Reporters Reflect on Their Experiences with Troops in Afghanistan and Iran

Sharing War Stories at Champlain College

Related Media

Louis Salome

BURLINGTON, VT (01/12/2011)(readMedia)-- Ever wonder what it is like to report from the front lines of war? Champlain College's Professional Writing Program and the Vermont Council on World Affairs are hosting an evening to explore the world of the war correspondent. Local journalists, photographers and an award-winning author will share their experiences and insights from recent reporting trips to the front lines of the war in Afghanistan, from Iran and other conflicts spanning the last 20 years.

"Reporting Live from War Zones: Journalists Tell Their Stories from the Front Lines," will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. in Champlain College's Alumni Auditorium. The discussion will be moderated by Mark Johnson, of the Mark Johnson Show on WDEV 92.1 FM. It is free and open to the public.

"This is the first time all of these journalists have been assembled in one venue," said the program's coordinator, Warren Baker, assistant professor in Champlain's Professional Writing program. "This is an extraordinary opportunity for the public to hear from and ask questions of journalists who have reported from the war zones we have been hearing and reading about for years. They will put a perspective on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that have had a lasting impact on families throughout the region. Also, having on the panel a journalist of Louis Salome's breadth and depth of experience will broaden the global perspective of reporting from the front lines and create an opening for an expansive discussion."

The evening's panel will include:

The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press reporting team who visited Afghanistan in September 2010:

• Sam Hemingway, a senior investigative reporter at the Burlington Free Press who has won a number of local and national awards for his work.

• Ryan Mercer, photo/video/multimedia editor at the Burlington Free Press. His department has won national awards for multimedia.

The WCAX TV Channel 3 News Burlington, VT reporting team who visited Afghanistan in early August 2010:

• Darren Perron is anchor of the 6, 10 and 11 p.m. news on WCAX-TV Channel 3 News. A winner of eight Edward R. Murrow Awards, eight Emmy Award nominations, and a dozen Associated Press Awards, Perron was the only non-network reporter in the U.S. to be nominated for a GLAAD Award.

• Lance MacKenzie is Photo Editor at WCAX-TV Channel 3 News. His work has placed among the top three in both the National Press Photographer's Association regional and national television photojournalism contests. He has been nominated for a regional Emmy and received top honors from the Vermont Associated Press.

Vermont Public Radio reporter Steve Zind, editor of Vermont Public Radio's Vermont Edition who last summer reported live from Iran and spent three weeks with Vermont National Guard soldiers in Afghanistan. In 2007, Zind was honored with two national Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Award-winning reporter and author Louis Salome, who has worked as an investigative reporter, political writer, editorial page editor and writer, and a correspondent throughout the world, including the Middle East, Central Asia, Russia, North Africa, and Europe. He has won numerous awards for editorial writing, including twice awarded the Distinguished Service Award by Sigma Delta Chi, the National Society of Professional Journalists. He is the author of Violence, Veils and Bloodlines - Reporting from War Zones (McFarland, 2010).

ABOUT CHAMPLAIN COLLEGE

Since 1878, Champlain College has provided career-focused education to students from its hilltop campus in Burlington, Vt. Champlain's distinctive educational approach embodies the notion that true learning only occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain offers study abroad programs in Montreal, Quebec and Dublin, Ireland. The College was named a "Top-Up-and-Coming School" by U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges. It is also ranked in the top tier of 2011 Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News & World Report. To learn more about Champlain College, visit www.champlain.edu.

CALENDAR LISTING

"Reporting Live from War Zones: Journalists Tell Their Stories from the Front Lines," Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. in Champlain College's Alumni Auditorium, Burlington. Journalists including Sam Hemingway and Ryan Mercer of The Burlington Free Press; Darren Perron and Lance McKenzie of WCAX-News; Steve Zind of Vermont Public Radio; and reporter and author Louis Salome. Mark Johnson of WDEV 92.1 FM will be the moderator. The program is sponsored by the Champlain College Professional Writing Program and the Vermont Council on World Affairs. It is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.champlain.edu.