My first job as a journalist was not due to my writing or reporting skills. The Peruvian Times editor wanted someone who could speak Spanish and not get lost in Lima streets while on assignment. My first month's wages were $200 — and I was overpaid.
I started working for the Post in 1984 with great trepidation because I thought I could not handle the responsibility. Little by little, I gained confidence and did some interesting reporting during the García administration. The big breakthrough was the visit of former top boss, Katherine Graham in 1985. I set up her schedule and served as guide for a week. It was a chance to open her group's eyes to Peru. That duty won some credibility with the foreign news desk and I had plenty of opportunity afterwards.
"Beset Peru Seeks to Strengthen Courts; Battle Against Guerrillas Reveals Judicial Shortcomings, March 20, 1987"
New President Plans Development Projects for Region Hit by Maoist Guerrillas", December 12, 1985
This newspaper was one of my first strings. The publisher had a soft spot in his heart for Peru, which he visited several times, and asked me to do stories about good-works operations in Lima so that he could hit Canadian donors for support. That's how I ended up doing articles about several schools and orphanages. I also did feature-style news stories that allowed me a little more sway in my writing.
![[ Armed Strike by Shining Path in Lima / TAFOS ]](../images/armed_strike.jpg) |
Unfortunately, I have the fewest clippings from Newsweek, having lost the folder in one of the moves back and forth between Peru and the States. Its International Edition was the news organization that was most receptive to story ideas and contributions to articles and had a large news hole for Latin America. I worked more than half my time on its stories. However, the newsmagazine style rarely gave a stringer the chance to write an article; the material was always ground up and blended by a half dozen editors. I had few by-lined stories. I also wrote for the Japanese edition after Fujimori came to power.
The Times was my earliest print string and it remained loyal to me even though I would go months without sending in stories. The most disagreeable facet was that The Times still took stories by having correspondents dictate stories over the phone when I was delivering stories to other publications via computer modem. Their long-distance phone bill must have been humongous. The Times generously sent me an airmail edition of the newspaper everyday, which meant that there was always something in my post office box and I was well-versed on the Premier footbal league and Parliament.