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Knight Fellowships Reunion & Conference7th Reunion & Conference
Knight Fellowships 7th Reunion & Conference
Mark your Calendars now for this very special -- only every four years -- event! More details coming soon. In the meantime, here's some of what went on at the 2005 Reunion & Conference. 6th Reunion & Conference
Photo GalleriesNearly 400 attended 6th Knight Fellowships ReunionIn the biggest reunion turnout ever, some 383 former fellows, spouses, partners, children, speakers and guests gathered at Stanford University July 7-10, rekindling old friendships and reflecting on the state of journalism at the 6th Knight Fellowships Reunion & Conference.
Fellows representing 35 of the 39 classes of journalism fellowships at Stanford attended the event (only missing were those from the classes of 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1976). Every class was represented in a different way: Fellowship T-shirts from each class were hung like colorful banners for viewing all weekend in the Knight Fellowships office. In all, 164 fellows from the U.S. and 16 other countries were present along with 92 spouses and partners, 88 children and a few dozen speakers and guests. "It was stimulating, invigorating and so good to reconnect with classmates and other fellows I've come to know over the years," wrote Brenda Payton,'89, a columnist for the Oakland Tribune, in an email to the Knight Fellowships staff. "Thanks again." The reunion opened with a welcoming reception and dinner in front of Hoover Tower, with the 285-foot tower and nearby exhibit pavilion open free to Reunion attendees before dinner. The weather for the weekend was sunny and warm, just what fellows remember from their best days at Stanford. In addition to social gatherings and mini-reunions within nearly every class, the reunion & conference featured the announcement of the winner of the first James V. Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism and discussions on the current state of journalism and its future, as well as the global reach of Islam, avian flu, civil liberties and hip-hop. "I especially enjoyed the one chaired by (Law) Professor Kathleen Sullivan," wrote Raymond Wong, '67, a retired television journalist, in an email. "Her exposition on the 'exiling of the Constitution' by the Bush Administration certainly struck a familiar chord in the ears of this American expatriate in Hong Kong."
Ray was one of five Fellows attending from the Class of 1967, the first class of Professional Journalism Fellows at Stanford. He emailed about how wonderful it was to meet up with his fellow Fellows on the opening night of the reunion. "Charlotte Buchen was the first to holler my name, then Mike and Doris Feinsiliber, whom I ran into.at the Hoover Tower Observation Deck. Then also Ron Haggart and Noel Lieberman. At the various lunches and dinners when we yakked and yakked, we were all surprised by how much we actually remembered of those months on the Farm almost four decades ago." Other classes had excellent showings as well. The Class of 2004 had 13 of 19 fellows attend, the most of any class; coming in a close second was the Class of 1996, with 11 former fellows at the reunion. The Class of 2002 had the most fellows coming from far corners of the world: Russia (Sergey Kuznetsov); Cuba (Gary Marx, Cecilia Vaisman & family); Liberia (Serif Turgut) and Australia (Agnes Cusack). In addition, alumni from a range of classes traveled from Argentina, Canada, China, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and Turkey to be at Stanford with their classmates. One new feature of the 6th Knight Fellowships Reunion & Conference was Stanford Sports Camp for 5-12 year olds and an expanded day care for 1-4 year olds. The 88 children in attendance participated in everything from scavenger hunts to soccer, the older children led by young Stanford athletes and staff, the younger ones by child care providers, allowing their parents to attend conference sessions and dinners. Two highlights of the weekend for adults included inspiring dinner speeches by Olena Prytula, 2004, from Ukraine, and one by Jim Risser, director emeritus of the Knight Fellowships. Prytula, editor-in-chief of Ukrayinska Pravda website in Kiev, gave a speech at Stanford's new Arrillaga Alumni Center on Saturday night titled, "Journalism at the Heart of the Orange Revolution." To show their support for her, all of Prytula's 2004 classmates in the audience were wearing orange T-shirts, bought by Knight Fellow spouse Jean Kjellstrand that weekend at the local Goodwill shop. Prytula, also in an orange t-shirt, talked about the role of online media in her country's revolution, which led to the fall of a dictatorship and the rise of democratically elected Victor Yushchenko. She described how the strength she gained from her Knight Fellowship helped propel her to lead what many have described as brave and independent coverage of the contentious Ukrainian elections and revolution.
"When I was leaving the Knight Fellowships a year ago, the main result for me was my understanding that everything is possible," Prytula said in her speech. "But it was something almost virtual. The Orange Revolution once more proved it and I could say now for sure: Everything is possible." In a speech Friday night at the Faculty Club, Risser announced the winner of the first James V. Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism: A team from the Rocky Mountain News that included reporters Todd Hartman and Jerd Smith, along with photographer Ken Papaleo. The three shared the $3,000 prize for "The Last Drop," a five-part series that detailed the degree to which the rivers of Colorado's Rocky Mountains face ominous threats from the thirst of urban development on the Front Range. The idea of the Risser Prize was launched at the 2001 Reunion. In his speech, titled "A Profession of Hope," Risser detailed some of the problems facing journalism today, but said the best hope for resolving these problems was to produce "solid journalism that brings issues to light, explores them, puts them in context and helps people make wise decision," he said. "And I say to you, whether you do environmental reporting or some other kind of journalism, and whether you practice journalism here in the U.S. or in some other place, please keep doing it and doing it well. Despite everything, journalism remains a noble calling." Many of the fellows expressed the same feeling at the end of the weekend. "Coming back always reminds me of how lucky I am to belong to the bigger community of Knight Fellows," wrote Steve Sternberg, '92, a medical writer for USA Today, in an email upon returning home. "What an amazing collection of journalists – great, really great!" |
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