Welcome to The Truth in His Art, your go to source for conversations at the intersection of arts, culture, and community. I am your host, Rob Lee. And today, I am honored to be joined by a distinguished guest. She is the cofounder of 100 reporters and the founder slash director of Double Exposure, the United States' only film festival dedicated to investigative cinema, now celebrating its 10th season. With more than 25 years of experience as a national and foreign correspondent for The New York Times and The Baltimore Sun, she has covered pivotal global events and earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination.
Rob Lee:Please welcome Diana Schemo. Welcome to the podcast.
Diana Schemo:Thank you. It's my immense pleasure to be here with you, Rob.
Rob Lee:Thank you. And like, again, you know, in in doing some of the the prep and some of the research, you know, it's, you know, I I pride myself on attempting to be a journalist, you know, so being able to maybe get a little insight, I'm sure I'll get out of this conversation and the listeners get out of this conversation. I am I'm really jazzed. I'm also a little little intimidated. It's just a skosh.
Rob Lee:It's a skosh. But,
Diana Schemo:No need for that. It's actually the other way around.
Rob Lee:I'm in
Diana Schemo:awe of podcasters because it just takes a whole skill set that, you know, is not one I've ever developed. So I'm really in awe of people who can actually just riff and talk with, you know, new people all the time on air. That's amazing.
Rob Lee:Thank you. And, as as I'm one to do, the the, you know, listeners have grown accustomed to this. So whenever I'm talking with someone and they are a bespectacled individual such as I, I must thank them for wearing their glasses. We can always put on the contacts while you wear your glasses. They're like, we're on the same page now.
Rob Lee:We're even
Diana Schemo:Right. I can actually see you.
Rob Lee:Look. So before we get too deep into, you know, the the conversation, I I wanna give you the space to to introduce yourself and and share a bit about your work. And I think it's I think it's really important to give folks that space because often, and I do this in this pod, help just allowing folks to introduce themselves the way that they feel most comfortable with, the one that feels the truest for them, and you always find out these different details. I've talked to writers who are also like, Hey, I'm a boxer as well. I'm like, Oh, that's not in your bio.
Rob Lee:So if you will, could you introduce yourself?
Diana Schemo:So, I actually, my background is in journalism. I'm from New York, originally Brooklyn, Brooklyn girl. And I studied journalism at Columbia. I went to Barnard undergrad. And, you know, really for most of my career was in daily journalism.
Diana Schemo:I started at the Baltimore Sun, covering poverty and social services in the 1980s. It was a really great period. It was the evening sun, which no longer exists. And then I moved over to the morning sun and went overseas for them. I was their bureau chief in Paris starting in 'eighty 7.
Diana Schemo:And then the New York Times hired me off of the sun. And I went to New York and did some local reporting for a few years, and then became their bureau chief in Latin America. And I was based in Brazil. Did that for 4 years. They covered the northern part of Latin America.
Diana Schemo:So basically, you know, Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela, and did some backup in Peru, for one particular story. And that was, you know, really a fantastic experience and really important for what we see a lot of now around the country. And then in 2,008, I left the Times, I was writing a book, And that came out in 2010 called Skies to Conquer. It's about the Air Force Academy. And I spent about 4 years writing that book, came out in 2010.
Diana Schemo:And then in 2011, I co founded 100 Reporters with Phil Sheehan, who was also, you know, somebody who left The Times in 2,008, as I did. And we sort of conceived of this together. And I stayed on to actually run the organization. And then in 2015, we launched double exposure. So 100 reporters is, you know, I guess I'll tell you more about that in a minute.
Diana Schemo:But in terms of like who I am and where I am, I guess the unifying thing is always thinking about, you know, how we can do what we do as journalists better, and how we can sort of tell stories with integrity and, being mindful of who we're talking about and how stories are, you know, presented really in their entirety. That's kind of the big picture of what we're doing. And I can explain, you know, more about the festival and, you know, but in terms of myself, that's kind of where I am.
