Georgetown MPS Journalism associate dean, Barbara Feinman Todd, and Asra Nomani, author and Georgetown journalism professor, won first place in the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication's Best Practices in Teaching of Information Ga
Georgetown Master of Professional Studies Journalism associate dean, Barbara Feinman Todd, and Asra Nomani, author and Georgetown journalism professor, won first place in the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication's Best Practices in Teaching of Information Gathering Competition for their teaching of the Pearl Project, a faculty-student investigation into the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
Their submission, "The Pearl Project: Teaching Students Information Gathering While Protecting the Enterprise of Investigative Journalism," is based on a 2007-2008 Georgetown University seminar they co-taught.
Nomani, Pearl's friend and colleague from the Wall Street Journal, rented the Karachi home where Pearl and his wife Mariane were staying at the time of his kidnapping. After participating in the search to find Pearl, Nomani began the preliminary reporting and research for the Pearl Project. "In life, Danny was a great teacher through the example of how he lived and how he worked, and I believe that, even in death, he continues to teach, inspiring our next generation of investigative reporters the finest skills in working hard and steadfastly for the truth."
Five years after Pearl's murder, Todd and Nomani assembled a team of 32 graduate and undergraduate students over the course of two semesters to pursue the unanswered questions surrounding the slain journalist's kidnapping and murder. They are continuing the project through the fall semester 2008, and they plan to publish the results of the investigation in spring 2009.
At a time when investigative journalism is on the wane because of media consolidation and financial cutbacks, the Pearl Project is modeled after the Arizona Project, an investigative reporting project into the murder of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles in the 1970s. The Pearl Project invites the participation of journalists, media organizations, media outlets and sources from around the world.
Professor Brant Houston, who holds the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting and teaches investigative and advanced reporting in the Department of Journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said, "I am happy to see that AEJMC recognizes the value of investigative journalism; they not only see the value of investigative reporting but have also chosen to honor it."
Originally planned as a one-semester course, a generous grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation enabled the project to continue into the spring semester.
A total of 26 entries were submitted from various universities throughout the country. A panel of judges blind judged all entries. Nomani will present the entry and accept the award at AEJMC's 2008 Annual Convention in Chicago, August 6-9, 2008.
AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of journalism and mass communication educators and administrators at the collegiate level, and the association is dedicated to providing the highest standards for education. The Best Practices Competition in Teaching of Information Gathering is sponsored by AEJMC's Elected Committee on Teaching. Entrants were charged with the task of submitting a two-page summary of their best work/ideas in the practice or activity of investigative teaching. They were expected to provide an explanation of their teaching practice, the rationale and outcome(s). AEJMC believes information gathering is vital to journalism. It covers strategies, skills, methods, concepts and theories relating to the process of collecting, collating and analyzing information in journalism, mass communication and other fields.
The list of winning entries include:
First Place:
The Pearl Project: Teaching Students Information Gathering While Protecting the Enterprise of Investigative Journalism
Barbara Feinman Todd and Asra Q. Nomani, Georgetown
Second Place:
Into the Field
Rex A. Martin, Bowie State
Third Place:
A Case Study: Mysteries versus Puzzles in Information Gathering
Patricia C. Baldwin, North Carolina at Asheville
Honorable Mention I:
Modeling Organization and Linear Thinking for Information Gathering
Kathryn B. Campbell, Mark Blaine and Tracy Miller, Oregon
Honorable Mention II:
Exceeding Expectations in Creating a Journalism Culture
Mead Loop, Ithaca
Honorable Mention III:
Perusing a Property through Public Records: Learning about Information Gathering through a Comprehensive Examination of Land Parcels
Cory L. Armstrong, Florida