to accomplish in Sudan. To learn about the Pulitzer Center's reporting from Sudan, visit "Darfur: Broken Promises,"  "Sudan: The Forgotten North,"  "Sudan: War Child," and "South Sudan: Rebuilding Hope."

Mel stressed that "unarmed civilian peacekeeping is effective [and] that it works in some of the most violent places in the world today. Secondly, it's a much cheaper alternative than war. Thirdly, there are many ways that people can get involved, from making individual contributions, to volunteering in a variety of ways. We have local chapters around the US that do support work in public education, and there's really room for citizens, civilians, to step forward and say, 'Enough of this violence. Enough of using our money and our name to send in more military hardware. There are other approaches that we can be involved with.'"

Food Insecurity: At Home and Abroad

Tatum Taylor, Pulitzer Center

Conventional food may appear to cost several times less than organically grown meat and produce, but what is the true price of inexpensive food for our health and the environment? Bryan Walsh looks at the hidden costs of the American diet in "Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food," published August 21 on TIME.com. 

The cheap prices of corn and meat have contributed to the obesity epidemic in the United States, where the nearly 1,200 calories of a typical fast-food meal - a burger, fries, and a soda - cost a mere $5. Meanwhile, the food industry's unsustainable practices are degrading animal life and contaminating the environment.

Walsh suggests the solutions of hiring more farmers to reverse the over-industrialization of food production, and raising public consciousness of the benefits of buying organic food. For now, the harmful impact of the American diet remains a concern.

Recent reports from the Pulitzer Center show that countries around the world are grappling with their own respective food insecurity problems.

Stephanie Guyer-Stevens reports from Vietnam, where despite the country's fast emergence after the Vietnam War as the second largest producer of rice in the world, one out of every seven people goes hungry for lack of rice. 

Sharon Schmickle reports on a menacing fungal disease that has attacked Kenya's wheat fields and spread beyond Africa, putting one of the world's principal food crops at risk.

David Hecht finds that Nigeria has enough fertile land to feed itself and much of the region, yet it is on the brink of a food catastrophe.

In Tajikistan, Carolyn Drake and Ilan Greenberg document food shortages and other consequences of the global financial crisis and government mismanagement.

Samuel Loewenberg travels to Guatemala, where chronic malnutrition affects half of the country's children, with rates as high as 90% in some regions. 

You can find the Pulitzer Center's reporting on these and other related issues featured at our interactive Pulitzer Gateway on Food Insecurity.  

In September, we will launch our Food Insecurity Global Gateway program. Fred de Sam Lazaro and Sharon Schmickle, two journalists who have been contributing to the Food Insecurity web portal, will visit high schools and colleges across the nation to engage face-to-face with students and educators on the issues and on the reporting.

Learn more about the Global Gateway program.

Two Southeast Asian women, one common thread?

Kelly Mallahan, Pulitzer Center

In this article for Women's eNews, Stephanie Guyer-Stephens examines the parallels between Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi and Cambodia's Mu Sochua.  Are these women living the same story in different countries?  Or are there fundamental differences between their lives?  And what are the implications for women worldwide?  Join the conversation in the comments section. 

Southeast Asian Women Embody Hope for Change
By Stephanie Guyer-Stevens
WeNews correspondent

Editor's Note: The following is a commentary. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily the views of Women's eNews.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (WOMENSENEWS)--Two women in Southeast Asia are setting the stage for regional change by bravely standing up to ruling governments. Both have received negative court rulings in recent days.

Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's democratically elected leader, saw her house arrest, which has been off and on since 1988, extended by 18 months on August 11. That verdict keeps her out of the country's campaign season for elections, tentatively scheduled for March 2010.

Cambodia's Mu Sochua, an opposition parliamentarian, received a guilty verdict July 30 in a case brought against her by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The situation: Two of the region's most prominent female lawmakers are in trouble with their country's rulers, who in both cases are attempting to limit or strip their power.

Women throughout Southeast Asia are watching, and blog posts from the region are drawing parallels between the struggles of these two female leaders.

The parallel has not been lost on Sochua's opponents either: "Mu Sochua is not Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar," Cheam Yeap, a senior lawmaker for the ruling Cambodian People's Party and a member of National Assembly's Permanent Committee, told the Phnom Penh Post when the lawsuit was first filed against Sochua on July 21.

