By Marina Walker Guevara
Staff Writer, Los Andes
Mendoza, Argentina

I had been at The Philadelphia Inquirer for a week and I was pretty sure that I was in the wrong place.

I was expecting to land in a paradise-like newsroom, where journalists don’t have to worry about losing their jobs and journalism is the main focus in everybody’s daily job.

All of this, I said to myself, may contribute to the American freedom of the press.

My ideals were soon challenged. The Inquirer was going through one of its most difficult moments: a new editor, a declining circulation, corporation pressures, a reorganization of coverage—stressing local news to build suburban circulation—a few staff firings (that later were rescinded) and union protests—including a boisterous, 100-strong noontime march.

I thought I was back in Argentina where these sorts of things are common.

However, I have learned through experience that crises can be opportunities; and that in circumstances like these, the best and worst qualities of individuals and groups are revealed.

The Inquirer's challenging times allowed me to better understand the lights and the shadows of American journalism—and to have an even more rewarding experience.

I learned to appreciate, for instance, the key role of a good editor. At The Inquirer some editors not only discussed with me the focus of the story, but we also talked about photos and graphics, and the best way to frame the story.

Once the story was written, the editor still had dozens of questions for me. In the evenings the copy desk would call me at home to answer last minute questions. In those moments I felt lucky. There were people that really cared about my story. And, what’s more important, they really cared about readers.

In Argentina, editors would like to have time to do an in-depth job. But it seems almost impossible when most of them are in charge of about 12 to 15 reporters. And they have to do the work of three or four people in America—budgeting, editing, writing headlines and even designing pages.

This is even worse since the Argentine economy collapsed a year ago. People have stopped buying newspapers and spending money on entertainment. Newspapers have lost 30 to 40 percent of their advertising in 10 months. The salaries of reporters and editors have declined by two-thirds because of devaluation of the peso.

At The Inquirer I also experienced journalism as teamwork. Each story is like a mosaic built by different points of view, understandings and skills that come together and make it happen. The graphics and the photos, the design and the copy-editing are as important as the text itself.

Even in the middle of the storm The Inquirer was going through, I could see the commitment of its staff to good journalism. But I also experienced to what extent a newsroom can reproduce its society’s weaknesses. Coverage of foreign news and knowledge about the rest of the world and the role of the United States beyond its borders, still have a way to go in many U.S. newspapers.

Many reporters and editors seemed interested in Argentina’s economic and political crisis and some attempted to express opinions. Some of them didn’t even know what Argentina’s political system was. However, they remembered a curious story about former Argentine president Carlos Menem, where he called himself a “seductor.”

No one asked me about Menem going to prison this year for illegal trading of weapons to Ecuador and Croatia.

In the five months that I spent in the newsroom, nearly 70 percent of The Inquirer’s foreign news was on the conflict in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Iraq. The Inquirer’s foreign desk in South Africa was closed down recently.

However, there are some good signs from time to time—an Inquirer reporter was just sent to Colombia, for instance, and there were some good stories on Brazil’s recent election.

My question is, will the U.S. press step forward in the debate of America’s boundaries with the rest of the world after Sept. 11th, or will it encourage America’s isolation?

The coverage of diversity within the limits of the country is also a challenge for American journalism. During my stay I was given the opportunity to write about the Hispanic community in Philadelphia, which doubled its numbers in the last decade and today comprises nearly 10 percent of the population.

More than one half of the stories that The Inquirer has done in the last four years regarding Latinos have to do with crime, drug related issues and illegal immigration. Asian and African American communities get the same type of coverage.

I tried something different. I wrote stories featuring the culture of the oldest Latino neighborhood in Philadelphia called Fairhill, I reported on the language barrier that prevents Latinos from accessing health care, I wrote about the launching of the first website for a Latino taskforce in Philadelphia and investigated the cultural patterns that place Latinas at risk for HIV. Having the opportunity to bring this diverse voice to the paper was one of the major achievements of my fellowship. And the responses from readers were amazing.

I want to take some of what I learned in Philadelphia to my newspaper in Argentina. Journalism there has to deal not only with economic downturn, but also with people’s distrust and skepticism.

As all institutions in Argentina, the press has to rethink its role in the community with self-criticism and examination. To what extent does the media management influence editorial content to support a neo-liberal model that only benefits corporations? How is the media going to address people’s need of truthful, in depth information to make decisions in an uncertain environment?

The discussion itself can cause trouble for journalists. A few reporters tried to discuss some of these issues with management at my newspaper in Mendoza, Argentina, two months ago. After several failed attempts they organized a one-hour strike. A week later, two of them were fired and at least 10 were suspended for 15 days or more. An editor who joined the protest was demoted.

But again, crises can be opportunities.

In Argentina I would like to propose some basic improvements to the paper. I am referring to a daily review of the paper’s performance in the morning meeting with the participation of reporters; a clearing the record section and the return of the projects team that was dissolved this year.

During my stay at The Inquirer I always noticed a sign on an editor’s door. It said, ‘Fight the good fight.’ This is what I expect to do.