Biggest alumni program ever for journalists to Washington before midterms
The largest-ever RIAS Berlin Commission alumni group has spent a week in Washington DC learning more about the state of U.S. politics just ahead of the midterm elections. The 42 journalists from alumni chapters across Germany got the chance to learn more in depth about the issues in the election that will shape U.S. policies and politics for at least the next two years. It was the second alumni program for German journalists to the USA after a one-week alumni program to New York in 2021 while American alumni groups have had large programs of about 30 journalists t Berlin in 2019 that coincided with the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and in 2021 to follow the German parliamentary elections. There are 1,900 journalists in the USA and Germany who have take part in regular two- or three-week programs over the last 30 years and the alumni programs are shorter one-week programs designed help keep the spirit of RIAS alive and encourage participants to remain active members of the RIAS alumni network
The alumni program to the USA got off to a flying start with talks at Pew Research showing what a large impact that religion plays on politics in the USA, a visit to WAMU radio and talk with morning host and RIAS alumni Esther Ciammachilli, an in-depth talk about the US midterms with Julius van de Laar, a talk at Deutsche Welle TV with Ines Pohl and her team, and a talk with Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason
On Tuesday the 42 German journalists travelled three hours north to southern Pennsylvania for an hour-long talk with Republican Congressman Lloyd Smucker, who explained why the second amendment and gun ownership is so important to voters in his district and how his district has shifted over the last 20 years from leaning Democrat to safely Republican in part because the union workers in the area have shifted in the same direction. The Germans also had the chance to learn more about the Amish settlers in the region thanks to talks with Don Kraybill, Steve M. Nolt and Ben Riehl. The excursion to Pennsylvania was planned and organized by RIAS alumni Tyler Speicher.
On Wednesday the group met Brookings expert on Congress Molly Reynolds, Der Spiegel correspondent Roland Nelles, and Hudson Institute senior fellow Peter Rough. They also got the chance to take part in a university journalism class led by Brandon Benavides, an NBC producer.
On Thursday, guest speakers included Emily Gold and Sarah Blackwell of NBC News and Meet the Press, Gudrun Engel of ARD and Elmar Thevessen of ZDF television. The Germans also had two highlights — a talk by CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer about his film on the Holocaust memorial in Germany “Never Again” and a visit to the White House press room and watching President Joe Biden’s helicopter departure. Biden also stopped by briefly to talk to a few journalists covering his departure who were standing just in front of the RIAS journalists.
Friday’s highlights include a visit to the German embassy, a talk at NPR with Scott Neuman and Domnico Montanaro, a talk with WNBC news anchor Michael Gargiulo and a talk on immigration with Diego Sanchez, director of policy and strategy at the president’s alliance on higher education and immigration.
Here is a list of the participants: Charlotte Maihoff, Thielko Griess, Martin Richter, Nadine Gries, Gesine Dornblüth, Daniel Pokraka, Bartosz Dudek, Zlatin Nikov, Björn Heckmann, Michael Kolz, Pia Bierschbach, Iris Ollech, Sven Trösch, Susan Kalmbach, Charlotte Voss, Nina Lammers, Wiebke Keuneke, Andreas Franz, Annette Yang, Dilek Üsük, Kristian Wiegand, Arndt Brorsen, Janelle Dumalaon, Jutta Mueller, Sylvia Warnke, Mirja Fiedler, Julius van de Laar, Gabriele von Moltke, Petra Gute, Gesa Eberl, Catherine Martens, Nadja Kriewald, Isabelle Koerner, Dominik Lauck, Gabriel Fröhlke, Philipp Jahn, Özcan Mutlu, Vladimir Balzer, Gregor Schmalzried.
