Gregory Feifer is a prominent American international journalist. He studied Russia and Russian Language at Harvard University. From 1998 to 2003, he and his family lived in Moscow. He reported on Russian politics for a number of publications including The Moscow Times, World Policy Journal and Agency France Press. He has been the Moscow correspondent for Radio Free Europe and worked as a journalist for National Public Radio. He currently lives in New York. Feifer is the author of “Spy Handler: Memoirs of a KGB Officer,” published in October, 2005, and “The Great Gamble: the Soviet War in Afghanistan,” published in January, 2009. “The Great Gamble” examines the history of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Feifer decided to write the book after he came into contact with several war veterans. “It was simply an amazing tale that's of course very relevant to what's going on now.” 

I got in touch with Gregory Feifer, the former Moscow correspondent of National Public Radio (NPR) and the current reporter for Radio Free Europe, in April, 2009 during the BBC debate at the Foreign literature library. He agreed to answer some of my questions.

The second meeting with Mr. Feifer fell on the day when the U.S. President Barack Obama was paying a visit to Moscow. I sent him a message hoping to get him to agree to an e-mail interview. Fortunately, he agreed to meet me in person during a trip to Moscow. The result of that interview follows.

- Please, briefly describe your journalism experience? What about your first journalism steps?

After graduating Harvard University I came to Russia in 1994. A lot of people were coming to Russia because it was the end of communism and the building of a new system. It was a great place to start a journalism career. Actually, it took me longer than I thought it would. I came here expecting get a job right away and didn’t find one. I came back to the United States to get a Master’s degree. Then I came back to Russia and started working for The Moscow Times and Radio Free Europe. I started writing a book and after I left Russia again, I came here to be the Moscow correspondent for National Public Radio.

- How has the world financial crisis affected American journalism? Have you felt the consequences of the downturn?

Absolutely. I mean journalism in the States was already suffering. There was already a crisis in journalism before the financial crisis. The economic turmoil has really sped it up. Some of the biggest and oldest newspapers are now facing collapse. Newspaper readership is dropping. I can tell you that National Public Radio is doing quite well in terms of listenership: there are about 30 millions listeners. It’s good, but because NPR depends on many corporate sponsors who now are giving us almost nothing; NPR had to fire 7 percent of its staff. I think it will face bigger problems as the crisis continues.

- Do you think that American journalism has changed since Mr. Obama has taken office?

I don’t know if it changed immediately after he took office. Certainly under the Bush administration and after the first year of his presidency, especially after September 11, there were real problems in American journalism. A lot of news outlets were afraid to conduct serious investigative reporting or to raise questions connected with the government’s official position on the war in Iraq. I think American journalism failed the American people and the world in general. That slowly started to change as Bush’s presidency continued, certainly by the time of the 2008 presidential elections. Before the primaries, journalists were again doing serious investigative work and that has continued. U.S. journalism has been in a slow process of recovering from the dark years of the Bush administration and I hope it will continue doing so during Mr. Obama’s presidency.

- Why and when did  you decide to become an international radio journalist? I mean, why didn’t you choose TV journalism or newspaper journalism?

I thought I would be a print journalist.  But, in the United States, National Public Radio is one of a very few serious news outlets that’s truly national. It’s a real institution. So when the opportunity came to work at NPR, I took it.  I enjoy working in radio. Each media has its own pluses and minuses. Certainly, radio journalism is good. It allows you to combine descriptive language along with recorded interviews to bring the listener into your story. You also can use descriptive language in television to illustrate what you’re showing. In TV, video images are the most important elements. For radio, it’s the use of sound.

- What major problems is American international journalism faced with? Do you think the coverage of international events is unbiased and objective?

I think the biggest problem in American international journalism is the failure to provide adequate context, particularly when covering issues in Russia. Often, journalists focus on only the latest developments. Because it can be difficult to get information from inside of the Kremlin, the journalist will focus on speculation and rumors. In the process, he will disregard the broader context of the political issues and the history behind those policies. Russian history is not only the recent past. It spans hundreds of years and should be taken into account.

- If you would like to find first-hand, objective information about Russia, what sources of information would you choose?

I would get in touch with the people who carry out decisions and actions about which I wish to report on. Unfortunately, that’s often impossible in Russia. That’s why one relies on former insiders, people who know how the system works, people who recently left their positions of employment, and very good analysts who have connections to the government and can offer insight into what is going on. However, it’s increasingly difficult to do serious investigative reporting in Russia.

- What Russian newspapers do you think provide unbiased information? Is it possible for Russian journalism to cover events objectively within the country?

Russia is often said to have no free press. Certainly, it doesn’t really have a national free press through the medium of television. I find television news unwatchable. But, there are certainly good newspapers in Russia. I very much like Kommersant, Novaya Gazeta, Vedomosti, Kommersant magazines and also Russian Newsweek. There also are several excellent web-sites, such as Gazeta.ru, which I try to read every day.

- What are the principles and approaches of a good reporter?

I can tell you the principles that are very important for me. Always keep your attention focused on two aspects and that is the service to listeners, the readers, the viewers and also the story itself. When something is happening the journalists’ duty is to convey that to the listening or reading public. Sometimes one knows the subject well, but finds it difficult to present it to the audience in an understandable and interesting way. Very often, especially in the States now, an opposite problem is occuring. Some journalists want to entertain the public and keep the reader, the listener and the viewer interested and in the process, the actual news information becomes secondary. For me, the biggest principle is keeping the balance between the two approaches.