Published 03/23/2006 in "Scoop", USF St. Petersburg Department of Journalism and Media Studies publication. Received the "Outstanding Contribution Award."

By Jenna Laine 

It was Christmas break a year ago, and Bob Dardenne, associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, found himself 7,500 miles from home in the African County of Nigeria with a prepared speech but no place to share it.

He had just learned that the convention where he was scheduled to speak, in commemoration of the 125th Anniversary of the Nigerian press, had been canceled upon the death of a key event organizer. His host was Niran Malaulo, a government official who earned his M.A. in journalism under Dardenne's direction.

Despite the confusion, Dardenne remained calm. The story of his Nigerian rendezvous provides valuable lessons to both practicing and prospective journalists.

Lesson one: Be prepared for anything. "If working in journalism teaches [you] anything, it teaches [you] to be flexible," Dardenne said. If a particular story doesn't work out, "you find one. You don't go to the editor and say, 'Things just didn't work out."'

His hosts scrambled to find another forum for his talk, and soon he was off to the state university in Ogun State to address faculty, students and the press. He then headed to the University of Lagos in Akoka, to tour its media department and an interview for the school's news broadcast.

Lesson two: Don't be an outsider; become "one of them."

Dardenne became "one of them" by attending a Nigerian political convention. "My presence was a bit unusual, because as far as I know, none [of the people] had ever seen a non-Nigerian [in attendance] before. But after the initial reactions, it wasn't an issue."

Lesson three: Shed your pre-conceived notions upon arrival in a foreign place. A journalist can only deliver an honest portrayal if he is honest with himself. For Dardenne, that meant acknowledging that at first he felt a bit uncomfortable being the only American.

Lesson four: The story is the guide. Follow it. Dardenne ate Nigerian dishes such as pounded yam and abalone. He climbed famous Olumo Rock and attended a Christmas concert. He even got to spend an afternoon with Wole Soyinka, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986.

And that leads to lesson five, based on a Nigerian proverb: "One must row in whichever boat one finds one's self." Dardenne took a broken vessel and made it sail.

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