The Unseen Aspects of Guest Recruitment: Innocence Abroad (or) Please Don't Make Me Join You for Dinner in Paris! By David Abrahamson Northwestern University Presented at the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Meeting Phoenix, AZ August 9, 2000 The somewhat unusual title of this panel is "The Unseen Aspects Of Guest Recruitment: Innocence Abroad" Or "Please Don't Make Me Join You for Dinner in Paris!" It is my hope that, with luck, my presentation will explain that. Two years ago, I was fortunate to receive an invitation from the American University of Paris to teach a course during the summer term. I immediately accepted. The content and structure of the course was left for me to decide, and, after briefly contemplating trying to design a new course, I was strongly encouraged to select a class from the Medill curriculum and tailor it for Paris. One of my primary teaching areas is magazine editing, so utilizing a related course appeared feasible. In my courses I often blend in quite a bit of magazine history, which seemed perfect in this case, considering the interesting media history Paris had to offer. However, there was a bureaucratic limitation considering Medill students can not receive credit for a journalism course taken outside of Northwestern University. As a result, the argument had to be made that, even though the course was in Paris, it would remain a Medill course taught by a Medill professor. Therefore, Medill students receive credit for it. The argument was that, even though the course would not be different from one taken at Northwestern University, it would offer a more enriching experience to students because of the culture and history available in Paris. I presented that argument before the Medill Academic Standards Committee, and it is important to note that at the time, and for the past several years Northwestern University has been attempting to become more global -- to grow beyond its Midwestern roots and embrace the larger world. The university, I suspect, envisioned the course in Paris to be a small step in that direction, and with a minimum of fuss the committee approved the course. I was, of course, quite grateful. Of the dozen students who enrolled in the class, half were from Medill. The other half were French or students from the American University of Paris -- almost all of them were of European descent. The course was titled, "Magazine Editing in an International Context." The last phrase was to be provided in two ways. The international flavor would in part come from the thoughts, perceptions and sensibilities the European students would add to the class, especially considering the stark differences between European and American culture. In addition, we would attempt to recruit several European magazine editors to participate significantly as guests in the course. If those guests would come, it would be an opportunity to infuse the course with Europe's unique media history. For example, it is known that most of the European press during World War II cooperated, if not collaborated, with the Nazi occupational regimes. After World War II, much of the European press was discredited and either had to start over or shut down and make way for new publications to take their place. By the late 1940s and 1950s, a new generation had come to the fore to reinvent journalism, at least to some degree. The journalism they invented, however, is markedly different than what is practiced in the United States. Fortunately, when I was in Paris in 1998, many of the same characters from that tumultuous generation were still available. Many had risen to honorary positions and their successors had worked with them closely. So the rich media history of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s was attainable, if we could persuade them to participate in the class. The rich sliver of media we would focus on was the magazine form, which is unique in the way it shapes and reflects the social reality of the times that it is published. The magazine is also distinct compared to other forms of mass media; it is not tied to any specific region, as many newspapers are, and it differs greatly from broadcasting, which generally amplifies rather than to originates changes in the social reality. There are many unique and influential magazines in Europe, and our task was to create a wish list of top editors to invite from those leading publications. First, there was Paris Match, which is the best read magazine in France. It can be viewed as a combination of Time magazine, People magazine, Hollywood Reporter and Life magazine. Although at first glance it appears superficial, it is a very influential publication. Then there was the German publication Der Spiegel. By way of illumination, this invitation in particular drew strong, and somewhat amusing, comments from a left-wing librarian at the American University of Paris. When she found out the editor of Der Spiegel was coming, she argued that he was a dangerous man because the people of Germany believe every word Der Spiegel prints and they allow the magazine to tell them what to think. Returning to French magazines, Le Point, a combination of The New Republic, The Spectator and Fortune magazines, was also on our wish list. Then there was Beaux Arts, which is known as a very influential arts magazine with no true equivalent in America. Finally, the widely popular Marie Claire was also one we invited. As many of you know, the original is completely different from the American version, which is generally fluffy in the manner of many American women's magazines. The original Marie Claire is an advocacy publication with a clear feminist orientation; it is also quite confrontational and known for its wonderful writing and reformist impulses. From England, we hoped for The Economist, the magazine I describe to my Northwestern students as "a weekly miracle." And finally, there was Oggi, the Italian publication many compare to People magazine or Us magazine in America. Our goal was to have each guest participate in the last half of a two-hour class. They would start by sharing biographical information about themselves; this would allow