On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the so-called “War to End all Wars” finally ended. It was a day to remember, and appropriately it has been remembered – since 1919, as “Armistice Day” and, since 1954, as “Veterans Day.”
Rather than ending warfare, however, World War I initiated a new, devastating kind of war, made possible by a new, deadly machinery.
In four years, “more than nine million soldiers, sailors and airmen were killed,” according to British historian Martin Gilbert. Five million civilians likely perished, as well. Some 20 million others, according to National Geographic, were wounded.
As these millions of soldiers amassed on the battlefields of Europe, journalists from across the globe flocked to the continent, as well.
Karl von Wiegand, Berlin correspondent for the United Press and the New York World, was one of the first American journalists to see the brutal nature of this new brand of warfare.
In early October 1914, Wiegand watched as Russian troops advanced against their German foes.
“Then Weigand beheld a baffling sight,” military historian Chris Dubbs recounts. “He saw a sudden ‘almost grotesque melting of the advancing line … the men literally went down like dominoes in a row.’ Some fell backward as if blown off their feet. Even as he puzzled at the spectacle, the rattle of machine guns reached his ear. … The continuous raking of machine-gun fire caused a panic, and the Russians fled back to their lines, leaving the field to the dead and dying.”
Wiegand’s report on this moment was the first of its kind during the war, but he wasn’t alone in attempting to share with the world the truth of what was happening on the battlefields of Europe.
In the face of danger, he and other journalists pursued their work – knowing they could be taken as spies and be shot or, at least, taken prisoner. Twenty-seven-year-old Kansas City Star correspondent Otto Higgins recounted how – only a few days before the Armistice – he and a small group of other correspondents dodged bombs and gunfire from a low-flying airplane.
Often, Wiegand, Higgins and their fellow reporters received little respect from government and military officials, who strictly censored their reports. Yet General John Pershing, born in the central Missouri town of Laclede, once told war correspondent Wilbur Forrest, “I consider a trained newspaperman worth a regiment of cavalry.”
If, as Pershing hinted, well-trained journalists had some value in worldly warfare, how much more important is it that Southern Baptist journalists receive training to report truth on the frontlines of spiritual conflict in our own day?
Roughly 15 years ago or so, The Pathway’s late founding editor Don Hinkle (1954-2022) began an annual journalism retreat to bless and train our talented team of freelance writers and photojournalists. This year’s retreat was sponsored, graciously, by the Baptist Homes & Healthcare Ministries.
Convinced of the need to mobilize a new generation of Southern Baptist journalists, we decided a few years ago to invite journalism professors and students from the Missouri Baptist Convention’s three universities to the retreat, as well.
This September, only a week prior to Don’s heavenly homegoing, we welcomed them once again to The Baptist Building in Jefferson City.
The line-up of speakers at the retreat was well-received: Julie McGowan, associate vice president of public relations & SBC communications with the International Mission Board; John Vaughan, founder of Church Growth Today; J. Alan Branch, author and professor of Christian Ethics at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; and Kelli Jones, press secretary for Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
Beyond the retreat, The Pathway also has partnered with The Spurgeon College to host two journalism interns this fall. These Spurgeon College communication majors, Ryan Biller and Aiden Trimble, show great promise.
Ryan brings valuable experience from serving on mission in South Asia with Midwestern’s Fusion Program, and earlier this year Aiden graduated from the WORLD Journalism Institute – a journalistic bootcamp committed to “sound journalism, grounded in facts and biblical truth.” You’ll find their bylines in The Pathway’s print and web editions.
In our day, we need well-trained, journalistic “watchmen on the walls” (Ezekiel 33:1-17) – committed to truth and ready to warn God’s people of impending dangers amid the spiritual battles of this life. We need Southern Baptist journalists, moreover, ready to share the good news of all God is doing in a world gone wrong.
And, by God’s grace, I hope The Pathway can help mobilize at least a regiment or two of journalistic cavalry to advance the Good News of Calvary.