News

Journalist James Traub reflects upon his coverage of international conflicts

October 07, 2009

By Megan Gibson '10

Last night, the Journalism School hosted the first in a series of lectures called “Covering Conflict,” which featured a conversation between James Traub of The New York Times Magazine and Jack Snyder, the Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Relations at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.

The year-long series is co-sponsored by the Columbia Journalism School, Columbia’s Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life, and S.I.P.A.’s Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion. The conversation revolved around politics and principles in many regions of conflict.

Introducing the lecture, Mark C. Taylor, the chair of the department of religion at Columbia University, spoke of the importance of sparking conversation between institutions and the public. Emphasizing the need for journalists to be a part of the discussion on conflict he said, “It’s important to have these kinds of conversations.”

Speaking frankly about international and political issues that journalists cover, Snyder and Traub each contributed insights from their own professional experiences.

Leading the discussion, Snyder, who is also the author of several books, including “Electing to Fight: Why Emerging Democracies Go to War,” raised issues regarding democracy building and failures in public debate.

Traub, who has written for The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly and is the author of numerous books, spoke on subjects such as nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and the U.S.’s role in democracy assistance. About America’s current stance in foreign policy he said, “If this war on terrorism is anything, it’s a war on ideas of ways to live.”

Regarding the economic decline of the news industry and the future of international journalism, Traub admitted that he was unsure what to expect. Journalism will increasingly be a process of integrating different sources, with less field reporting, he said. “I think what you’re going to have is a lot more opinion and a lot less fact.”

Snyder agreed that even now, journalism often has a heavy bias that can make it difficult for the public to determine what is happening in international politics. Referring to a public opinion poll that suggested 70 percent of the population felt that declaring war on Iran was a sound course of action, Snyder questioned whether the media has failed in regard to public debate.

Stressing the need for a discerning and questioning approach to journalism in areas of conflict, Traub said he was grateful for his formal education for giving him the tools to navigate between opinions and facts. He said that despite the pressure journalism is under, fundamental values such as objectivity and analysis are still crucial. “Places like the Journalism School are places where you have inculcated in you these values.”