Rob Lee:Thank you. That's that's great. And, thank you for for taking us through. And in the abbreviated version of it, sort of this dynamic career, you know, and because I see a it's a first in here. Right?
Rob Lee:You're one of the first, if not the first woman assigned overseas by the Baltimore Sun?
Diana Schemo:I was. Actually, I sometimes joke that, if they had not hired me, you know, they had the Baltimore Sun for many years punched above its weight in terms of foreign reporting. It was, you know, they had foreign bureaus since 1922. And by the time they hired me 65 years later, I was the first woman they ever sent overseas to be a bureau chief. And that was based in Paris.
Diana Schemo:So I covered Western Europe. And I sometimes joke that like, if they had just avoided that, they would have had a perfect unbroken record of sexism. Because a few years later, they actually started to dismantle the foreign operation pretty much. So they don't really have, I mean, I don't think that they have any. Maybe they do.
Diana Schemo:But I think that their foreign, you know, coverage was vastly reduced in the 1990s, like a lot of papers that, you know, came on hard times. And after me, they brought in Jerry Eddings to Johannesburg. I don't know if they ever brought in other women. I think, you know, I wasn't paying attention after I left. But I think that Jerry Eddings might have been the only other woman they sent overseas.
Diana Schemo:He might also be the 1st African American Bureau Chief. I don't know. I can't say for sure. I haven't really thought about it until now I'm thinking about it. But I was the first woman, and she might have been the 1st African American, certainly the 1st African American woman, but she might be the 1st African American altogether.
Diana Schemo:I don't know.
Rob Lee:Wow. Yeah. Yeah. I'm I'm I'm processing it, like, those those extra details, so thank you for that extra the extra piece there. So I'm I'm curious on sort of investigative journalism.
Rob Lee:Right? What was the what was that a the poll for you that made it in, like, an area of interest that, you know, what's the story and how does it shape sort of subsequently, you know, sort of your work, you know, later in your career, like, sort of how you maybe tell stories, how you approach stories.
Diana Schemo:Mhmm. So, you know, and there's always a kind of debate that goes on in newsrooms. Like, sometimes you'll have people say, every good story is investigative, right? You'll have some people who will say that like, well, everything, you know, but then, you know, there really is kind of something else that is called investigative, which is, you know, not beat reporting, not only beat reporting done well, but that is kind of an approach to looking at a story that's very comprehensive, that's not based on what happened yesterday. That kind of looks at issues as, you know, systemic questions.
Diana Schemo:And, you know, what are kind of the structural issues that created the problem? Are there, you know, hidden sides to this? You know, I'm almost, you know, like, I'm almost embarrassed to say that, you know, when I started out as a journalist, it was, you know, usually I would interview people. And the first few people I interviewed would kind of set the framework for how I thought about problem. And I think this is probably common to many new journalists, You know, and I would measure what other people would say against this original concept that I had for this is the story, whether it's, you know, whatever it is, this is the story.
Diana Schemo:But as you kind of get a little bit more seasoned, you realise, well, you just happened to speak to that person first. That doesn't mean that they have a monopoly on truth. And your whole value is that you're not invested. That you can kind of take a step back and say, you know, it's not about who is nicer, it's not about who is, you know, speaking the same way I do, or the same language I do, or who looks like me, or who, you know, has the same education or whatever. It's about what is underneath it.
Diana Schemo:You know, you start looking at things in a more almost like archaeological way, like what are the layers underneath that you're not seeing on the surface. And that inevitably takes you to investigative. Because, you know, you really don't have the time to do that when you're, you know, on a beat or on the daily grind, until you're in it for enough years that you know all the things and you know, you know where the bodies are buried and you can go, right? But investigative sort of sets you out on a path to ask those questions from the very start. So that's kind of how I got interested.
Diana Schemo:I've always sort of looked at things like, you know, as a young person, I often felt that, whatever I was encountering was my universe. And it was personal to me. It was because I happened to live in Brooklyn. I happened to, you know, be in this community, or I happened to walk this street or go to this public school, you know. Like, I didn't think of it as like, there's some forces that are bigger than I am, that are kind of moving, that are affecting what I see, what I hear.
