If You Go: What: ‘Watching the World Change: From 9/11 to Deep Throat’ with David Friend of Vanity FairWhen: Today, 4 p.m., book signing/reception in the Miron Room, Newhouse I; 7 p.m., a conversation hosted by Joel KaplanWhere: Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium, Newhouse IIIHow much: Free

David Friend, director of creative development for Vanity Fair, broke the ‘Deep Throat’ story in 2005, revealing that Mark Felt was Bob Woodward’s and Carl Bernstein’s secret Watergate source. Previously the director of photography for Life magazine, Friend is the author of the acclaimed book, ‘Watching the World Change: The Stories Behind the Images of 9/11.’

Joel Kaplan, professor and associate dean of the graduate studies newspaper program, will lead a discussion with Friend at 7 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenham Auditorium in Newhouse III.

On Monday, The Daily Orange conducted a question and answer session with Friend, winner of Emmy and Peabody Awards as an executive producer of the CBS documentary ‘9/11,’ which has aired in more than 140 countries.

Friend spoke about his new book, changes in journalism and some advice he has for young journalists just getting started.

The Daily Orange: Part of your visit is a signing for your new book. What prompted you to write ‘Watching the World Change’?

David Friend: So much of what we saw in 2001 and know about it since came through the pictures of the event and its aftermath. I thought a book focusing on images in this digital age would be a way to look at the visual footprint and signature in the culture of the effects of the attacks. I’ve always thought you could take the DNA of a week through its pictures, and this seemed the perfect horrific week to make that case in a book.

What have been people’s reactions to the book?

People are energized on campuses I go to. The critical response has been flattering and widespread. And on my book blog, http://www.watchingtheworldchange.com, people send me their feelings, their impressions, their photographs. So the book has an online life as well.

You established both Life’s and Vanity Fair’s Web sites. What are your thoughts on the Internet as a news medium?

The Internet is like life. It’s a work in progress, very sloppy and extremely exciting if you do it right. And there is just so much potential for stimulation and imagination when working in a medium that offers so many enticements for experimentation.

You’ve worked in many levels and mediums of journalism as a writer, photographer, editor, on television and other roles. Which is your favorite and why?

The poor lonely written word, boo hoo.

Many are talking about how journalism is changing. What do you think is the most profound change that has come about in recent years?

I think there is a twofold shift.

First, in Clinton’s second term, Fox News was created and replaced dialogue with bombastic shouting fests and turned considered opinion into a form of intellectual warfare as entertainment. And that changed the landscape of what news was about in the same way that CNN about 10 years earlier had created the appetite for 24/7 news.

Second, the interactivity of the Internet has empowered the average citizen and citizen journalist and non-mainstream media reporter. And in a way makes us realize that all news is subjective and only an approximation of objectivity.

A third thing, which is part of what the book is about, is digital transmission, digital technology – the two things that have changed in terms of imagery. In the 1990s, you had the transition from conventional film to digital imagery, which could be virtually immediately posted or published. Secondly, digital newsgathering through satellite cable television allowed for the whole world to be able to see an event like Sept. 11 simultaneously. Two billion people saw the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001; that’s a third of the human race.

What was your reaction when you found out Mark Felt wanted to publish his identity as ‘Deep Throat’ in the pages of Vanity Fair?

It took us two years. He kept changing his mind. He was peddling it to other news agencies, too. It was a long, drawn out, competitive affair, which made it all the sweeter.

Your speech at SU is a part of a yearlong celebration of the First Amendment. Do you think the average American understands the First Amendment? Why or why not?

I think they know it in their gut, in their genes. They get it. But we have a complacent society. People aren’t mobilized properly or they’re comfortable with the status quo and with their blackberries and their laptops and their iPods. … In fact, they should be out in the streets angry at this administration.

What advice do you have for young journalists just getting started?

Read a lot. Write a lot. Go rent the movie, ‘Almost Famous,’ which is really about a 15 year old who loves covering a field that excites him.

Published on October 15, 2007 at 12:00 pm