In a world where the ability for media venues to send foreign correspondents is shrinking, Ben Solomon ’10, a photographer and multimedia journalist for The New York Times has worked in over 30 countries in the past three years.
Immediately after graduating from DePauw, Solomon interned for The New York Times and was then hired.
Solomon returned to DePauw as a Crain lecturer on Sunday night in Watson Forum. During the lecture, he spoke about his experiences as a foreign multimedia journalist and the challenges he has faced, how he handles what he witnesses and his advice for aspiring journalists.
“We’re all people,” Solomon said of what he has learned from working in the Middle East. “They still have very powerful emotions. They still have very high expectations for a good life.”
Solomon said one of the challenges he faced was telling the stories conveyed in his videos in engaging and creative ways.
“Otherwise, it just becomes this hodge podge of death and a very ho hum feeling from a lot of Americans that don’t really engage with the topics you’re writing about,” Solomon said.
Solomon said that foreign journalists serve an important role.
“The need for foreign journalism in understanding the war has never been so important,” Solomon said. “Because our generation has seen more war than any other generation.”
Solomon said that every person handles what they see differently.
“That’s not to say that all the time that you just don’t think about this and don’t have understanding and have compassion for the people who are going through this,” Solomon said. “To be a good journalist, you have to.”
He noted that both Syria and Libya were difficult to cover.
“There’s no technique, you just kind of have to find your way to deal with it,” Solomon said.
He said the most powerful photo he took was in Syria that showcased 15-year-old boy, who was traveling with a lone suitcase from the refuge he had in Turkey to Syria in order to visit his sick mother.
However, he cautioned against journalists not empathizing.
“The worst thing that can happen is when people become kind of jaded and close minded to the things. A lot of journalists that I encounter end up being very cynical, and I think that’s a dangerous thing to go through,” Solomon said. “What you need to empathize with people, is to have compassion and understand their circumstances, and when you can’t do that anymore, you’re not a very effective journalist.”
Solomon’s advice to aspiring journalists was to know the basics.
“There’s no alternative for the very basics of journalism,” Solomon said. “I think everybody should start learning the inverted pyramid. I think everyone should start learning the old school basics of how to write a story and if you don’t have it, then you’re not going to become a storyteller.”
He also said that students should take advantage of the opportunities that DePauw offers.
“This is a good place for young journalists. This is like an unshined gem,” Solomon said.
He noted that students should strive to get internships because the experience is significantly different than what the classroom can provide. Solomon encouraged students, saying that whether or not someone comes from a journalism school background doesn’t always matter.
“Once you’re working in journalism it just matters if you’re a good journalist or not,” he said.
President Brian Casey, who was one of approximately 40 people in attendance for the speech, was impressed by Solomon’s work since graduation.
“On the one hand, I’d like to think [student’s having this sort of success] is expected, but it’s remarkable,” Casey said. “The fact that he’s been able to construct a remarkable career at such a young age through huge parts of Africa, Asia and Europe is quite striking.”
Dave Bohmer, director of the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media and the Media Fellows program, was “very impressed” at Solomon’s speech.
“It’s never an easy road to work for a paper like that,” Bohmer said, adding that he believes that the reason DePauw has some successful journalists working for larger papers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times is because those students took advantage of the opportunities offered by the University.
Solomon will be meeting with students on campus until Wednesday afternoon.