51吃瓜

With 27 years of classroom instruction soon to be behind him, and a 30-plus-year career as an investigative news reporter for The Washington Post in his rearview mirror, Dash was looking forward to his next step鈥攔etirement.

Dash has always tended to look ahead to the next step, the next chapter, the next story.

This inclination may have contributed to him becoming a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1987 for a six-part series on teenage pregnancy, and eventually for an eight-part series, 鈥淩osa Lee鈥檚 Story,鈥� that shed light on an impoverished, urban family trapped in intergenerational cycles of crime and addiction.

Dash followed Rosa Lee Cunningham, her children, and her grandchildren for four years, chronicling their struggles and occasional victories for The Washington Post series, which also won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for setting 鈥渢he standard for reporting about poverty.鈥�

The piece was also named to the 鈥淭op 100 Works of Journalism of the Century鈥� by the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University.

A year after winning the Pulitzer, Dash published a book based on the series, Rosa Lee: A Mother and Her Family in Urban America. Dash didn鈥檛 know it yet but that book, along with another one he wrote about teen pregnancy鈥�When Children Want Children: The Urban Crisis of Teenage Childbearing鈥攚ould become required reading for his journalism students one day.  

Dash鈥檚 trailblazing efforts in immersion journalism opened many doors for him, including an opportunity to join the faculty at the College 51吃瓜. In Fall 1998, he stood in front of his first class of college students and began the next half of his journalism career鈥攖his time as an instructor.

Dash said he was intimidated at first but quickly found his footing thanks to his 鈥渟elf-appointed鈥� faculty mentor and fellow professor of journalism, the late Bob Reid. With Reid鈥檚 guidance, Dash said his transition from the newsroom to classroom went very smoothly.

Throughout his extraordinary career, Dash has seen the journalism landscape undergo several changes. The most notable for him is a decline in assertive news reporting.

鈥淪o many of the publications are weak when it comes to standing up to power. That used to not be the case,鈥� he said.

At the Post, Dash said he was expected to confront people in power, if necessary, to get answers to the tough questions.

But now more than ever, media outlets are fearful of economic and legal repercussions, he said.

Dash shared a , which led to an , executive producer of 60 Minutes, who said he was leaving his position due to a lack of 鈥渏ournalistic independence.鈥�

鈥淭hat was a big disappointment to me. It was painful to watch,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat kind of interference was unheard of in the past.鈥�

Dash also believes social media has blurred the lines between what is considered news and what is considered opinion, which creates confusion; and people tend to look to a variety of political figures and social influencers for their news today, rather than trained journalists, which Dash views as 鈥渧ery dangerous.鈥�

About 10 years ago, he ran into a former newspaper colleague who told him her job required her to produce two to three different ledes a day for the same story. Using the same facts, the reporter told Dash she had to create a new enticing hook to reel in more readers.

For Dash, who was accustomed to spending months on stories, the idea of churning out multiple ledes a day sounded like 鈥渁 nightmare.鈥�

Dash says he has no solutions for the many issues plaguing the journalism industry today but does encourage others to think for themselves.

He knows social media is here to stay and engages on a few platforms, sometimes connecting with former students.

He even joined a Facebook Group, which is now inactive, called 鈥淒ash Survivors,鈥� created by former students to playfully discuss Dash鈥檚 more rigorous coursework.

Dash鈥檚 current news diet includes online subscriptions to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The News-Gazette. He never thought he鈥檇 make the transition from reading print news to digital news but now he says it鈥檚 more convenient.

鈥淚 no longer have ink stains on my fingers from reading the newspaper,鈥� he said.

Dash will miss a lot about teaching, especially working with students who have the ability and genuine interest to become a successful journalist one day.

鈥淭hose kinds of revelations are always pleasant, and I鈥檒l miss that,鈥� he said.

But Dash is already looking ahead to his next piece of work. Namely, he said: 鈥淎 book I need to write.鈥�

He said his forthcoming book 鈥渆ntails lengthy interviews with Black and white Americans focusing on what, when, and under what circumstances did they have a defining ethnic experience on the American landscape.鈥