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News Archive 2005-06 NO. 07
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Speech addresses media
NBC producer, alumnus speaks at Hall
by Christina Lundy
Staff Writer
lundychr@shu.edu |
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Seton Hall alumnus Robert Windrem, investigative producer at NBC Nightly News, spoke Wednesday night in an event organized by the Graduate Diplomacy Council.
The seminar, Public Diplomacy and Media Relations, was the first in the Whitehead Professional Development Series.
The event took place at 7:00 p.m. in the Chancellor’s Suite of the
According to Dalai Fazio, president of the GDC, the goal of the series is to bridge the gap between academic theory in the classroom and professional practice in the business world.
They also aim to raise the prestige of the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy.
“The last thing we want a prospective employer to say during an interview is ‘Where did you go to school?’” Fazio said. “We want them to recognize the name.”
Fazio said the GDC does this while offering students a way to network with each other and people like Windrem.
Windrem played a major role in unearthing the first video of Osama Bin Laden in 1997.
“It was a gold mine for us,” he said. “After Sept. 11, it became even more valuable.”
Windrem discussed how images guide what the public believes. He said when it comes to Osama Bin Laden, for example, the public sees him as a cave dweller because of the initial photos.
“Once you lose control of public perception, you lose control of everything,” Windrem said. “Myth grows and becomes legend uncontrollable by the government.”
He said the perceptions the public holds to be true are not always so.
Windrem highlighted the American public’s lack of understanding when it comes to Islamic people as an example. He said when millions of Muslims have been killed in the past 25 years, their lives have been driven by feelings of insecurity.
“If you are involved in public diplomacy, you have to realize that it’s not about ideology; it’s about personal security for many of these people,” Windrem said. “If we don’t change this we will see the rise of a new Bin Laden, a whole generation of them.”
Junior Katie Spotts agreed about the importance of images in the media.
“The information about the image and its role in shaping the public’s perception on an issue or figure such as Osama was very interesting,” she said. “It was good to know that because we sometimes get lost in things and forget to think about what images really mean. We follow the media too much and don’t think for ourselves.”
Windrem also mentioned how easy it is to manipulate the information.
“The way the media is structured right now, you can customize your view of the world,” Windrem said. “Here are the channels not to watch, the Web sites not to go to.”
Thomas White, associate vice president for Public Relations and Marketing, also spoke.
As a public relations professional, White said he needs to anticipate what questions will be asked and build bridges back to the message he wants to convey.
“You need to go into an interview with three or four talking points,” he said.
Windrem said reporters know these professionals have coached themselves. In many cases, they must go past the obvious people and find someone else who can give them the truth.
Spotts said she found this to be informative.
“I thought it was very interesting, and it gave us a better understanding of the role of the networks and journalists and the opposite side of the public relations and the interviewee,” she said.
White also discussed the role of crisis management in his job.
“Crisis management is probably the most important part of my job at Seton Hall or any public relations job I’ve had,” he said.
White used this advice during his time working as the press secretary and director of media relations for the Peace Corps. After a volunteer was raped and beaten, White was able to communicate to the media and show the public that the Peace Corps’ No. 1 priority is the health and safety of the volunteers.
“The Peace Corps did as much as they could do for the situation,” he said.
Windrem graduated from Seton Hall with a bachelor of arts in communication in 1968. He said he feels the things that happened after college were most important in bringing him to where he is today.
According to Windrem, the NBC staff is a diverse operation from many different colleges and universities.
“Some people may come out of college feeling not as good as who they’re competing with,” he said. “There’s no reason for that.”
“I think it’s always the experience afterwards that prepares you for a career,” he said. “The things Seton Hall prepared me with were the opportunities at The Setonian and WSOU that gave me confidence.”
Windrem was both a sports editor and the editor-in-chief of The Setonian while at Seton Hall.
Windrem offered advice for students.
“There’s no reason not to think big, not to be ambitious,” he said. “You have to realize that when you’re coming out of here confident, you’re going to succeed.”
Fazio said he felt the event was a success.
“This (was) an excellent opportunity for students and other guests to gain a better understanding of the global media and communication sectors,” he said.
Fazio said the diverse and extensive backgrounds of the participants contributed greatly to the lecture.
“All the evening’s guests have experience working for international organizations and understanding the importance of being an actor with a global audience,” he said.
According to Fazio, attendance at the event far exceeded what he originally expected. He asked for R.S.V.P.s for the event, which was scheduled for the Diplomacy Room in McQuaid Hall.
“Due to the high amount of R.S.V.P.s for the event, it was determined that the original venue would not accommodate the expected attendance,” he said.
Some students from the School of Diplomacy said they attended the event because of an interest in the topic.
“Public diplomacy is becoming increasingly important as we begin to interact more with different countries,” junior Amanda Abeln said. “It is necessary that people have a correct perception of what is happening in the world.”
She felt the seminar did not stick to what was promised in the title.
“I would have liked to (have) seen more of a focus on the public diplomacy aspect and not so much on public affairs and relations,” Abeln said.
Spotts agreed.
“In regards to public diplomacy, I don’t think the panel addressed that at all,” she said.
Fazio said the seminar series is targeted toward master’s of diplomacy degree candidates, diplomacy undergraduates, alumni and master’s of communication students.
Ramu Domodaran, chief of the Civil Society Division of the UN Department of Public Information, was scheduled to attend Wednesday night’s event.
However, Domodran was stuck in traffic and unable to attend the event.
A light reception followed the event, and audience members were given an opportunity to meet the the lecturers and discuss thoughts with them in person.
In addition to participating in the Whitehead Professional Development Series, the School of Diplomacy has many events planned for the upcoming semester.
The school will kick off a week-long commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the United Nations on Thursday at 4 p.m. with a lecture by Chef de Cabinet for Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Mark Malloch Brown. He wiill speak to students in Jubilee Hall Auditorium.
The School of Diplomacy Web site will be updated when more events are added to the week long celebration.
The GDC will host Iraqi war veteran Dan Keenaghan for a discussion on the current conflict in Iraq on Monday at 6 p.m. in the Diplomacy Room in McQuaid Hall.
Students who attend the event are encouraged to bring at least one question with them to ask Keenaghan.
Christina Lundy can be reached at lundychr@shu.edu.
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