February 11, 2009
Journalism Professor Mark J. Prendergast has been named
Ombudsman for Stars and
Stripes, the government-owned newspaper that reports
independently on and for the U.S. military community around the
world. His three-year term at the newspaper began on January 13,
2009.
Professor Prendergast characterizes his new role as ombudsman as
that of a “watchdog,” who will ensure “that Stars and Stripes
operates according to commonly understood journalistic values and
practices and remains free from censorship or news management by
the Pentagon.” He will also write special columns on the various
issues that arise in the field of journalism.
“It’s an independent, autonomous position that is devoted to
monitoring the First Amendment rights of the newspaper and its
relationship with the military at all levels,” Prendergast
explains, adding that his responsibility also extends to the
newspaper’s website.
“It’s not meant to be a confrontational position,” he points out.
“It’s meant to be a channel outside the editorial and governmental
hierarchies to ensure editorial independence of the staff and to
give readers the honest reporting they are expecting.”
Prendergast’s appointment came after an extensive search was
conducted by a team that included a representative from the Society of Professional Journalists
as well as one from the American
Society of Newspaper Editors. The team received more than 75
applications, interviewed several candidates and forwarded three
recommendations to Robert T. Hastings, Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs at the Department of
Defense, who interviewed each and ultimately selected the St.
John’s professor.
“This is an enormous honor for Mark, for the journalism program,
for the College of Professional Studies, and for St. John’s,” says
CPS Dean Kathleen Vouté MacDonald. “The students in his classes
will benefit immensely. We are all so proud of him!”
An Associate Professor in the Communications, Journalism and Media
Studies in the College of Professional Studies, Prendergast holds a
master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of
Journalism. Like many of those teaching in CPS, he brings a wealth
of experience to St. John’s after spending more than 30 years in
his field. Previously, he worked at a number of daily newspapers,
including The New York Times (where he was an editor on the news
desk at the time the paper received the Pulitzer Prize for Public
Service for its comprehensive post 9-11 coverage), New York Daily
News, and the Washington Post.
During an illustrious career that began as a part-time base
correspondent in Fulda, West Germany for the U.S. Army newspaper V
Corps Guardian, he has been reporter, photographer, columnist,
bureau chief and freelancer and been assigned to metropolitan,
national and international beats. His resume notes he has reported
from “some 20 countries and 20 U.S. states, territories and
districts” and “covered wars, revolution, natural disasters, mass
murder, the Olympics, a U.S. papal tour, police courts, politics,
campaigns, conventions and government, from city hall to the
statehouse, from Congress to the White House and foreign
capitals.”
In addition, with the advent of the worldwide Web, he worked on the
Times’ Continuous News Desk, where he chose stories for the paper’s
Web site on deadline and for which he edited, rewrote and
occasionally reported breaking news. He has been honored with a
number of awards and accolades from the news media and professional
associations and journals.
“Based on his experience as a journalist, an editor and reporter at
the New York Times, as a U.S. Army veteran who saw action in
Vietnam, served in Europe and lived abroad, I don’t believe there
is anyone in the world who would be as good in this position,” says
Frank R. Brady, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Communications,
Journalism and Media Studies in CPS. “Mark Prendergast’s
appointment brings a great deal of prestige to this
University.”
Prendergast pursued the ombudsman position with the support of Dean
MacDonald and Journalism Program Director Judith Cramer, Ph.D., who
calls the appointment “quite a feather in our collective cap.
“I think it's terrific for Professor Prendergast and for our
journalism program,” Dr. Cramer says. “It stretches Professor
Prendergast professionally and he is able to share his new learning
and experiences with our students and faculty. We're very
pleased for him.”
Asked why he applied for the position, he explains that the Stars
and Stripes job “joins two great influences in my life—my three
years in the Army and my 30 years in journalism, during which I
covered conflicts in Central American and the 1991 Persian Gulf
War.”
Secondly, he points out that “a crucial element of the journalistic
model is integrity. As I view it going in, not only am I a monitor
of journalism practice but also of journalists in two disparate
respects. I will be the leading advocate of their right to do their
job according to professional standards, and I will hold them to
those standards, as well. That unique double challenge appeals to
me.”
An ombudsman, he adds, is a “very useful tool to bring transparency
and openness” to an organization.
Students Benefit
He tries to instill that integrity and professionalism in his
students in the College of Professional Studies. “What we
[journalists] do, how we do it, and why we do it are areas that I
cover with them. And then we explore it from a student’s
perspective, the teacher’s perspective, and the ombudsman’s
perspective.”
During his three-year term as ombudsman, he hopes to “write with
real frequency and research will be at the heart of that.” In
anticipation of that research, he asked Stars and Stripes to
approve an internship at St. John’s, which they promptly did. He
expects to select a different intern each semester.
“The internship will be research intensive and will become a
learning tool. Whether they go directly into the field or on to the
graduate level, they’ll know how to research an issue.”
While the Journalism professor expects to travel—both to
Washington, DC as well as to anywhere his main
constituency, America’s G.I. Joes and Janes, are stationed—he says
most of that travel can be accomplished during St. John’s semester
breaks. In the meantime, he’s teaching four courses on campus this
semester and enjoying every minute of it.
“I am so energized when I walk into that classroom,” he explains.
“I love the interaction that I have with students. It teaches
critical thinking, that arguing in the classroom, the
back-and-forth dialogue.”
He’s also looking forward to teaching “International Reporting”
next fall, after he returns from his international travel this
summer and says “Stars and Stripes will inform that course for
sure.”