TEACHING HOSPITAL
Rodriguez Helps Students Tell Their Stories By Mauro Whiteman Photo by Molly J. Smith If you ever find yourself in the office of Rick Rodriguez, be prepared for a story. After more than 30 years in newsrooms, the Carnegie Professor of Journalism and Southwest Borderlands Initiative Professor has myriad tales to tell. He began his career as an intern with his hometown paper, The Salinas Californian, after graduating from high school. He covered striking farm workers, rubbing elbows with the likes of César Chávez at the age of 18. ”It was a really historic time in journalism,” Rodriguez said. “At a very early age, I was bitten by the journalism bug.” A few years after he began working for the Californian, Rodriguez graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in communications. After three more years with his hometown paper, he moved to The Fresno (Calif.) Bee, continuing his coverage of farm worker issues and writing investigative pieces. At one point, he took a leave of absence from his job in Fresno to travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, on a Rotary fellowship. There he found a story in a village in the state of Puebla, where he talked with a nurse about unsafe drinking water. He wrote about the problem when he returned to Fresno. Soon after, a Rotary Club in Clovis, Calif., visited the town and installed a clean water system. More than 20 years later, Rodriguez was senior vice president and executive editor of the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee and president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors (now the American Society of News Editors) when he received a phone call from an attorney who had helped install the water system. The man told him that Rotary International had gone on to build water systems in disadvantaged countries worldwide. Stories that carry great impact have always been important to Rodriguez, both as a reporter and an editor. “I like stories that have emotion in them, and some of these stories generate a lot of emotion,”
“This gives students a total leg up,” he said. “Knowing how to prepare for big stories, how to go into situations that are unfamiliar and to tackle subjects that you’re not expert on, and to be able to tell them in an accurate manner — this class totally prepares them for that.”
he said. “Journalism that makes an emotional connection with people can be really impactful. It can drive people to do the right things or to examine the way society is handling issues.” Rodriguez has championed watchdog journalism since his first day in the newsroom. Associate Dean Kristin Gilger said Rodriguez plays an important role at the school because of his commitment to journalism’s core values. “I would almost call him a conscience,” Gilger said. “He has played that role in the news industry with his push for watchdog journalism and ethics and diversity, and at the school it’s the same thing.” Gilger also got to see Rodriguez in the role of the teacher her daughter came to greatly admire. Lauren Gilger, who graduated from Cronkite with her master’s degree in 2011, had a close connection to Rodriguez during her time at the school because of her decision to take the Latino specialization. “Rick was just amazing. He opened my eyes to not only an entirely new genre of reporting but an entirely new way of reporting,” Lauren said of her mentor. “I’ve never had another teacher since who was so supportive and open-minded and willing to help you and push you to get better all the time.” Lauren said she was impressed by Rodriguez’s ability to be straightforward and direct about his students’ work but always remain supportive and focused on the stories. She recalled a number of times when she asked Rodriguez for advice on a difficult story or tricky situation. When given an opportunity to ride along with law enforcement officers on the U.S.-Mexico border at night, she first consulted Rodriguez. “He sort of paused, and you could tell he was a little worried about it,” she said. “Then he just went, ‘All right. Well, wear the bulletproof vests.’” Rodriguez said his role at the school is helping expose students to a wide spectrum of views, beliefs and ideas because that’s what journalists do for the public. “The impact of doing this journalism at ASU goes way beyond just the classroom,” he said. o
For Rodriguez, the excitement of the trip comes from seeing his students grow as journalists and as people, as well as hearing their stories of trial and triumph. “I get thrilled when people are coming back and they’re so excited about what they’ve found, and that happened almost
“Journalism that makes an emotional connection with people can be really impactful.” Rick Rodriguez, Carnegie Professor of Journalism and Southwest Borderlands Initiative Professor
daily,” he said. “Just the interaction with the students daily to pick their brains on what they had done and what they learned — those are the single best moments.” o
The Cronkite Journal
2012-2013
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