Corey Flintoff, former NPR international correspondent recently based in Moscow, chatted over an intimate lunch with UMass and Five College students and faculty on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016.
Flintoff has been with NPR since 1990, with his career taking him to 50 different countries. In 2005, he embedded himself with U.S. troops actively fighting in the Iraq War. In 2010, he shipped out to Haiti to report on the tragic aftermath of the earthquake that shook the globe. He also covered the civil war in Syria and the war in Afghanistan.
Most recently, Flintoff spent four years in Moscow with his wife before retiring to share his knowledge at lectures on discussing misinformation, disinformation and propaganda in Russian media, especially in the example of the MH17 plane that was shot down over Ukraine in 2014.
Flintoff began his career in radio working at KYUK, a bilingual English-Yup'ik Eskimo station in Bethel, Alaska. Flintoff learned just enough Yup'ik to announce the station identification and kept the ball rolling from there.
After a brief introduction, Flintoff opened the floor for questions. He accepted questions about the potential danger of being an international reporter, reporting on conflict and tricks and trades of the market.
He said he is “optimistic” about the future of journalism with all of the emerging media that continues to change the landscape of the field.
“We’re at the start of a Renaissance of journalism,” he said.
Flintoff pointed out that the thing he likes most about radio is being able to convey a story through the people it’s about.
“I like the element of being able to tell stories with people’s own voices,” he said. “It’s like assembling a tiny movie soundtrack.”
When asked about the best thing he learned on the job, Flintoff promptly responded that being present and listening are crucial to the job.
“Never miss an opportunity to talk to someone,” Flintoff said. “Be there, talk to people and let things happen.”
At the end of the lecture, Flintoff praised the journalism department on its “impressive” facilities and professors and gave his personal email address to everyone who attended the event.
By Morgan Hughes '19
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