You know me, politically correct is my middle name (aside from my real middle name, of course, which in case you were at all curious, is Lauren. A particularly savvy move by the 'rents, might I add - one that results in my name in full - Gabrielle L. Pedriani - sounding faintly like a certain song by a certain currently much-too-red-haired-artist when read out loud)
--Ella ella ella, eh eh eh
Whoa. Tangent major. Relevance minor.
Let's just jump right into what I initially meant to address in this fine little piece of literature.
Yesterday, we went to the Foreign Press Center at the National Press Building. It's essentially the greatest place if you're a foreign journalist in need of sources, info, etc. Frankly, I wish it were socially acceptable for me to go to every one of their briefings. Why, you might wonder, would this be at all desirable?
Well, I'm not sure how mindful you are of political norms, standards, traditions, etc...But where I come from, "midterms" means a series of exams given mid-semester, "earmarks" are the holes in your ears your earrings make, and "pork-barrel" is ...umm, well, honestly, not really so commonly used, but I'm gunna go with ... a barrel full of dead pig?
So how great would it be if I could attend a Foreign Press Center briefing, on say, the Midterm Elections? That way, I wouldn't have to frantically search Google for any semblance of a "Midterms For Dummies" word document that might succeed at explaining in somewhat comprehensible terms exactly why everyone in DC is hyperventillating to such an embarrassing extreme.
The Foreign Press center hosts all sorts of briefings and organizes lots of nation-wide tours in which they inform foreign journalists about the current hot-button issues in the U.S. They also help facilitate interviews with sources, because apparently getting people to talk with you when you're a foreign journalist is just about as fun as it is to do when you're an intern.
I empathize.
We had 3 foreign journalists sit in a panel, 2 Germans and 1 Dane, and talk to us (and amongst themselves), about what it's like to be a journalist from another country living in the United States. They were a really funny group - totally honest and completely candid - and I loved hearing about what they found most difficult. Not because I have a perverse sense of enjoyment, but because I could completely relate! Honestly, being an intern in DC is so much like what these guys have to go through.
Not understanding certain current events, feeling like an outsider in the DC bubble, being confused by how and why people are motivated to do an array of odd things, and most of all - Desperately trying to get people to talk to you.
One of the German journalists really emphasized that he misses doing "real journalism", the kind where he really gets out there and grills sources for info. Now, he's forced into using more secondary sources of information than he ever would have ever imagined doing when living in Germany.
Sigh.
Silver lining? At least I know that I'm prepared for the trials and tribulations ahead should I ever decide to do some journalism abroad. 'Cause my second middle name? Bright Side.
I'm a shining ray of positivity.
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| It was so funny - the 3 foreign journalists moved immediately to the back of the picture, when EVERY other guest we've had assumed the front and center (We had to actually FORCE them to move to where they're standing here). I actually asked one of the German students about this, and she said that this was a very "European" thing to do - to not assume that you're the center of attention and shining beacon of knowledge. Imagine that? Modesty. |
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