them to get comfortable in the classroom, as well as let us determine how well they spoke English. The plan was to follow the introductions with a question-and-answer session with the students. However, before reaching that point, we needed confirmation that editors indeed wanted to participate in the course. We humbly extended a written invitation to everyone on the list and were very fortunate that everyone eagerly agreed to serve as a guest in the class. We later learned their quick acceptance stemmed from the fact that academic institutions are held in the highest regard in Europe. There is little interaction between the academy and the profession. Therefore, when the rare opportunity arises for editors to enter the academy with an invitation to take on an educational role, many are actually quite honored and jump at the chance. In contrast, in American journalism schools, the invitations are abundant. Local editors come and go so often in our schools that it sometimes seems they are reworking the same canned presentations given to advertisers. As a result, such invitations are not viewed with the same prestige that they are in Europe. Another part of the attraction in participating in the class, it must be admitted (particularly for the non-French publications), was the opportunity to spend an evening in Paris. So it should not have come as a surprise that all the invited guests went out of their way not only to accept, but to also absorb whatever costs were associated with their appearance. In fact, we had no honorariums to pay them, and all they received were small tokens of appreciation: a Medill mug and a University of Paris T-shirt. The guest participation enhanced the course and truly provided firsthand historical context for magazine journalism in Europe. There were even a few stark contrasts, which the American students noted immediately. Since most of European journalism is considered opinion and not fact, there is not a lot of reporting. In fact, reporting is somehow beneath them. There is very little history of an adversarial tradition in European journalism. They are not confrontational. Follow-up questions are non-existent. For example, in the guest presentations none of the European students followed up their own questions even when the guest seemed to purposely avoid a direct answer. It was the American students who said "Just a second, you didn't answer that question. Could I follow up?" The European students would then jump back and say "Well, maybe I could do that some day." The students quickly learned that passive attitudes, like the ones exhibited in the class, are prevalent in the French culture. It is said, for example, that only 3,000 people run France. Those powerful individuals either serve in government, the top levels of industry or the media. They move from one job to the next as part of an "in" crowd. It is an elite group where no one wants to embarrass anyone else. Therefore, the domesticity of European journalism becomes largely driven by an effort not to offend your country-club colleagues. A fitting example of this cozy camaraderie can be found by returning to 1998. It was a volatile political year for our President. The Monica Lewinsky scandal broke with its lurid details splashed on the pages of every publication imaginable, as well as every television and radio station. However, a few years before Francois Mitterand, France's president, had died. It was widely noted that attending the funeral, aside from his wife and daughter, were his mistress and his illegitimate daughter. Two thoughts crossed the minds of many Americans: How could the French accept that so easily? Or, on the other hand, why can't we be like the French? Curious to learn the current attitudes of the French, we asked the French students if they had known about Mitterand's mistress. They all said they did not know until it was revealed in 1996 in Paris Match. Fortunately for us, Olivier Royant, Paris Match's editor designate, was of the speakers in the course and he shared the backstory with the students. It began, he said, when Paris Match came into possession of a picture of Mitterand with his arm around his illegitimate daughter. Royant explained that they had a reason to publish the picture because "the number of the third line" on Mitterand's resume was incorrect. It was the line that disclosed the number of children. But he said the publication was not ready to publish the picture yet. First, they called the Elysee Palace and requested an urgent appointment with the Monsieur Le President. The editor of the prestigious Paris Match was calling so, the palace agreed to set a meeting. The editor laid out the page-composed "flats" of the proposed photo spread in front of Mitterand, who looked at them for a moment. As Royant told us: "He did not say red light. He did not say green light. He simply said that it was a very good picture. So we published it." Suddenly, everyone other than the 3,000 people that run France now knew that President Mitterand had a mistress and a 19-year-old illegitimate daughter. There were rumblings in the news for three days and then it went away. But the fact that the editors would ask Mitterand's permission was astounding. And when one of the American students asked Royant, "Would you have run it if he had said no?" He Answered, "Probably not." In closing, I would certainly encourage anyone who plans to teach an international editing course to invite local editors to contribute to what you're trying to accomplish academically. We were very fortunate to have it result in a success not just for the university, but most importantly for the students. It was clear that offering my students the chance to experience views of their prospective profession -- other than my own -- was perhaps the highlight of the course for them. The students' growth and learning went beyond anything I could teach them. It was an experience of a lifetime for them, and I am grateful to have played a small role. Most of the guest presentations, including the question-and-answer sessions, were transcribed and are available on my web site, . Copyright 2000 David Abrahamson. All rights reserved. 3 1