A steady voice in a fast and furious world
Courtesy photos Martha Raddatz interviews U.S. soldiers while on assignment in Baghdad in 2016. The ABC News chief global affairs correspondent will share some of her insights with North Idaho on Oct. 11 during the Idaho Humanities Council’s 15th Annual North Idaho Distinguished Humanities Lecture in Coeur d’Alene.
Award-winning reporter Martha Raddatz flies above the South Korean side of the Korean Demilitarized Zone in an F-15 in 2017. “That is a message to my granddaughters from ‘Grammy,’” Raddatz said, “because I am pretty sure I am one of the few grandmothers (if not the only!) who has done this!”
ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz speaks with an Iraq soldier in northern Iraq while on assignment in 2016. The decorated journalist will deliver the Idaho Humanities Council's 15th Annual North Idaho Distinguished Humanities Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. in The Coeur d'Alene Resort. (Courtesy photo)
War correspondent for ABC Martha Raddatz stands with Lt. Gen Gary Volesky in northern Iraq in 2016. Raddatz has covered national security, foreign policy and politics for decades, reporting from the Pentagon, the State Department, the White House and conflict zones around the world. She'll be speaking at The Coeur d'Alene Resort on Oct. 11. (Courtesy photo)
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
In her decades of experience in the news world, ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz has never seen a more chaotic era than now.
"Every day is different. To me, the biggest challenge is trying to get any depth on any topic because you have to move on to the next one so quickly," she said in a phone interview with The Press on Wednesday. "You only have so much time and bandwidth. I think that's a challenge for reporters covering Washington, certainly. You get a grip on one thing and you're on to the next.
"You have to be fast and furious all the time."
Yet despite the challenge of ever-changing information and pressure on news organizations, Raddatz continues to find the meaningful stories, press tough questions on politicians and go where few journalists can.
"At a time when journalism is coming under attack, it is all the more important for people who have experience and can bring a voice for journalism and the First Amendment to keep that voice loud and long and often," she said.
Raddatz has covered national security, foreign policy and politics for decades. She has built strong rapport among the military community and has clearance to fly in fighter jets and report from locations of extremely limited access.
She is the author of "The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family" documenting a brutal two-day firefight in Iraq when eight 1st Cavalry Division soldiers were killed and many others wounded.
"I have been covering the military for a long time and I think there are people who don't know much about the military community," she said. "I like to be a bridge between that world and the civilian world."
Raddatz is also decorated in her profession.
In 2012, she received the First Amendment Award from the Radio Television Digital News Foundation for excellence in journalism, and also the prestigious Fred Friendly First Amendment Award. She has four Emmy Awards, including an Emmy for being on the team covering the inauguration of Barack Obama, the attacks of Sept. 11 and the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
Other accolades include the 2007 International Urbino Press Award, the 2005 Daniel Pearl Award from the Chicago Journalists Association, and a 1996 Overseas Press Club Award for her live coverage of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. She received the Merriman Smith Memorial Award for excellence in presidential news coverage under deadline pressure in 2007.
On Oct. 11, Raddatz, who was born in Idaho Falls, will deliver the Idaho Humanities Council's 15th Annual North Idaho Distinguished Humanities Lecture during a dinner in The Coeur d'Alene Resort. She'll be sharing insights from her work covering national and international affairs.
"I've been in a unique position the past couple decades," she said. "One of the things people will find most fascinating is I was in North Korea about three weeks ago. I'm one of the few journalists who has been able to do that and spend about a week there.
"It's a window into a world you don't normally get."
Raddatz spoke at an IHC lecture in Boise and recalls having a great experience. She’s happy to contribute to the humanities in Idaho and share her work and perspective with an audience that is hungry for knowledge.
"To me, the most satisfying part is everyone wants to learn more. Everyone there is curious about their world or their country," she said. "I can't tell you how energizing that is, and it’s done in a positive, welcoming atmosphere that only promotes more fully what it is they're trying to promote themselves and share with others.
"It’s way to unite people. Looking at the humanities is a way to make us all united in greater good."
Tickets to the IHC's 15th Annual North Idaho Distinguished Humanities Lecture are $65 each and can be purchased at www.idahohumanities.org or by calling 888-345-5346.