josh meyer moderates war reporting talk at University of Chicago institute of politics

Didn’t make it out to the event, featuring NBC’s Richard Engel and The New Yorker’s Jon Lee Anderson in conversation with Medill National Security Journalism Initiative Director of Education and Outreach Josh Meyer?

• Watch event video here

NSJI STUDENTS TOUR NATIONAL WAR COLLEGE

The National War College  in Washington opened its doors to students from the Medill NSJI on May 19.

• Peek inside the school

medill nSJI students embed at twentynine palms

Students from Medill’s National Security Journalism Specialization program embedded with United States Marines at the Twentynine Palms base in California’s Mojave Desert.

• Training for war with virtual combat
• Front-line training with the howitzer
• Marines prepare for the theater of war
• NSJI students embed with Marines
• Marines make millions off of recycling
• Best Training, But Worst Social Life
• USMC Archaeological Treasure Trove

Finding and analyzing VA disability claims data

Our latest NSZ 101 how-go guide helps get you started in your pursuit of good local, state, regional and national stories that are to be had in data about the enormous backlog of disability claims filed with the Veterans Benefits Administration.

If you’ve got basic Excel skills, get started here. And even if you don’t, you’ll find information and data that you can use from our expert, Shane Shifflett.

On the Beat

The latest headlines from On The National Security Beat, Scott Anderson’s column that provides fresh tips, news and resources to help national security reporters excel on their beats.

• Apple first to report number of secret customer data requests under new reporting rules.
• For Verizon, a solid grade on its first transparency report.
• Suicides jump among young male veterans; sexual assaults down at military academies, new reports say.
• Weekly VA disability claims snapshot: Backslide is back
• Putting the secret in an investigation of the Secret Service
• Toles ‘toon on data ‘mining’
• VA disability backlog grows for second week in a row.
• Preparing for a local disaster

INSIGHTS | Ellen Shearer

If current progress toward Syria turning over its chemical weapons ultimately unravels and the U.S. ultimately launches a military strike, it can do so with impunity in terms of Syria’s ability to retaliate kinetically. It doesn’t have the ability to reach any American assets except, possibly, the naval ships nearby.

But in the cyber world, Syria’s ability to attack is more difficult to assess. However, the Syrian Electronic Army, a pro-Assad regime group of hackers that may in fact be directed by President Bashar al-Assad’s administration, has already said it will retaliate if the U.S. launches an air strike. → Continue Reading.

Read more INSIGHTS

On the Beat

The latest headlines from On The National Security Beat, Scott Anderson’s column that provides fresh tips, news and resources to help national security reporters excel on their beats.

• VA disability claim backlog could grow worse with government shutdown
• Army to recruits: No tats for you!
• ‘Shield law . . . won’t protect us’ 
• A top 5 week for TSA gun confiscations
• VA disability claim backlog: Weekly snapshot
• $61 million in duplicate technology programs unearthed at Defense and Homeland Security

We’ve got a new regular feature that wraps up of some of the most interesting and useful stories done about national security issues by local reporters across the country. It will be updated weekly.

The column is put together by Natalie Jones, a staffer at the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative. Natalie is also a freelance journalist with a masters in journalism from UC Berkeley. She’s been working on freelance radio, writing and infographic projects, and is assisting with research for a book about Apple.

→ Visit Local Lookout

On the Beat

The latest heaadines from On The National Security Beat, Scott Anderson’s column that provides fresh tips, news and resources to help national security reporters excel on their beats.

[RSSImport display=”7″ feedurl=”http://onthebeat.nationalsecurityzone.org/feed”]

We’ve got a new regular feature that wraps up of some of the most interesting and useful stories done about national security issues by local reporters across the country. It will be updated weekly.

The column is put together by Natalie Jones, a staffer at the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative. Natalie is also a freelance journalist with a masters in journalism from UC Berkeley. She’s been she working on freelance radio, writing and infographic projects, and is assisting with research for a book about Apple.

→ Visit Local Lookout

Welcome to the Data Zone

Introducing the Medill National Security Data Zone, a new initiative in which we showcase databases and resources to help you cover — and uncover — great stories on your national security beat.

