{"id":45299,"date":"2026-02-25T15:45:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T20:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=45299"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:10:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T21:10:23","slug":"journalist-david-rohde-is-coms-2026-writer-in-residence","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/journalist-david-rohde-is-coms-2026-writer-in-residence\/","title":{"rendered":"Journalist David Rohde Is COM\u2019s 2026 Writer in Residence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<aside class=\"wp-block-editorial-aside alignright\">\n<h3><strong>Past COM Writers in Residence<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>2023: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/columnist-john-archibald-is-coms-first-writer-in-residence\/\">Journalist John Archibald&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li><strong>2024: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/meet-coms-2024-writer-in-residence-tv-screenwriter-stacy-traub\/\">Television screenwriter Stacy Traub&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li><strong>2025: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/2025-writer-in-residence-talks-advertising-ai-and-the-joys-of-writing\/\">Advertising copywriter Nihal Atawane (\u201919)&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>Journalist David Rohde has worked for some of the most prestigious media outlets in the US, including the <em>New York Times<\/em>, <em>The New Yorker<\/em>, Reuters and NBC News. He won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for his <em>Christian Science Monitor <\/em>stories exposing the massacre of Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was a member of the <em>New York Times<\/em> team that was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer in International Reporting for their coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan. His <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2009\/10\/18\/world\/asia\/18hostage.html\">personal account of being held captive by\u2014and then escaping from\u2014the Taliban<\/a> was a Pulitzer finalist in 2010. Rohde spent years as a newspaper reporter, coedited Ronan Farrow\u2019s investigative series on the crimes of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, and now appears on television as a national security reporter for MS Now.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In March, Rohde will visit campus as COM\u2019s fourth <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/about-com\/honors\/writer-in-residence\/\">Writer in Residence<\/a>, a program that aims to bring prominent writers from across communication disciplines to BU to interact with students. Past residents have included a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, an Emmy nominated screenwriter and a decorated advertising copywriter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Writers in residence spend a week on campus and visit classes, host workshops and deliver a plenary lecture. Rohde\u2019s visit is scheduled for March 23\u201327, with his lecture taking place on Wednesday, March 25, at 6:30 pm in Questrom\u2019s HAR-105 auditorium.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rohde spoke with <em>COMtalk<\/em> about lessons he\u2019s learned during his career and his hopes for the residency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title\"><h2 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title-heading\">Q<span>&amp;<\/span>A<\/h2><h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title-subheading\">With David Rohde<\/h4><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>You\u2019ve taught journalism and now you\u2019ll be sharing your experiences with COM students. What draws you to mentoring the next generation?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">David Rohde:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">It\u2019s my generation\u2019s responsibility to reform journalism right now, and keep it economically vibrant and strong. I think it\u2019s unfair to say, \u201cIt\u2019s all on your generation to figure it out.\u201d We should all be working on this together. And despite all the headwinds and all the challenges that the journalism industry faces, there are young people who, like me, are neurotic, curious, stubborn, empathetic people with wanderlust who are drawn to journalism. It\u2019s a thrilling opportunity to help encourage them and guide them.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>How do you think your advice to students differs from the advice you received at their age?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">David Rohde:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">There was a much bigger newspaper industry [then]. There was a way to go from the <em>Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em> to the <em>Christian Science Monitor<\/em> to the <em>New York Times<\/em>. That just doesn\u2019t exist anymore. I think that the online world and streaming also represent an opportunity, and the core skills of reporting and fact-finding and then storytelling are the same.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>As you look at the journalism landscape, what gives you hope? What\u2019s your biggest concern?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">David Rohde:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">I\u2019m at MS Now, which is trying to expand into streaming and podcasting. To survive, it has to stop being cable TV. I have a colleague who covers the legal system, and she\u2019s doing TikTok shorts\u201460-second videos\u2014and getting millions of views. People want information, but they\u2019re getting it in a different way. And so I feel optimistic that there\u2019s ways to deliver what people want.<br><br>And I\u2019ll say this: I think that AI is a danger. It\u2019s a huge challenge, and there\u2019s certain kinds of reporting that are not going to exist. Spot news, quarterly earnings\u2014that\u2019s gone. But there\u2019s a hope in the industry, too, that having a news organization verifying that something is real is going to be valuable.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>You\u2019ve reported from war zones where you took great risks. How do you talk to young journalists about that?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">David Rohde:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">There are certain stories that are worth calculated risks. I was arrested in Bosnia while discovering mass graves and confirming that roughly 8,000 Muslim men and boys had been massacred. That was a risk worth taking. I had a second incident where I went to interview a Taliban commander. He had done interviews with two European journalists and not kidnapped them, but he kidnapped me. That was not worth the risk. It depends on the importance of the story. Take calculated risks for stories you feel are worthwhile.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">COMtalk:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>What do you hope students take away from your visit to campus?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">David Rohde:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">What an amazing, wonderful, warm calling and community this is. Fact remains absolutely crucial, and something the public deserves. And ground truth\u2014when you actually go somewhere and talk to people and see what\u2019s happening\u2014is valuable. I wish it was a more thriving, stable industry, but I\u2019ve loved it\u2014just loved it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Journalist David Rohde has worked for some of the most prestigious media outlets in the US, including the New York&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1654,"featured_media":45309,"template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"categories":[1473,3],"tags":[1702],"bu-publication":[],"discipline-type":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/45299"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1654"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/45299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45356,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/45299\/revisions\/45356"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45299"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=45299"},{"taxonomy":"discipline-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/discipline-type?post=45299"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=45299"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=45299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}