What are their chances of success? What will happen if they fail?

Continue reading at Women's eNews >>>

Stephanie Guyer-Stephens is a former Pulitzer Center grantee.  Check out her project on The Price of Rice in Vietnam, part of the Pulitzer Center's Food Insecurity Gateway. 

Round 7 Pulitzer-Helium Essay Winners Announced

Chris Riha, Pulitzer Center

Congratulations to all those who entered Round 7 of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting’s Global Issues/Citizen Voices essay contest, hosted in partnership with Helium.com. We asked our contestants to answer the following question: “With mounting violence, a surge in Taliban support and growing numbers of displaced persons making front-page news in Pakistan, are we getting an accurate picture of the realities on the ground?” Contestants were asked to draw from the Center’s current reporting project on Pakistan from Common Language Project journalists Sarah Stuteville, Alex Stonehill, and Jessica Partnow. There were many good essays submitted on this subject, and we’ve selected two as winning entires for their compelling, albeit varied, perspectives on the topic.

Our first winner is Muhammad Fahd Waseem. Muhammad, an Electrical Engineering student from Rawalpindi, Pakistan, makes good marks at school, enjoys spending time with his friends and family, wielding racquets, reading, and writing. As a citizen of Pakistan, he was able to talk with people on the ground and gather public opinions of the media for his essay. Muhammad’s findings were all very similar: people in Pakistan know that the media is not accurately representing life as they see it. Muhammad even spoke with illiterates that knew newspapers were not providing a truthful account of the situation in Pakistan. He read them the essay prompt and they laughed at him. Because of this, Muhammad was hoping to do his country a service by highlighting the biases that occur in media reports on Pakistan. 

A Sustainable Model for Journalism?

Kelly Mallahan, Pulitzer Center

The conversation about the decline of newspapers and journalism's need to adapt is hardly new; the problem is, no one seems to agree on what direction "new journalism" should take.  This post on the Online Journalism Blog is a good survey of quality, innovative journalism on the web, but this post by the same author questions the sustainability of such an "entrepreneurial" model.

Here's some of what OJB has to say about the Pulitzer Center in the first post:

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting likes to call its news stories “campaigns,” which not only raise awareness on underrepresented issues around the world, but are also promoted and published for various audiences in order to increase their impact. Brainchild of longtime American journalist Jon Sawyer, it was established in partnership with Emily Pulitzer in 2006, and today, it is one of the most reliable sources of international coverage in the US. The stories are not merely one-time pieces, but multi-part series that are followed through and updated over the course of several months...the Center has truly extended the geographic and material breadth of news coverage.

But it is somewhat less enthusiastic in its follow-up post, saying:

The Center helps its reporters market their stories to other news organizations to “maximize impact.” In partnership with the organization, (Pulitzer Center reporter Jason) Motlagh’s work has appeared in the public broadcasting show, Foreign Exchange, the Frontline’s iWitness webcam program, and the Virginia Quarterly. But it is unlikely that this concept of “reporting first, money maybe later” will continue to allow journalists to make a career out of reporting.

Other articles about "entreprenurial journalism" and the Pulitzer Center include this interview with David Westphal and a profile of Jason Motlagh, the Pulitzer Center reporter mentioned in OJB.

What do you think?  Join the conversation using the comments section. 

The Pulitzer Center Hosts Conference for Winners of High School Essay Contest

Kelly Mallahan, Pulitzer Center

The winners of the Pulitzer Center and Civitas Associates' spring 2009 essay contest, which focused on the issues presented at the Women and Children in Crisis Pulitzer Gateway, came to the Pulitzer Center this week for a two-day conference on raising awareness in their schools of the pressing international issues underreported in the U.S. media.

Thirteen current and recently graduated high school students from the St. Louis area participated in panel discussions with Fred Goldberg, former commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, and Ridwaan Roberts, who Pulitzer Center Director Jon Sawyer interviewed while Ridwaan was living through apartheid in South Africa as a university professor.

Students also visited the Newseum and various Smithsonian museums, attended Pulitzer Center trainings, such as learning about the issue of global food insecurity and how to engage at the Food Insecurity portal, and practiced capturing video with FlipCams and interviewing people on the National Mall. The Pulitzer Center announced the topic of Food Insecurity and the Food Insecurity Pulitzer Gateway as the Fall 2009 Global Gateway program.