Renowned Journalist Harry Rosenfeld visits Saint Rose

By SERIAH SARGENTON
Assistant Editor

Harry Rosenfeld—One of Albany’s most accomplished journalists– took the stage last week to share his experiences leading the Times Union over some 16 years at its helm. His visit coincided with the release of his new memoir: Battling Editor: The Albany Years.

Audience members came from the community, Saint Rose, and from the media to attend the armchair conversation between Rosenfeld, 89, and his eventual predecessor, Rex Smith, current editor at the Albany newspaper. The event was held in the Carl E. Touhey Forum on the Saint Rose campus on Wednesday, Jan. 16th.

Battling Editor chronicles what it means for a journalist to write in a politically driven city during a time when technology began advancing. After overseeing Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s coverage of the Watergate scandal at The Washington Post, Rosenfeld moved to Albany in 1978 to continue his work on hard-hitting journalism at the Knickerbocker News and the Times Union newspapers.

A major supporter of freedom of the press guaranteed by the First Amendment, he said that during his time in Albany, Rosenfeld often made decisions that not everyone agrees with. Rosenfeld notes that journalists have an obligation to the truth and solely the truth, even if it means angering a few people throughout the process.

“You don’t need a First Amendment to write what the government wants. You need it so you can blow the whistle on those in power,” said Rosenfeld.
In the conversation, Smith said that an editor is often faced with making difficult decisions that will result in a positive or
negative consequence.

“You understand that sometimes it [journalism] causes pain and can even cost friendships, however, journalism means telling the truth no matter what,” said Smith.

For Smith, being a good journalist means being able to write the truth, all while understanding that there is a consequence behind every published story.

This proved true when Rosenfeld assigned one of his writers at the New York Herald Tribune to contact a family regarding the death of a family member during the Vietnam war and to write a dignifying story on that person. However, he didn’t check to see if the family had been contacted already prior to assigning the story. As a result, the family learned of the death first through the news organization and experienced major pain. According to the code of ethics, journalists have an obligation to the truth that minimizes the least amount of harm. Rosenfeld said that he will forever live with this decision.

The idea of the truth struck a chord with several professionals and students at Saint Rose. For one college employee, who are sometimes faced with difficult decisions that affect both students and faculty related to Rosenfeld and some of the stories mentioned in the Battling Editor.

“One of the things I heard and liked is that he [Rosenfeld] said that they [journalists] don’t speak the truth, they try to get to it,” said Steve Ralston, the provost at Saint Rose. “I think the reason he resonates with me is because in my position I have to make decisions. I have to work with others to make decisions. Like him, I know the consequences of my decisions.”

Ralston said that it was an honor to have Rosenfeld speak to the college community since Rosenfeld is a renowned journalist with lots of history, students rising into the current journalism industry are lucky to have him speak to them.

Ralston touched on a moment where he felt like Rosenfeld perfectly separated the idea of ‘work ethic’ and ‘ethic of his work.’ He distinguishes the two with an example. He defined work ethic as one’s ability to stay committed to the job at hand. However, an ethic of work refers to the way a person’s morals or set of values influence his/her work. Ralston explained that throughout the discussion, Rosenfeld displayed a tremendous amount of ethics for journalism, and it showed throughout his career.

Ralston wasn’t the only person impressed with how Rosenfeld used ethics in his journalism career. After the event, Ian Farrell, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, said that he was impressed with the amount of integrity and honesty Rosenfeld held during his career. He explains that from this discussion students should learn that doing your absolute best till the very end is what matters, even if there are people who are working against you.

This lesson came about when Rosenfeld discussed the time when Hearst asked him to cut hundreds and thousands of dollars from his newsroom. In a memo written in 1993 addressed to his bosses, he explained that newspapers are already fractured because of the internet. Advertisers were no longer seeking newspapers because the internet collected data and sold it so that ads could be tailored based on interests. Rosenfeld said that he was not sure what the future of print journalism would look like because it’s an ever-changing industry that adapts to the times.

“Recognizing that newspapers are increasingly different in formats is really important, and important to the future of journalism,” said Farrell. “I think it’s a free press, it’s exceptionally important to our society. To hear from Rex and Harry and to hear how it involved is important.”

The newest book discusses a variety of issues that rising journalists working today are likely to experience. This includes debating your personal morals and ethics, dealing with politics, finances, and a variety of other issues. The editor of the book, Rob Brill explained that this book is important for journalists of this generation because it provides the wisdom and guidance that each future journalist will need in the industry, especially during a time where journalism is threatened.

He said that this book made him realize that prior to the internet age, the way information was carried was important to the history of journalism itself. Rosenfeld’s story will help millions of future journalists grasp the world ahead of them. Since journalism is the backbone to American Democracy, Battling Editor illustrates which moves create a successful journalist. Brill said that it was a privilege to work with Rosenfeld because he was the Times Union editor who hired him and inspired him to mold into the editor he is today.

Yet, his story not only benefits journalists, but anyone rising into any field. Joelianice Feliciano, a freshmen studying management with a concentration in Sports at Saint Rose, found ways that freedom of speech could be applied to her current studies and future career aspirations.

“I know my career is going to have a lot of teamwork projects just like I am currently having in my business classes.” said Feliciano. “If I don’t feel like we are working together or not enough work is being put, I am able to say ‘we need to fix this’ or I am able to tell them how we can make it better. That right there helps me be more comfortable that everything can go the right way.”

Feliciano said that throughout the discussion she resonated most with Rosenfeld when he explained how he wrote a letter the relatives of the fallen soldier. For her, this act taught her that it’s important to be considerate of others personal lives. She notes that she learned respect and ownership from this particular story from Rosenfeld. More importantly, she walked away with the greatest lesson of all: no matter where you are in life, you can do what you want if you work hard and put your heart in it.

This is true for Rosenfeld and Smith, who both dedicated multiple years to reporting news that was fact-based and true to audiences all over New York.

“Truth is a necessary component of a society dedicated to freedom, equal opportunity for its people and preservation of the world for future generations,” said Brill.