People have always endowed cities with human qualities, describing them in terms normally reserved for spouses or lovers. I have not reached that level of intimacy with my adopted city, Beirut, but perhaps I can sketch out the terms of our introduction.  In doing so, I hope I can give a sense of the role Georgetown and journalism played in pushing us together. We are an improbable match, and it is easy to imagine how things could have turned out differently.  Like an old couple recounting their first chance encounter:  “If he had just chosen a stool at the other end of the bar…” 

I imagine that I had a slightly larger audience for my first foray into journalism than the average reporter.  When I was still in high school, I read a New York Times editorial on some aspect of the National Football League’s contract policy.  Happy that the Grey Lady was finally covering an issue dear to my heart, I shot off a letter to the editor disagreeing vehemently with the article.  I am sure that it was my fervor rather than my argument that caught someone’s eye; in any event, my response appeared in the Times within the week.  People were listening to what I had to say!  Visions of massive printing presses running off my words! 

I came to see the world of journalism as a grand arena, where the goal was to win the spectators over to your cause.  It was a game that was not played with guns, or money, or social connections.  A journalist’s only weapons were his words, his intelligence, and the facts that he could marshal to support his position.  It was a game that I wanted to play, and play well. 

Georgetown gave me the skills to be an effective reporter.  I conducted my first real interviews for The Hoya.  I learned how to construct a clear and concise story.  From two Georgetown journalism classes, I learned how the newspaper business works, and the rules of journalistic ethics.  Internships at The Weekly Standard and Slate Magazine gave me the opportunity to learn the subtle art of persuasion from some of Washington’s most talented writers. 

Georgetown also sparked my interest in foreign affairs.  A semester abroad in Turkey introduced me to the challenge of describing people on the other side of the world to an American audience.  Middle Eastern journalism is not simply an academic exercise.  American foreign policy is based on what we know, or think we know, about foreign societies.  It is a lively arena of competing views and arguments, which attracts some of the world’s smartest journalists.

The challenge of writing about Beirut is its major appeal.  Unraveling the tangled political alliances, understanding a foreign culture, trying to find a way out of a seemingly intractable political conflict – these can be infuriating hurdles, but I would not be here without them. My advice to new journalists is to embrace new challenges: go after a tough interview, tackle a complicated angle to your story.  It will help you become a better journalist, and a better writer. 

I can thank my education at Georgetown for developing the skills to succeed in Beirut.  I may not know where I will be in five years, but I know that I will always carry Georgetown along with me.