On November 4th, 2019, the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University welcomed beloved friend Peter Copeland to speak on his experiences and publication of his 5th printed book, “Finding the News, Adventures of a Young Reporter”. Alongside Jack Hamilton, Copeland outlined his journey in the field of both politics and journalism, leading to his continued successes of today.
Copeland’s career began with a love for politics, after finishing undergraduate studies at the University of Exeter with a Bachelor’s in politics and a Master’s in government from Lawrence University. Copeland landed his first on-site job at the City News Bureau of Chicago. There, his first 4 days consisted of covering urban news stories, including an apartment catching on fire. Despite the opportunities Chicago presented Copeland, his dreams of working for the Chicago Tribune could not be reached until first gaining more experience in reporting for a smaller newspaper. At age 25, with only 4 years of professional experience, Copeland moved to El Paso, Mexico. Through recommendations, Copeland soon became the correspondent for the soon to be Scripps Howard Bureau in Mexico City.
Hamilton continued the conversation by asking, “How is foreign reporting different from domestic reporting?” Copeland answered by explaining that during the beginning of reporting in Mexico, he felt fairly comfortable with his Latin America beat. Yet, he knew that bigger stories surrounding death and combat fighting between the government and public were evolving and happening in Central America. Soon enough, Copeland had been told to cover stories in Central America, despite his efforts in avoiding it. So, Copeland found himself venturing off to and covering stories in an unfamiliar place once again, this time El Salvador. Copeland emphasized that everyday, he placed his and many others' lives at risk for information, as “more danger in a place means a better story for us [journalists].”
Copeland’s experiences in foreign reporting not only opened his mind, but paved the way for his future career path. By being surrounded in such a community of journalists, all covering the same stories, he slowly began to become better known and involved in the journalism society. Copeland emphasized that he “wrote about the stories behind the stories” as he learned from past reporters and competitors behind him, “each story had a lesson”. With having over 40 years in the field, Copeland hopes to pass along both his and their knowledge, to current students in the field of journalism.
Moving forward to today, Copeland addressed the differences in news reporting back when he began to now. He stated, “news reporters who were the backbone of traditional media, they don’t know what to do now with the pace of media”. Copeland also added that one of his core beliefs has been to separate fact from opinion, and many newsrooms of today simply do not understand that belief. Alongside that, Copeland said that current journalists must remember what fake news is actually defined as. Copeland emphasized that fake news is not a story you don’t like, or if a story is factually wrong. According to Copeland, fake news is making up a story, or if an editor refused to correct something that isn’t correct - that’s fake news.
By: Amazon
Copeland’s book, “Finding the News, Adventures of a Young Reporter” consists of his experiences and insights of being a foreign correspondent and journalist. Each of his experiences hold a lesson, one that any individual can take away from. I am so honored to have sat alongside his presence at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University this past week, and I look forward to seeing him speak again soon. More information on Copeland can be found here.
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