RIAS Berlin fall program to Germany finishes after busy 2 weeks in 4 cities
Learning more about media and politics in Germany and Europe, 13 American journalists from 10 different states finished a whirlwind RIAS Berlin Commission tour of four cities in 12 days. The Americans lived, traveled, and learned like their European counterparts—walking up to 10 to 15 kilometers per day, traveling throughout the fortnight with only small carry-on luggage on trains, and finding their way around 4 cities almost entirely on their own.
From a meeting at the new NATO headquarters in Brussels where they learned more about cyber security and other challenges facing the alliance to illuminating visits at major tv and radio networks, the American fellows also met with top German politicians in the Reichstag parliament building and the foreign ministry.
While many speakers on the tour expressed concerns about the far right Alternative for Germany party, the Americans got the chance to ask questions directly to one of the 93 AfD members of parliament, Armin Paulus Hampel- a former ARD TV journalist and former student at Northwestern University. Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s transatlantic coordinator Peter Beyer, a RIAS Berlin Commission board member, also met the group and offered insights into the challenges of his job. RIAS board members Richard Meng, Melissa Eddy and Christina Higgins also met the group at various appointments.
Deirdre Berger, the director of the AJC in Germany and a former NPR correspondent, gave an informative and spirited talk to the journalists as did political consultant Julius van der Laar. Other stops and talks included: Deutsche Welle, RTL, NTV, WDR, ZDF, New York Times, Economist, a Syrian refugee in the newly Arabic section of Berlin and the Kreuzberg section with former Greens member of parliament Özcan Mutlu.
German RIAS Alumni in Cologne, Mainz and Berlin also rolled out the welcome carpet for enjoyable evenings out on the town with the RIAS journalists – sharing stories and comparing notes about their jobs and careers in each respective country.
Many of the Americans described how much they enjoyed the major increases in their daily walking distances and moving around entirely on public transportation. As one journalist noted: “I’m glad I started working out on the treadmill before I came here. It really helped.”
The U.S. broadcast journalists come from 10 different states – reporters, producers, anchors and digital specialists from Oklahoma, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Oregon, Colorado, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, New York and Washington DC. They are part of a growing network of more than 1,600 German and U.S. journalists who have taken part in the no-strings-attached RIAS Berlin Commission fellowship programs that were inaugurated in 1992 after the Cold-War era radio and TV network in West Berlin known as “Radio in American Sector“ (RIAS) was switched off.
Here is a list of the U.S. fellows on the fall 2018 RIAS Berlin Commission Exchange Program:
- Justin Campbell, WVLA TV, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Letese Clark, WTOP News Radio, Washington D.C.
- Kane Farabaugh, Voice of America Midwest Correspondent
- Andrew Lapin, Freelance NPR, Michigan
- Carol McKinley, Freelance ABC, CBS, Littleton, Colorado
- Bonnie North, WUWM Radio, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Jessica Prater, CNN, New York
- Gitzel Puente, KJRH, Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Judth Snyderman, Washington DC
- Sage Van Wing, Oregon Public Radio, Portland
- Jordan Vesey, Union Docs Center for Documentary Arts, Brookyln, New York
- Kenya Woodard, CTTV, Tampa, FL
