Reading Between The Lines
Neal Shapiro is one of several panelists participating in The Edward R. Murrow Symposium, an event moderated by Discovery Channel managing editor and former ABC newsman Ted Koppel. The subject is "What Would Murrow See Now? The U.S. Press and the World." Watch the live, streaming webcast of this event on Apr. 3 at 2 PM. News From The Inside Out, a new offering this semester from Tufts' Experimental College, that seeks to explain the inner workings of print and broadcast media from the perspective of two media veterans and Tufts graduates, former NBC News president Neal Shapiro (A'80) and freelance reporter Phil Primack (A'70). Though homework mainly consists of watching TV and reading newspapers, it's not as easy as it sounds. Students are expected to analyze and compare offerings from multiple networks and publications, critiquing their coverage and discerning what's going on behind the scenes. And Shapiro and Primack, experts in their fields, are formidable presences at the front of the classroom. But the students have risen to the challenge. "I find they put a lot of care into it. They watch with great care and think about what they want to say," says Shapiro. "As a teacher, even in my limited experience, there's not much more to ask for." As they prepared for a recent class meeting, Shapiro and Primack chatted with Tufts E-News about the state of the media, their teaching experience and their fond memories of Tufts. Here are excerpts from that conversation: On their backgrounds Shapiro: Ironically, I knew about Phil though I'd never met him. We were both editors of the Tufts Observer years and years ago now. I used to spend some of the summer trying to catalogue the holdings of the paper together. I remember going through some of the old Observers and seeing his byline. He was head of the paper at a really interesting time and a really fun news time. And then this class came up and I'd been talking to Julie [Dobrow, ExCollege program director] and some other people, and I didn't know if I wanted to do it all by myself. I'd lectured, but I'd never taught a class before. And Phil has been here a lot. It's been, from my point of view, a great pairing. On their students Primack: Both Neal and I have been impressed at how insightful they've been. They're picking up even some nuances that are hard to find even if you've been in the business. On the role of the Internet Shapiro: The last class is going to build to this—the Internet and blogging and how that's changed both the way traditional media can transmit faster, which is what the Internet is all about, and how people can respond and have their own dialogue with other people. What blogging has done is help to empower a whole group of people who now aren't just lonely voices in the wind; they can communicate to each other. On the rise of citizen journalism
Primack: It gets to the core issue of who is a journalist and what is news, which we do spend time on in this course. The old cliché of if you're sitting in your pajamas sipping a latte and writing what you think, are you a journalist? … Journalism is journal-ism, keeping a journal. Ultimately, a blogger of course is a journalist. All a blog is is a journal. So they are journal-ists, but if they're the press is a different question. On the convergence of mainstream media and blogs Shapiro: As good as citizen journalists can be, as good as bloggers can be at the end of the day, when you want to know what's really happening in Iraq, I'd rather hear it from an established journalist who's there than someone with their view of what they think is happening or someone who's talking to people second, third hand. I'd like to talk to people who are actually there. On contributions of young generation to media climate Shapiro: I hope from the class that they see that people going into this line of work should be really dedicated and should be passionate about the power that they have and not misuse it and understand there is a tremendous obligation to do it and to do it well. Primack: Even if they choose not to do it as practitioners, if they leave this classroom, leave Tufts, as better consumers of news and understanding the role of news in democracy, I think that's pretty good. On the theory of complacent media Shapiro: There are issues [the press] can always do better at. It should always work harder and never be satisfied and never be complacent. The press' or the media's job is to question authority. I think there are certain stories when you'll look back and say as an institution it could have done better. But as a whole, do I think that journalists are complacent? Not a bit. Primack: If you're in broadcast, ratings matter. You're not going to have a budget if you're not generating revenue. That's certainly the case with newspapers now. Do I think the average reporter thinks about that stuff in the field? No. I think there's a huge mythology that a frontline reporter or producer is saying, "Well, gee, I shouldn't do this story because General Electric may not like it" or because our biggest advertiser may not like it. Most reporters are driven by one thing: get on page one or get in the leading segment of the news, much less than what's my boss going to think or what's the White House going to think. On teaching together back at Tufts
Shapiro: I think the students are really smart, I think they're really engaged, when we talk about this idea of having them watch things I think there was some concern about that's not the way things are done here, would they do it, would they be into it? I have to say, I find they put a lot of care into it, they watch with great care and think about what they want to say. I've been pleased with how they seem to integrate guest lectures, the stuff Phil and I have said, the stuff in their reading, I think it's clear they care a lot. As a teacher, even in my limited experience, there's not much more to ask for than a class that seems to care. … On a personal note, I love the school. Coming to Tufts changed my life, working on the Observer changed my life. I want to try to give back a little bit. This has been rewarding by every measure. On the ExCollege and the Communication and Media Studies program Primack: The students just have a real, real hunger out there and I think CMS and the ExCollege have done a pretty good job given limited resources to give them something to feed that hunger. Shapiro: I remember looking at the different college catalogues and reading about the ExCollege and I thought, what a great idea. When I got to Tufts I was in a freshman Exploration about journalism where I met one of my best friends, we edited the paper here together, and I worked on an ExCollege board, so I really thought the ExCollege was a great thing. And I think back, I took a few classes on film which I think had a huge influence on me just because it taught me about film as a form of art and about some visual things which I had a knack for but I don't know if I would have known it had I not taken those classes. I was here trying to help CMS come alive. I agree with Phil. What I think is great about it is it's interdisciplinary, to me it really pulls together some of the things that make liberal arts in general and Tufts in specific such a great thing. It's not necessarily structured, but it does combine a lot of disciplines in a way that it is bigger than the sum of its parts. On working for Tufts student publications Shapiro: I think there's a smaller fraternity of people who worked on the college newspaper. I think anytime you meet someone from Tufts who worked on it, there's a special bond even if you never worked with them. It was such a special experience in everybody's life. Homepage photo by Melody Ko, University Photographer. Photo of Shapiro by Joanie Tobin for Tufts University This story originally ran on Apr. 3, 2006. |
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 "Coming to Tufts changed my life, working on the Observer changed my life. I want to try to give back a little bit. This has been rewarding by every measure." — Neal Shapiro |
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Longtime news professionals Neal Shapiro and Phil Primack are turning their profession inside out—and Tufts students are reaping the gains.