Diana Schemo:And, you know, I think like, that's kind of something that as I matured a little bit, I realized it's not so much that I'm so unique. It's that I'm seeing things that other people are seeing, too. And if I'm experiencing it, other people are experiencing it too. And there's a conversation, there's a, you know, there's some, there's some digging to be done. So I've always kind of had this just framework of thinking that is more about like, how did we get where we are, and why are we here?
Rob Lee:Yeah. That's good. That's that's really good. I I think, like, you know, as I think about what I'm doing here before I move into this next question, as I think about what I'm doing here and sort of the the pursuit here, I had a premise and I had an idea, but, you know, as far as the start, it was, you know, frankly, someone saying something about Baltimore I didn't like, and they held the highest office in this country. And I was like, how dare you?
Diana Schemo:Wow. I think I know which comment you're I might know which one.
Rob Lee:And and that was sort of the the premise, and from there, you know, sort of only talking to folks that are here in Baltimore, around based, and I was like, I feel like there are other people. Then I started thinking, like, what am I curious about in terms of helping folks share their story, these unique stories, and sort of what one's work is about because there is a democratizing that goes on or suppression that goes on. So that's kinda what it's blown out to be. So being able to visit other places, like, when it comes to mind, and I definitely wanna lobby this question back to you before we we get into the festival and such. But, the I I wanna say back in maybe 2022, I I reached out to one of my my peers, one of my mentors, really, in podcasting and in public radio.
Rob Lee:And I was like, I wanna go to Texas. I want to go to Austin, Texas. I did a little research. I'm a data analyst by day, and I did a little research on I can only these weird downloads from Texas. And I was like, what's the art place in Texas?
Rob Lee:Where where is culture? And I reached out to a few nonprofits. They asked me to come down. They flew me down, went to Austin, Texas, and I started interviewing different folks that are there to kind of hit on a certain sensibility and folks that would reach back out. So interviewing docents, I'm interviewing, you know, public arts and so on, writers, and, you know, embedded in each one of these interviews, I did 7 in like the course of 3 days, it was this through line of like a 100 year cycle of gentrification and displacement that was just baked into the conversation.
Rob Lee:It was not a conversation I would've known. It was not an idea I was aware of, but that's what came through in each one of those conversations. And that was impactful. It was just, like, lasting. I was like, one, I can leave my place, my home base, and so do the universe that I'm familiar with.
Rob Lee:Oh, I know you're from West Baltimore, bro, and be able to go to a different part of the country and be able to have, like, an interesting conversation, frankly, with strangers and having them share sort of some of the challenges that we're experiencing and other cities are experiencing, and it's just baked in naturally into the conversation.
Diana Schemo:Right. Right.
Rob Lee:It's just something about that that really stuck out to me. And yeah. So in so for for me in doing this sort of process, it was very impactful of, 1, I can take this show on the road, and 2, sort of this version of storytelling, and facilitating storytelling has enough legs and enough, like, I guess, of value, if you will, to have folks interested. So so this is the lobbying part where for you in this this great career, I mean, like, you you were giving us you undersold it a little bit, which I dig, the modesty there. But is there a story, and I know it's it's many, but is there a story that comes to mind that was transformative for you as a journalist and as you're approaching your work that's left like a lasting impact when, you know, have those moments of, wow, there's a lot going on, and you may think back on a story that's just like, yeah, this is good.
Rob Lee:This fits. And this this is kind of what I was trying to describe previously with mine.
Diana Schemo:Yeah. You know, I feel like there have been like so many stories. But if I think about, like, the one I think, like, I'm going to, that will always stay with me, I really like to talk about it because it feels kind of self serving. But But it's one that kind of, when I would say, like, why do I do what I do? Like, this is one that made me say, this is why I do what I do.
