RIAS fall program to Europe concludes after 12 days

Ten American journalists completed a 12-day whirlwind trip of four cities in Germany and Brussels on September 17 with two days of meetings in Brussels. The journalists had a total of 41 meetings in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Brussels, learning more about politics, media, culture and life in Germany and in the European capital. They had the chance to talk with German and American foreign correspondents working in Germany and Brussels as well as visit important news organizations such as Deutsche Welle, ARD television, WDR television, WeltTV, Deutschlandfunk radio, Deutschlandradio, NTV, RTL and Der Spiegel.

The Americans also had the chance to meet with American diplomats in Berlin, Hamburg and Brussels as well as talk to senior NATO and EU officials in Brussels. They also had the chance to get a taste of cultural aspects of Germany in meetings with artist Kani Alavi at the East Side Gallery in Berlin and band leader Andrej Hermlin and his American swing dance band.

For several members of the group on their first trip abroad, it was an especially eye-opening experience to learn more about Germany’s history, its efforts to come to terms with its history, and its work as a force for good in Europe and beyond. The members of the group included: Ayan Mittra, The Texas Tribune, Austin, Texas; Anjuli Sastry Krbechek, NPR, Los Angeles; Brittany Silverstein, ABC7, Los Angeles; Deon Osborne, The Black Wall Street Times, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Thomas Demane, CNN International, Atlanta, Georgia; Suzie Herman, KSDK, St. Louis, Missouri; Erika Angulo, NBC News, New York; Ward Colin, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia; Katherine Watkins, Houston Public Media, Houston, Texas; Steph Whiteside, WSIU, Carbondale, Illinois.