Data Zone’s launch comes with our newest data focus — military suicides. We’ve begun compiling monthly totals that the Army, Navy and Marines release. The Army, which has the highest number of suicides, has the most detailed data. We also have full month-by-month 2012 data, as well as historic totals, along with links to Department of Defense annual reports that have a very detailed amount of data.

Also featured is our database of gun confiscations at airport security checkpoints. We have the full 2012 database and each week add the latest itemized details from the Transportation Security Administration.

→ Visit the Data Zone

The Medill National Security Journalism Initiative is offering a National Security Journalism Specialization in the school’s Graduate Journalism Program, a unique offering among journalism schools nationwide. The new specialization was announced to current students on Jan. 16.

The Specialization gives you the opportunity to develop the skills, knowledge and hands-on reporting expertise needed to excel in covering some of the most crucial stories of our times – those affecting the national security of our country. → Read Full Story

Welcome to the Data Zone

Introducing the Medill National Security Data Zone, a new initiative in which we showcase databases and resources to help you cover — and uncover — great stories on your national security beat.

Data Zone’s launch comes with our newest data focus — military suicides. We’ve begun compiling monthly totals that the Army, Navy and Marines release. The Army, which has the highest number of suicides, has the most detailed data. We also have full month-by-month 2012 data, as well as historic totals, along with links to Department of Defense annual reports that have a very detailed amount of data.

Also featured is our database of gun confiscations at airport security checkpoints. We have the full 2012 database and each week add the latest itemized details from the Transportation Security Administration.

→ Visit the Data Zone

The Medill National Security Journalism Initiative is offering a National Security Journalism Specialization in the school’s Graduate Journalism Program, a unique offering among journalism schools nationwide. The new specialization was announced to current students on Jan. 16.

The Specialization gives you the opportunity to develop the skills, knowledge and hands-on reporting expertise needed to excel in covering some of the most crucial stories of our times – those affecting the national security of our country. → Read Full Story

Chasing China’s Tail: The Long Road to Mes Aynak

Medill Assistant Prof. and filmmaker Brent Huffman offers a different look at a country that has been at the epicenter of our overseas national security for more than a decade — Afghanistan. In a new segment of our “Debriefs” series, Huffman offers his insights into how — and why — he has become a champion of saving an ancient Buddhist city in Afghanistan from destruction by a Chinese mining company. And the journalism lessons he’s learned along the way.

→ Read Full Story.

Huffman filming a temple (stupa) at Mes Aynak.

A Buddah peeks from a hole at Mes Aynak.

Chasing China’s Tail: The Long Road to Mes Aynak

Medill Assistant Prof. and filmmaker Brent Huffman offers a different look at a country that has been at the epicenter of our overseas national security for more than a decade — Afghanistan. In a new segment of our “Debriefs” series, Huffman offers his insights into how — and why — he has become a champion of saving an ancient Buddhist city in Afghanistan from destruction by a Chinese mining company. And the journalism lessons he’s learned along the way.

→ Read the full story.

Huffman filming a temple (stupa) at Mes Aynak.

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Essential Tips and Wisdom,
Straight From the Experts

Help in preparing for a danger zone and covering a local base

Only take the essentials from MREs.

Our latest how-to guide: Peter Andrew Bosch, a veteran Miami Herald photographer who has covered conflicts on several continents, offers advice on what to bring when you head to shoot in dangerous situation, and offers tips on operating once you’re there.

His guiding principle: “the 5 ‘Ps’:” Proper preparation helps prevent a poor performance.
→ See the complete guide.

Lessig

Hugh Lessig of the Daily Press in Virginia offers some insights and recommendations on learning how to cover a local military installation (he’s got about a dozenin his neck of the woods).

“I’m a generalist,” Lessig explains. “My knowledge must be broad, but not deep. However, some principles apply to the job no matter what the territory, and I’ll try to cover them here.”

→ Explore The Local Base Beat.

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Essential Tips and Wisdom,
Straight From the Experts

Help in covering a local base and using social media on your beat

Lessig

Lessig’s tips include how to deal with public affairs officers and navigate the bureaucracy; suggestions for ways to cover the significant local economic impact that most installations have; and best practices for communicating with troops and their families. → Explore The Local Base Beat.

Haddix dives into Facebook, social search, Twitter and LinkedIn and offers a variety of helpful links to key resources for journalists within the government and social networks. → Visit the complete guide.