Pollner professor talks about how to change the image of the “Ugly American”

By Sara Lettus
J-School Web Reporter

photo by Tim Kupsick

Henriette Lowisch, the 2006 T. Anthony Pollner Professor, speaks to a crowded recital hall about her subject, "The Ugly American."

Through knowledge comes respect, and through respect will come the makeover of the “Ugly American,” says Henriette Löwisch, the visiting Pollner Professor in the School of Journalism for Autumn 2006.

In a public lecture she gave October 5, the German foreign correspondent argued that by gaining knowledge, U.S. citizens can fix the world’s view of the “Ugly American.”

“Part of what makes you ugly is that you don’t want to know about us,” said Löwisch.

She is teaching a foreign-correspondence course in the journalism school. According to Löwisch, young journalists can help make over this “ugly” image by learning, going abroad and experiencing the world for what it is.

“That’s why I think you should all be foreign correspondents,” she said with a laugh.

For 20 years, Löwisch has been in nearly every field of journalism: from reporting in her hometown, producing television in Austria, writing for a women’s magazine in Germany and working at Agence France-Presse most recently as editor-in-chief and senior editor. Lowisch received her master’s degree in journalism and graduated magna cum laude from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich.

“Fifty percent of success is knowing what you’re good at and what you want to do,” she said. “I realized there was something I really knew how to do, and that was write.”

She’s been a spokeswoman for Amnesty International, a movement that campaigns for human rights. She is currently the senior editor at Agence France-Presse in Berlin. The AFP, the world’s oldest international wire service, was founded in 1835 by Charles-Louis Havas.

“I knew it wouldn’t get boring,” Löwisch said. “It’s always changing. It’s flexible.”

Her travels and work have taken her all over the world. But the thing that

photo by Mary Rizos

Greg Miller, the national-security correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, talks to Henriette Lowisch’s foreign-correspondent class. Lowisch said she invited Miller because she wanted students to meet an American journalist who covers international issues.

fascinates most is the love-hate relationship between Europe and the United States, which was the subject of the lecture she gave as part of the Pollner Professorship.

In the lecture, she described the war in Iraq and the war on terror as a “big mess.” She discussed mistakes that had been made, the abuse of unchecked power and the torture of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers.

“Where was the responsibility?” she asked. “Where were the resignations after this was uncovered?

“Many people, much smarter than me, could have told you from the beginning that this was not going to work,” she said.

How do we fix this “ugly” image? An image Löwisch says the world also views as “the Fat American, the Stupid American, the Zealous American and the Ruthless American.”

“Protect your constitution,” said Löwisch. “It still earns you a lot of respect around the globe.”

She asserts that through gaining knowledge, the U.S. can also gain back the respect from those that hold the “ugly” view. With this knowledge, Americans will also be able to elect a better government.

“By 2008, the top people will be gone and we can start over,” she said. “That’s one thing that’s still really beautiful about America.”

Löwisch gave praise to the School of Journalism and its students, commending the idealism and “drive of pioneers” that exists in their work.

Missoula in general impresses her. She lives in the Lower Rattlesnake area, likes the people here and says she “is getting used to mountains.”

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