Today is the third day of this seminar I’m attending on “Journalism and the Free Society”, at Bryn Mawr, just outside Philadelphia. So far the speakers have been very interesting, and the sessions very engaging. It leaves me with a lot of points to ponder, especially when you think of the particularities of our region and media in or related to our region.
We’ve heard from economist Mario Villarreal-Diaz on how to think like economists in journalism, from popular talk radio host and education broadcaster Dom Giordano on blogging, talk radio, and cable TV, and from syndicated columnist Deroy Murdock, on opinion journalism, why it’s powerful and how it can have an impact, and then in another session on networking, and citizenship.
Upcoming sessions tap into magazine writing, investigations, civic journalism, TV vs. civil society, cultural deliberation.. amongst others, with a good diversity of journalists and professors.
Serious stuff aside, Bryn Mawr is a nice little college town. It’s very green, and somewhat humid. We’re constantly warned not to open our room windows because “floors would buckle” from humidity. It didn’t strike me as that bad, but I wouldn’t want to test it 
The campus is very beautiful, with old gothic-style buildings and semi-towers. I should be taking more photos, and I’ll try to post them soon. Yesterday when I got up at 4:30, I went out for a morning run. I love discovering a town by jogging or walking aimlessly and without a sense of hurry! Waking up early gives you that But then of course, you can’t really judge a town by what it looks like at dawn.
During lunch break, I went to the Bryn Mawr Film Institute where they were hosting Danny DeVito to talk to some film students. I couldn’t stay long, but it was nice to see him in person and smile when remembering his roles in movies we grew up to.
Tomorrow afternoon I’ll get the chance to explore a bit of Philadelphia. I’ll definitely try to post photos. And I still need to write a separate post about the New York subway and the brief impressions I got from passing through the city. Let’s just say that in this case the word “interesting” does not carry all the meanings it ought to carry.
I’m writing more thoughts in an old-fashioned pen&paper journal, and I’ll probably go back to them in Amman and draw upon them on this blog.
One last note, it’s just ridiculous how obsessed the media here is with the Paris Hilton jail story!!
