Standing O for Arsenault
European correspondent says she was nervous about speaking at Nash
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January 17, 2010 4:37 PM
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"Have I completely depressed you?" The National's Adrienne Arsenault rhetorically asked Nash delegates after her keynote presentation Saturday night.
CBC-TV's senior European correspondent — regularly stationed in London — had little good news for her audience of student journalists, but delegates said her speech was inspiring.
"It reminded me of why I want to be a journalist; it reminded me of why I am here," said Jacob Serebrin of the Concordian.
"It was so interesting," said James McDonald of the Muse. "It made me want to do what she is doing even though I'm terrified of going where she has gone."
Dan Pitura of the Phoenix said he appreciated Arsenault's direct approach.
"I thought it was pretty raw," he said.
While Barb Woosley of the Carillon said she liked Arsenault's optimism.
"It was kind of nice to have somebody that was optimistic about the state of journalism and has a little bit of hope for what we're doing here," she said.
Arsenault spoke of many of the negatives of today's reporting climate and its effects on both journalists and consumers of the news.
Tightening newsroom budgets and increasing expectations to file stories for multiple platforms threaten to erode reporters' "think time," she said.
"The fighting never stops in this business," she remarked.
Arsenault, more than used to performing under pressure, spoke without umms and ahhs, or pauses of hesitation — evidence of her 19 years as a broadcast reporter for the CBC.
But presenting to student journalists was in some ways a challenge for Arsenault, she told the Beagle following the speech — after she had a chance to return to her seat and thumb her BlackBerry.
"I was terrified — I gotta be honest. I tried pretty much everything I could think of to get out of it," she said of presenting at the conference.
"Not because I didn't want to do it, but because ... this is unnerving. I'm happy talking about things that are happening in the world, but when you start talking about your own experiences it's hard."
In her speech, Arsenault said the desire to be first with the news — a philosophy facilitated by technology — comes at the cost of accuracy.
She also told CUP's reporters to fight for the privilege of reporting where the action is happening. Stationed on the ground, she said, journalists are better equipped to tell a story with their eyes and ears, and through what they touch and smell. Her speech was laced with vivid depictions of the horrors she has experienced in conflict zones — she recalled hearing the cell phone jingles of the dead and smelling the metallic reek of blood.
Arsenault said presenting at Nash forced her to think about her experiences, which wasn't necessarily positive. Despite this, she said she agreed to present because university newspapers are places where the story still matters, and she wanted to encourage this.
"I really want people to remember that the story is the thing. At the end of the day you have to be rigorous about the story, and I get worried when I see people only wanting to talk about web design or only wanting to talk about Twitter. I worry that they forget about the story."
"And plus [producer Michael D'Souza] made me," she said.
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