by Seth Walker, program coordinator, Turnbull Center

The School of Journalism and Communication’s George S. Turnbull Portland Center welcomed Jackie Spinner of the Washington Post as its first guest in late February. Spinner recently served as the Post’s bureau chief in Baghdad. While in Portland, she visited with fellow journalists to discuss the challenges of modern-day war coverage.

In Iraq, Spinner covered the battle of Fallujah from the front line as an embedded journalist. She survived a mortar attack on her hotel, spent an entire evening at Abu Ghraib prison, and barely escaped a kidnapping attempt by insurgents. U.S. Marines witnessed the incident and saved her life. During her time in Iraq, Spinner also befriended Jill Carroll, the Christian Science Monitor reporter who is currently being held by Iraqi insurgents.

Spinner has just published Tell Them I Didn’t Cry, a memoir of her experiences in Iraq, which was named an “editor’s pick” by The Oregonian in February.

The journalist’s visit is just one event on the center’s busy schedule for early 2006. New computer technology is being installed to prepare for the arrival of the inaugural class of “Senior Experience” students when spring term begins in April. These undergraduate students will spend their last term working in public relations internships in Portland and taking classes at the center. When they graduate in June, many of them hope to transition from their internships to careers in Portland.

Also during the spring, the center will engage with Oregon’s communications professionals in a number of ways, including hosting a roundtable discussion on diversity issues in journalism newsrooms. A panel discussion on new marketing techniques that are available to public relations and advertising professionals also is being planned.

The Turnbull Center will host an opening celebration in June and initial graduate course are slated to begin at the center this fall. More about the Turnbull Center can be found at jcomm.uoregon.edu/turnbullportlandcenter.