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| The Meeting That Brings the International Desk Closer to Home | The Meeting That Brings the International Desk Closer to Home |
| (2 days later) | |
| Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. | Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. |
| Alissa J. Rubin is the Baghdad bureau chief. She had expected to leave Iraq at the end of March, but the country’s airports and land borders shut down abruptly that month and she was restricted to staying in Baghdad for more than 18 weeks. | Alissa J. Rubin is the Baghdad bureau chief. She had expected to leave Iraq at the end of March, but the country’s airports and land borders shut down abruptly that month and she was restricted to staying in Baghdad for more than 18 weeks. |
| BAGHDAD — At The New York Times, foreign correspondents are a disparate group. We work in different countries, in different time zones, in wildly different cultures. | BAGHDAD — At The New York Times, foreign correspondents are a disparate group. We work in different countries, in different time zones, in wildly different cultures. |
| Only rarely do we know our colleagues in other regions, and when we do run into them, we often feel a bit shy talking to them — what would Bangkok and Warsaw have in common? | Only rarely do we know our colleagues in other regions, and when we do run into them, we often feel a bit shy talking to them — what would Bangkok and Warsaw have in common? |
| But the coronavirus changed that. It gave us common ground. In ways we never could have anticipated, Covid-19 turned out to be a leveler — of differences between editors and reporters, Sinophiles and Europeanists, newer reporters and “old hands.” | But the coronavirus changed that. It gave us common ground. In ways we never could have anticipated, Covid-19 turned out to be a leveler — of differences between editors and reporters, Sinophiles and Europeanists, newer reporters and “old hands.” |
| What brought us closer together was a weekly group video meeting that began as a result of a voluntary group session with a psychiatrist. The idea was to help those far from home feel less anxious as the pandemic spread to more and more of the countries where we lived and worked. | What brought us closer together was a weekly group video meeting that began as a result of a voluntary group session with a psychiatrist. The idea was to help those far from home feel less anxious as the pandemic spread to more and more of the countries where we lived and worked. |
| About 90 of us showed up virtually for that first meeting, unsure of what to expect. | About 90 of us showed up virtually for that first meeting, unsure of what to expect. |
| The psychiatrist, Anthony Feinstein, a specialist in post-traumatic stress disorder among journalists, is a down-to-earth Canadian who never uses jargon. One piece of advice that stayed with many of us was to focus on what we could change — when we went to bed, for instance — and not on what we couldn’t, namely the coronavirus. | The psychiatrist, Anthony Feinstein, a specialist in post-traumatic stress disorder among journalists, is a down-to-earth Canadian who never uses jargon. One piece of advice that stayed with many of us was to focus on what we could change — when we went to bed, for instance — and not on what we couldn’t, namely the coronavirus. |
| The first call was awkward, as if we were on a first date. Many of us had never seen or heard one another before. But even as Dr. Feinstein was talking, something surprising happened. Some of us started using the chat function to ask each other direct questions. And multiple people started answering. It was as if someone had turned on a faucet. Despite the distances between us, we were not alone. | The first call was awkward, as if we were on a first date. Many of us had never seen or heard one another before. But even as Dr. Feinstein was talking, something surprising happened. Some of us started using the chat function to ask each other direct questions. And multiple people started answering. It was as if someone had turned on a faucet. Despite the distances between us, we were not alone. |
| Michael Slackman, the assistant managing editor who oversees the International desk, noticed that and asked everyone to come back the next week — if they wanted to. Amazingly, with no duress, almost the same number of people came. Several months later, there are roughly 40 people who still meet weekly. The call is convenient for some, less so for others — it happens at 7:45 a.m. in New York but often has correspondents in Tokyo, where it is 8:45 p.m., and in Bogotá, Colombia, where it is 6:45 a.m. | Michael Slackman, the assistant managing editor who oversees the International desk, noticed that and asked everyone to come back the next week — if they wanted to. Amazingly, with no duress, almost the same number of people came. Several months later, there are roughly 40 people who still meet weekly. The call is convenient for some, less so for others — it happens at 7:45 a.m. in New York but often has correspondents in Tokyo, where it is 8:45 p.m., and in Bogotá, Colombia, where it is 6:45 a.m. |
