Remembering Peter Mackler: 6/15/08

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Jay Branegan: Mackler saw journalism as a vehicle to teach life skills

Peter created the curriculum for something close to his heart that he called "Project Plato." It was an introductory course in journalism for high school students. But Peter envisioned it as teaching "life skills" to kids, particularly underprivileged kids in Washington, DC. He felt that even if you're not going to become a journalist, you need to be able to write clearly, to read critically, to know how to do research, to know how to formulate questions, talk to strangers and people of influence, how to organize material, how to assess the information you have.

He sold this idea to a very well-known magnet school in Georgetown, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Peter, while holding down a fulltime job, taught this course two days a week to high schoolers in the school's writing program, with the mission of putting out an online magazine. And the kids were expected to report real stories in the real world (this was right after 9/11, so they did stuff related to that, issues about race and young people (historically black colleges), etc.) This notion that the kids could do stories they were really interested in raised the kids' enthusiasm to a whole new level. Peter was great with the students -- watching him in that classroom raised enormously my already-high respect for him.

But Peter had big plans for Project Plato--he constructed as a kind of module, that could be taught anywhere, and delivered as a package. And he thought it would be very valuable in developing countries. He had discussions with folks from the World Bank who were interested in using it for an education program in Africa. Plato, at least at Duke Ellington, didn't surive his transfer back to France, but I think he still had it in the back of his mind. In my mind, Plato was the progenitor for GMF -- teaching journalism in an international forum. And I suspect he probably hoped to use GMF to find some new homes for Plato.

He developed and taught the high school journalism course, Project Plato, for underprivilged students in Washington, based on the premise that reporting and writing can teach important life skills to young people.

-- Jay Branegan

A NOTE FROM CATHERINE

Dear friends,

Camille, Lauren and I have been overwhelmed by messages of sympathy and testimonies from people all over the world on how Peter has touched their lives.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. We know now that Peter succeeded at what mattered most to him, that was to touch people's lives, make a difference and help them achieve their very best as men and women.

My husband was an extraordinary man in public, as you know, but even more so in private. We shared 31 years that have been rich with love, challenges, and adventures beyond belief. We grew together into what he called "better people." Although he always thought we were never quite there yet, I know that he certainly was.

I have to continue by myself the path that he has laid out so clearly for us. Camille and Lauren, who carry so much of him inside them and take his purpose even further, will be my strength.

Thank you very much for all your support and friendship. I am deeply appreciative of all of you.

Catherine Antoine
catherine@catherineantoine.com

Peter Mackler, a pillar of AFP, dies at 58

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Peter Mackler, a veteran of Agence France-Presse who covered wars, elections and was the driving force behind transforming the agency's English language service into a global powerhouse, has died at 58.

Mackler died Friday after suffering a heart ailment at work in Washington, where he had served as AFP's chief editor for North America since 2006. His sudden death sent shockwaves throughout the agency's bureaus the world over.

"One of the agency's best journalists has died," said AFP chief executive Pierre Louette. "He was for most of us a source of inspiration, a model."

"I know he had a total passion for the agency, a desire for it to be great and remain in the top rank," Louette said. "We will miss him terribly."

Mackler, an American who spoke French fluently, joined AFP in the United States in September 1979 after starting his journalism career at a rival agency, UPI, in New York.

Over his nearly 30-year career at AFP, the indefatigable journalist played a key role in developing the multilingual agency's anglophone service from Paris to the Middle East and Hong Kong.

He was also a passionate and energetic journalist who relished the big stories.

As a reporter or editor, he wrote and oversaw stories that have defined recent history: from the Gulf War in 1991 to the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and George W. Bush's presidency.

In the past year, he steered the Washington bureau's coverage of the marathon presidential nomination race with his usual vigor and focus in the face of intense competition from rival news agencies.

But between his long hours at the office, Mackler had also dedicated his time and energy to lending his vast experience to journalists working in developing countries.

In 2004, Peter Mackler set up Global Media Forum, an international media training programme, that grew out of work he had done for underprivileged children at Duke Ellington High School in Washington.

For the last year, he had worked with the AFP Foundation, a non-profit, and had been preparing a training project for journalists in Lebanon that had been requested by the United Nations.

"Peter Mackler was a man of many parts but to his colleagues he will be chiefly remembered for three outstanding qualities: his uncompromising commitment to the highest professional standards; his deep loyalty to his friends and colleagues; and his dedication to teaching young journalists," said AFP deputy managing editor Robert Holloway.

Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn on August 22, 1949, Mackler graduated with a degree in psychology and began working as a psychologist for children in his neighborhood before joining UPI in 1973.

After starting at AFP in the United States in 1979, Mackler moved to the agency's editing desk in Hong Kong in 1982 and went on to become the bureau chief in Sydney and Singapore.

His work in Asia helped turn AFP's English dispatches into an essential source of news for newspapers and broadcast media across the region.

In 1991, he was dubbed "General Mackler" for his sure-handed organizational skills during the Gulf War as he helped AFP correspondents arrive in Kuwait City hours before the US Army.

After working in Brussels, he had his first stint as chief editor in Washington in 1994 before becoming the bureau's deputy regional director.

He was then named senior reporter based at AFP's headquarters in Paris to cover terrorism, a job that took him back to New York to cover the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and to Pakistan for the war that followed in Afghanistan.

He returned to Washington in 2004 to cover the State Department before being named chief editor for North America two years later.

He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Catherine, and his two daughters, Camille and Lauren.