NEW YORK, 2 June 2009 — Her tears were sincere. She asked if it would get easier after the first day. The student began in April with 19 young journalists, 17 now in May. Robert Case, Director of World Journalism Institute gently affirmed the truth she already knew, “I don’t think it will get easier.”
Exhaustion is clear by the final class when only 13 arrive on time. There’s a bout of chronic strep throat. Another student’s grandmother dies adding to the strain.
This journalism boot camp in the bowels of the Empire State Building is not a summer sleep-away camp. And Case, 65, is not a cuddly grandpa. Case maintains that WJI is denomination independent, and not propagandists for the evangelical right nor Republicans. “We are not flame-throwers. We teach good reporting, accurate and verifiable.”
He makes expectations clear and keeps students in line. After one morning session, a student sat by the door in a black collared shirt and black dress pants, her blonde hair pinned in a tight bun accentuating her flushed face. She was crouched over in her chair staring at the floor. Case leaned over and gruffly whispered, “I don’t want you to be late again.”
Case demands of himself as much as the students, if not more. He has had three bouts with cancer. Barely three months after surgery where “they had to break my back to get at the cancer,” Case swings a heavy metal chair through the air near his shoulders while cleaning up. “It still hurts.”
may 2009
Case is a long way from early aspirations to be a radio pitchman for refrigerators and other such sundry items. Instead, radio made him a news announcer in Seattle and in St. Louis. With no formal training, Case’s voice carries a sonorous, gravelly quality. “Good for news, too authoritative for other programming,” says Case.
When Case speaks to a group of his students, he reads from a script and it’s clear that Case handles the sounds of words just as carefully as the thought behind the words. He’s on the radio again. He also uses his craft for glowing introductions that demonstrate his genuine respect and appreciation for their accomplishments. Mira Lowe charmingly whispered, “I can never live up to Bob’s introductions.” And Lauren Green, “Are you sure you have the right Lauren Green?”
Another recipient of Case’s glowing introductions is Robert Drake. At 55, after Case left radio in the 70s becoming a businessman, he says “I was beat up by the rough times of life. I began to lose the love of Christ.” Case credits Drake, his former pastor in North Carolina with “preaching that changed my life: made me a better husband, better father, and better son.” Drake once thanked Case for inviting him to speak, “This is your gift to us.” Case sincerely replied, “I can never repay you for what you’ve done for me.”
There is tenderness in Case. Every morning, he chats with early arrivers, “So? Who’s your favorite?” Affection for students, more often than not, is served with a friendly jab. “One of you had sex for $18. I’m not sure what it is, but I might have a hard time getting it approved,” joked Case about a dinner bill with a provocative drink. But he is clearly mindful of students who demonstrate diligence. When a student’s throat flared with strep, another’s grandmother died, and general student exhaustion was clear, Case included all these in his public prayers.
A student once asked, “Why do you do all this stuff for us?” To which Case immediately replied, “I love you guys.” Case’s wife Cathy — “Here to take care of Bob, and provide lunch for you,” — nodded knowingly in the background. Seventeen complete the course’s class component. Seventeen experienced the guidance and love of a lion, far from tame.
NEW YORK, 26 May — He punctuates his monologues with “Amen?” and in the silence, “Hello somebody, I’m preaching to someone here.” A full time pastor, sometimes he slips into what he describes as, “feeling a preaching moment here.” But he’s not in a pulpit literally today, he’s teaching photography.
A man of faith, dedicated to teaching photography. Kenny Irby is Visual Journalism Group Leader at Poynter Institute. He is also a full time Methodist pastor. A quote he shared about clinging to old ways and learning:
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned are beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists.”
Eric Hoffer, historian philospher