| We discuss the mundane, such as ordering food or which Netflix or Amazon Prime series we are watching, but we also discuss the professional: the pros and cons of working with sources through video; long-distance transportation options (for those of us who can travel); where to stay (hotel or Airbnb?). | We discuss the mundane, such as ordering food or which Netflix or Amazon Prime series we are watching, but we also discuss the professional: the pros and cons of working with sources through video; long-distance transportation options (for those of us who can travel); where to stay (hotel or Airbnb?). |
| Updated August 6, 2020 | |
| And, because all of us are living the story that we are reporting, sometimes we talk about the deeply personal, like writing frustrations and strategies for avoiding depression during a lockdown (one suggestion: have a call every day with a colleague). One correspondent described feeling much more vulnerable to editors’ comments or lack thereof because we were cut off from friends and from our normal lives. Another talked about her partner being out of work and the pressure of becoming the main breadwinner. | And, because all of us are living the story that we are reporting, sometimes we talk about the deeply personal, like writing frustrations and strategies for avoiding depression during a lockdown (one suggestion: have a call every day with a colleague). One correspondent described feeling much more vulnerable to editors’ comments or lack thereof because we were cut off from friends and from our normal lives. Another talked about her partner being out of work and the pressure of becoming the main breadwinner. |
| Ernesto Londoño, the Rio de Janeiro bureau chief, offered advice on meditation. Chris Buckley, a China correspondent who had been through a draconian three-month lockdown in Wuhan, gave recommendations on structuring our days and pacing ourselves when time seemed to fall into a black hole. Greg Winter, the International desk’s managing editor, told a story about trying to coax his daughter to overcome her reluctance and go outside for just a little exercise in New York. | Ernesto Londoño, the Rio de Janeiro bureau chief, offered advice on meditation. Chris Buckley, a China correspondent who had been through a draconian three-month lockdown in Wuhan, gave recommendations on structuring our days and pacing ourselves when time seemed to fall into a black hole. Greg Winter, the International desk’s managing editor, told a story about trying to coax his daughter to overcome her reluctance and go outside for just a little exercise in New York. |
| We talked, too, about the United States’ struggle with race — which has touched The Times as well and is affecting our thinking about how we write and report, no matter whether we are in Minnesota or Malaysia. | We talked, too, about the United States’ struggle with race — which has touched The Times as well and is affecting our thinking about how we write and report, no matter whether we are in Minnesota or Malaysia. |
| Why do we keep showing up for this meeting? Because it has become our town square, our group kitchen table, a place where we see people with whom we share a way of life and can talk about all that we’ve lost without being judged. | Why do we keep showing up for this meeting? Because it has become our town square, our group kitchen table, a place where we see people with whom we share a way of life and can talk about all that we’ve lost without being judged. |
| That, too, is something we are carrying into our reporting and writing — that the world right now is more desperate than before; more unsure how to move forward; and struggling, with illness, with impoverishment, with loss. | That, too, is something we are carrying into our reporting and writing — that the world right now is more desperate than before; more unsure how to move forward; and struggling, with illness, with impoverishment, with loss. |
| At one meeting, Ben Hubbard, the Beirut bureau chief, brought his 4-month-old daughter, cradling her in his arms, as he talked about doing virtual events to promote his new book on Saudi Arabia’s crown prince. His daughter was quiet and seemed to be watching us, and Ben looked happy. It was a moment of shared respite, and even hope, in a dark time. | At one meeting, Ben Hubbard, the Beirut bureau chief, brought his 4-month-old daughter, cradling her in his arms, as he talked about doing virtual events to promote his new book on Saudi Arabia’s crown prince. His daughter was quiet and seemed to be watching us, and Ben looked happy. It was a moment of shared respite, and even hope, in a dark time. |