Press Release
Mikhail Fishman
2009 Winner of the Paul Klebnikov Fund Excellence in Journalism Award, Washington Post Fellowship Summary
June 3, 2009
I was very happy to get an internship at The Washington Post. Although short, this internship allowed me to get a real sense of what is a modern established newspaper: how it works in terms of structuring, managing and reporting. I want to thank Marcus Brauchli, the executive editor, and all the members of the team I had a chance to talk with — they were very open and welcoming.
Journalism in modern Russia is not that respected a profession. Socially important media outlets are mostly managed directly from above and cannot enjoy the values of free and independent reporting. Those who can — and Russian Newsweek is one of them — operate in an unfriendly climate. Free media outlets and free journalists in Russia do exist, that's a fact, but there's a lack of freedom itself. Media as a democratic institution doesn't really work, so in a way to be an independent reporter in Russia is like playing hockey without a puck.
But it doesn't mean there's no use trying. I spent my time in the Washington Post mostly talking to people — editors and reporters. I tried to understand the rules of the game: what is political reporting, how reporters deal with their sources, how they work with the information they get from them.
I found out it's not that different from what we do. This is the most important and valuable practice I got during my internship. And after I had come back I encouraged my teammates. I told them that we have every reason to respect ourselves and what we do. For journalists, I guess, self-confidence is very important motivation to keep on working with dedication and drive.
I attended daily story conferences and had an opportunity to follow the whole cycle during the day. I accompanied The Washington Post reporters and watched how they work in the field. One of the most exciting actions to watch was the criminal trial in the federal court in Virginia. I had attended such trials in Moscow before so I finally could compare how this institution works in Russia and in America. Democracy is always about institutions whether it is free media, election or legal system.
I visited the washingtonpost.com office and had an opportunity to watch closely how the site works. I got a much better understanding of what is the relation between the site and the reporters in the newspaper. This is knowledge of crucial importance for us as we also try to develop our web department and to make it work properly. Media all around the world are going through a very difficult time these days — especially printed media and especially in America and in Russia.
I'm far from drawing straight analogies between situations in America and in Russia: markets operate differently and political climate differs, too. But it's always useful to get a feeling of how it works within an established, functioning system with centuries of tradition: what are the challenges of the moment and how the system meets them. The challenge might be different but the survival scenario might still look the same. So I used this opportunity to get deeper into the matter and to get a picture of what's going on the media market in America and what are the ways to cure uprising problems.
Finally, I met a lot of people in Washington and made some very good connections. This is always helpful.
So this internship, although quite short, allowed me to follow several interesting subjects in a row. In Russian Newsweek we already started implementing some new skills I brought back from this trip. But most importantly, I feel inspired and ready to move ahead — and this is the feeling I already shared with my teammates. I am very thankful to the Paul Klebnikov Fund and Musa Klebnikov for this wonderful and amazing experience.
Misha Fishman
6/3/09
