New York Times national security reporter Scott Shane visited UNM to give insight from his illustrious career as a journalist.
In his career Shane has covered the Russian hacking during the 2016 election, the recent Vault 7 CIA leak and other incidents, and also served as Moscow correspondent for the Baltimore Sun. He is the author of “Objective Troy: A Terrorist, A President, and the Rise of the Drone,” which describes Anwar al-Awlaki’s participation in al-Qaida and his death by a drone strike ordered by former President Barack Obama.
A reporter for 37 years, Shane spoke at UNM’s National Security Studies Program’s eighth annual symposium on Monday. He then gave a presentation about Anwar al-Awlaki at the SUB and later, gave a Q&A on WikiLeaks on Tuesday.
He began the Q&A by taking the audience back to 2010, when the New York Times was given over 25,000 diplomatic cables to sort through and report on after they were leaked by Chelsea Manning.
Although federal agencies asked the Times to return the documents, the stories were still published, with harmful information — such as full names — removed as needed.
Shane used this introduction to paint WikiLeaks as an organization with a “gyrating philosophy” between rebellion and operating as a true news organization.
For decades, one document was released at a time to news organizations, revealing some sort of wrongdoing on a “micro scale,” Shane said. Eventually, WikiLeaks established the model of the “mega leak.” Shane emphasized the impact of technology that allows individuals to save information electronically, rather than relying on only a photocopier or the like.
The Q&A went on to discuss questions ranging from the relationship between the press and the current presidential administration, incorrect information found in other news outlets, the security of the Times’ information and other topics.
Communications and Journalism adviser Dr. Richard Schaefer, who met Shane last year, said he felt the WikiLeaks Q&A went well and that Shane’s entire visit to UNM was beneficial to faculty and students.
"(Shane’s) work is a really good form of journalism that’s ethical,” Schaefer said, calling him a “great storyteller” who is able to research, interpret and report on a series of documents accurately and in an engaging way.
Schaefer said he wouldn’t be surprised if Shane returns to UNM and hopes to see more inspiring guest speakers provided by the New Mexico News Port and Investigative Reporters and Editors.
Because it appears to have become easier to share confidential and classified information, it is likely that this sharing will continue to happen, Shane said during an interview with the Daily Lobo.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“It’s going to be a permanent feature of journalism and present a lot of challenges that I don’t think have been fully grappled with,” he said, such as “prizing secrecy” and immediately feeling the information should be published.
“In a thoughtless way, we kind of become tools for whoever gives us those documents, and that makes us vulnerable to political manipulation of all kinds,” Shane said.
Shane did not pursue journalism during college, and said he feels younger generations may be better able to gauge how they will follow a career in the world of journalism, especially when considering technological advances.
“I consider myself a curious person,” he said. “Things strike me, and I wonder about them, or people strike me, and I’d like to learn more about them. The great thing about being a journalist is it gives you the excuse to do that. It’s a license that society gives you to look into things, and it’s a great privilege to have.”
With that in mind, Shane gave his best wishes to aspiring journalists.
“I didn’t think a guy like him could actually come to UNM,” said Maya Holt, a senior C&J major.
Holt said she attended the event as part of one of her courses, and although the Q&A helped her solidify the information she already knew about WikiLeaks, it also moved her a bit too.
“It’s people like him that make me proud to be a journalism major because of the things he does,” Holt said, calling his in-depth investigations “admirable (and) what I want to imagine a journalist to be.”
Holt said she hopes more guest speakers will visit campus to inspire more students.
Elizabeth Sanchez is a reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Beth_A_Sanchez.
