Partly Cloudy / 61° F
Former Daily Journal reporter authors book
Published 12:32pm Monday, April 13, 2009By Tom Hintgen
Daily Journal
Former Daily Journal reporter Chris Herlinger and his co-author, Paul Jeffrey, skillfully document the continuing crisis in Darfur in the book, “Where Mercy Fails — Darfur’s Struggle to Survive.”
The text, published by Seabury Books, brings people into focus with the human dimensions of this crisis in western Sudan, a country in northeastern Africa.
The Foreword to the book is written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
“Unlike with the Nazi Holocaust, the world knows,” said Tutu. “But knowledge has not galvanized into the will to provoke a resolution. It is part of the honesty of this book that it brings us face-to-face with this sad reality.”
Tutu said that what Herlinger and Jeffrey have done with this book is remarkable. He said they simultaneously bring people face to face with the human dimensions of this crisis, the socio-economic-political ramifications, and the religious imperatives for the people of faith.
“You will be edified, dismayed, inspired, discouraged, but, most of all, challenged,” said Tutu.
Herlinger, who worked at the Daily Journal in Fergus Falls from 1982 to 1986 as wire editor and reporter, is currently a writer with the humanitarian organization Church World Service. He’s also a freelance journalist whose stories for Religion News Service have appeared in The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune.
His reporting from Darfur has appeared in RNS, Catholic News Service, Ecumenical News International, The Christian Century, National Catholic Reporter, and Harvard Divinity Bulletin.
“Fergus Falls was the place where I began to see the intersection of politics and religion,” said Herlinger, “and that’s obviously been a big theme for me as a journalist.”
The Pittsburgh native, who grew up in Denver, now lives in New York City.
“I came to Fergus in 1982 because some of my fellow journalists-to-be at Macalester College (in St. Paul) had experience as summer interns at the Daily Journal,” said Herlinger. “I got the call from newsroom editor Pat Walkup.”
The Daily Journal was then under the direction of Publisher Chuck Underwood.
“We really stretched the boundaries a bit, at times,” said Herlinger, “but Chuck and Pat were supportive. We had a marvelous staff, with many going on to good assignments elsewhere.”
Coleen Speer, who now lives in Chaska, Minn., was employed at the Daily Journal, as a writer, when Herlinger also served as a reporter.
“Those of us who worked with Chris know him as someone who isn’t afraid to delve into complex issues,” she said. “Readers may remember when he and photographer Jack Kurtz traveled to the Philippines and produced incredible stories that captured the poverty and politics there.”
Speer said that Herlinger had a terrific network of friends, not just in the newsroom, but in the community.
“Chris had the ability to connect with people from different age groups, political and religious affiliations,” she said, “a really interesting group of people. Those of us who have followed his career over the years couldn’t be more pleased with his latest success. It certainly is well-deserved.”
After his years in Fergus Falls, Herlinger moved on to the Rochester Post-Bulletin. He then took advantage of a Bush Fellowship at Union Theological Seminary from where he received a master’s degree. Then it was on to the world of freelancing and humanitarian journalism/writing, based in New York.
“I was able to work in interesting places,” said Herlinger, “including Darfur, West Africa, Gaza and the West Bank and Afghanistan prior to the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.”
Herlinger, 49, has won the Eileen Egan Award from Catholic Relief Services and the DeRose-Hinkhouse Award from the Religion Communicators Council for his international reporting. In addition to Union Theological Seminary, Herlinger also holds a master’s degree from Cambridge University. He’s been a resident fellow of Harvard Divinity School and a visiting fellow at Yale Divinity School.
Herlinger corresponds with regular Daily Journal letter to the editor writer Maryann Shores.
“Maryann thinks I’m too pragmatic,” he said. “It’s fun to communicate by e-mail with Maryann, even though we’ve disagreed a lot over the years.”
He plans to return to Minnesota later this year.
“I’m going to be at residence at the Collegeville Institute in Collegeville (St. John’s University) for three weeks in October,” he said, “while starting to work on a second book. Hopefully I can visit Fergus to see old friends and do a book reading. That would be a terrific honor.”
More information is available at www.wheremercyfails.com
