Meet the OPC Members: Q&A With Rod Nordland

Hometown: Philadelphia.

Education: BA in journalism, Pennsylvania State University; Nieman fellowship,
Harvard.

Languages: Bad French, fair Italian, bad Spanish, some English.

First job in journalism: Philadelphia Inquirer, metro rewrite and general assignment.

Countries reported from: Based in Thailand, El Salvador, Lebanon, Italy, Bosnia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Britain, Egypt, Cyprus, but all of my postings have been bases from which I traveled to other places. Presently based in Kabul, with a second home in London, where my immediate family is.

Year I joined OPC: January 1985.

What drew me to overseas reporting: The school board beat on the Main Line of Philadelphia. As a reward for that thankless assignment, Gene Roberts, then the editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, sent me to cover the death of Pope Paul VI, and then again the death of his successor shortly later, John Paul I. It was both my first foreign assignment, and first foreign trip, and I was hooked.

Major challenge as a journalist: Work/life balance.

Best journalism advice received: Again from Gene Roberts, re: stories: zig when everyone else zags; re: logistics: always be sure to carry a book and a flask.

Worst experience as a journalist: Losing colleagues and friends.

When traveling, I like to: Sleep, especially if the road, or flight, is rough and there’s nothing to see on the way. There is nothing better than waking up at the destination with all that unpleasantness completely missed.

Hardest story: Three Mile Island, particularly since I had not yet had children and was on stakeout during the meltdown.

Journalism heroes: Heywood Broun, Ernie Pyle, Jon Krakauer.

Advice for journalists who want to work overseas: Find a place with a good story and no resident foreign journalists, and realize it’s not going to be easy. Don’t go to Syria, though. No one ethical will touch your stuff and you may lose your head.

Dream job: Correspondent at large for The New York Times.

Favorite quote: You don’t get lucky unless you take a chance.

Place you’re most eager to visit: Thimpu, Bhutan and Shibam, Yemen.

Most over-the-top assignment: Literally, Mount Everest base camp by helicopter, the year all those climbers died; altitude sickness is no joke.

Country most want to return to: Cambodia.

Twitter handle: @rodnordland

Want to add to the OPC’s collection of Q&As with members? Please contact patricia@opcofamerica.org.