Alicia Shepard
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Alicia C. Shepard (born April 27, 1953, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American journalist, media writer and expert on the work and lives of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. In February 2014, she moved to Kabul, Afghanistan to work with Afghan journalists. In fall 2012 Shepard joined the University of Nevada, Las Vegas faculty as a guest professor for the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs. She joined National Public Radio (NPR) in October, 2007, for a three-year appointment as the
Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
for the
nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
public media organization that ended May 31, 2011. In that role, she said on June 21, 2009, that waterboarding, as practiced by Americans on terror captives, should not be called 'torture', although she later mentioned in an interview that "I think that it does... constitute torture." On this matter she claimed she was supporting an NPR policy originated by Managing Editor David Sweeney. Shepard taught media ethics at Georgetown University to its masters program from 2007 until 2010. She also taught journalism at
American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
. She was a Times Mirror Visiting Professor at University of Texas at Austin for the 2005-2006 academic year, where she taught a class she designed on
Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
and the press. She spent the last four years interviewing more than 175 people connected to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and sifting through the new archival materials that UT bought from Woodward and Bernstein for $5 million in 2003. She is the author of the 2006 book "Woodward and Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate."


Awards and recognition

Shepard contributes to '' Washingtonian'' and '' People'' magazines, and has written for '' The New York Times'', '' The Washington Post'' and the '' Chicago Tribune''. For nearly a decade, she wrote for ''American Journalism Review'' on such things as ethics, the newspaper industry and how journalism works - or doesn't. For that work, the
National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...
awarded her its top media criticism prize three different years. In 2003, she was a Foster Distinguished Writer at
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
. From 1982 to 1987, she was a reporter for the '' San Jose Mercury News'' in California.


Personal

Shepard has traveled extensively in the U.S. and abroad. In 2002, she bicycled 517 miles from Amsterdam to Paris. In 1987, Shepard, her husband, the photojournalis
Robert Hodierne
and one-year-old son, Cutter Hodierne, set sail on their 32-foot sailboat, “Yankee Lady”, for the South Pacific. They spent three years cruising in the islands, and she wrote about their adventures. They sailed to Japan and stayed for two more years writing, editing, teaching English and learning Japanese. The couple since divorced. Their son,
Cutter Hodierne Cutter Shepard Hodierne (born October 27, 1986) is an American filmmaker best known for winning the Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for his short film, '' Fishing Without Nets'', and for winning the Directing Award at the 2014 ...
, is director of the 2012 Sundance Grand Jury prize for the short film, "Fishing Without Nets," about the Somali pirates from their point of view. Shepard graduated from George Washington University, with honors in English, and received a masters in journalism from the University of Maryland in 2002. She lives in Arlington, Virginia.


Torture Controversy

In June 2009, Shepard, acting in the capacity of NPR Ombudsman, deflected objections to NPR's use of euphemisms such as "enhanced interrogations" as a replacement for the word "torture" in their reporting about waterboarding, stating: "No matter how many distinguished groups — the International Red Cross, the U.N. High Commissioners — say waterboarding is torture, there are responsible people who say it is not. Former President Bush, former Vice President Cheney, their staff and their supporters obviously believed that waterboarding terrorism suspects was necessary to protect the nation's security. One can disagree strongly with those beliefs and their actions. But they are due some respect for their views, which are shared by a portion of the American public. So, it is not an open-and-shut case that everyone believes waterboarding to be torture."https://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2009/06/torture_round_two.html , Your Voices Have Been Heard Shepard herself stated that she personally believed waterboarding was torture in an interview with
Bob Garfield Robert Garfield (born c. 1955) is an American journalist and commentator, and the host of Bully Pulpit from Booksmart Studios. He is former co-host of '' On the Media'' from WNYC. He is also the host of ''The Genius Dialogues'' from Audible. Unti ...
of On the Media.


Bibliography


Books and articles

* ''Woodward & Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate'' - about the personal and professional lives of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein during and post-Watergate; (2006) * ''Running Toward Danger: Stories Behind the Breaking News of 9/11'' (co-author) - about how journalists covered 9/11 and the role they played as modern-day keepers of calm on America's most terrifying day. (2002) * ''Narrowing the Gap: Military , Media and the Iraq War'' - Conference Report for the McCormick Tribune Foundation, 2004
''Washingtonian'' article written by Shepard on Woodward & Bernstein

''Los Angeles Times'' article written by Shepard regarding Woodward & Bernstein




(''The Washington Post'' article about grade inflation) * ''Thinking Clearly'' (Shepard wrote a chapter in this book on the Columbine Shootings)
Uncivil War
- article written for the ''American Journalism Review''
Preparing for Disaster - article written for the ''American Journalism Review''

Appointment in Somalia - article written for the ''American Journalism Review''


References


External links


Alicia Shepard
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Conversations with Allan Wolper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Alicia 1953 births American University faculty and staff Living people Ombudsmen