Kate Webb was not an academic, she was fond of telling us ' we who were her students at Ohio University in her year as the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism's visiting professional. At best, her curricula were slipshod; she forgot for weeks to give tests (she called them questionnaires) or gave two or three in a row, depending on when administrators were haranguing her for grades. Nonetheless I will remember her as one of the best professors I've ever had, in journalism or any other subject, because she brought into the classroom real, honest-to-God, capital-E Experience, and with it all, a manner of practical suggestions and instructions. It has been staggering to cope with the reports this week of her death, of cancer, at age 64.
Some of the Webb Wisdom: If you're covering an international trade or diplomatic conference, she advised, access to what she called the big boys ' delegates from the United States, industrialized Europe, Japan, etc. ' will be precious indeed, so see what you can learn from the less glamorous attendees. If you see, say, Poland walking out of the closed conference room, grab her elbow and ask her what she overheard, Kate said; you can get a leg up while the other reporters are clamoring to try to get an audience with the delegates most in demand. -
I remember her telling our journalism class three decades later. But the lesson was plain: At some point, the stuff you learn in a J-school vacuum will come into contact with reality, and you can either protect it or yourself.- 17
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