Diana Schemo:And it actually involves somebody who's from, who lives outside of Baltimore. And it's a guy who was, he does children's books now. But he was, when he was much younger, a student at the American Boy Choir School, which is based in Princeton, New Jersey. And they had a terrible sort of headmaster there who was abusing young boys. They would travel around the world, and they had these gorgeous angelic voices.
Diana Schemo:But they were enduring really hellish circumstances behind the scenes. And so I did his story for the New York Times. And because of that, there, you know, I had a lot of pushback, like the organization had a lot of friends in high places. They tried to stop the story. They stopped it from getting on the front page, but it was in the paper.
Diana Schemo:And that had a big impact. And because of that story, and I was able to put him in touch with another very famous lawyer named Lawrence Lessig, who was also a former student there. And they were able, you know, to successfully get the New Jersey legislature to reverse this kind of immunity, charitable immunity, that, you know, the church had been blocking this being repealed because obviously, you know, the church has a lot to answer for in this area and was looking to protect its assets. And because of, you know, the power of the story and this particular case, they were able to get that removed from the law in New Jersey so that the school could be sued. And that it would finally have to answer for what it did to all these boys.
Diana Schemo:The story wasn't just about him. He was like my window into it. But then I interviewed victims from around the country. It's a terrible, you know, very hard story to do because it was just wrenching. But, you know, it was one where I looked at him and I could say, whatever else I do in the world, I did this, and this is good.
Diana Schemo:You know, so that's the, you know, that's the sort of high of journalism when it succeeds that you can actually, you know, and it takes a lot to make that happen. You know, it has to be really like a rock solid story. And it has to be, you know, people who care. It's like we throw a bottle into the ocean, and the ocean is democracy. And we say, here's the news.
Diana Schemo:And then it's really up to democracy to say like this matters and we're going to do something about it. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn't. And there's so many factors involved. So we can't control them. But this was one where I was just really happy to be able to see, you know, that we were able to make something happen that actually, you know, brought some accountability.
Diana Schemo:I don't know that the school ended up going bankrupt and is now shut down. I don't know that, you know, how many people actually collected money over this. But at least it opened, and I honestly don't know the answer. It may be 1,000,000. It may be, you know, dollars 10.
Diana Schemo:I have no idea what the, you know, the actual, I've never like done a story, because I went overseas after doing that story. I wasn't in a place to kind of follow it. But I have stayed in touch with the main, the protagonist. We stay in touch, and he sent me a really great letter that he actually laminated for me, which was wonderful. And he writes these children's books, and I look at them and sometimes, you know, offer some like suggestions on editing or things like that, you know.
Diana Schemo:But mostly the art is just dazzling, so I just love to see them. So we've stayed in touch. But I guess that's the kind of thing that I feel like, yeah, that's why I do what I do.
Rob Lee:Yeah. Wow. That is that's powerful, and and thank you for sharing that. It's, I think it it's when we're able to open up, you know, sort of conversations, we don't know what the intent is. We don't know what the output is gonna be, but if we're able to open up conversations and have people maybe think a little bit further, a little bit deeper, maybe take that journey as well, do that archeological thing and dig into this, what happened here?
Rob Lee:Who are these? And it's like, oh, oh, and then able to go back and see sort of what the start of or what was one of those accelerants, a story, or in my very small space, like a podcast of opening up and seeing, like, this is type of work that's happening here. These are actually real people that are making this this interesting work, and these are their real stories.
Diana Schemo:Yeah. So I'll tell you one other thing I've observed, which is really, still surprises me because it's like, why is this this way? But I find that stories get more interesting. Everybody's going to hate me in Washington for saying this. But I find that stories get more interesting in direct proportion to their distance from the capital, Not just in this country, in every country.
Diana Schemo:Stories just get like the more, the farther away you get from the capital, the more interesting the stories get. So I look at like Washington reporting, I mean, if you're a power junkie, if you're really interested in politics and power, then what I just said is totally ridiculous. But if you're interested, like, in the texture of human life and people
Rob Lee:Mhmm.
Diana Schemo:I am, then what I said is true.
Rob Lee:I I agree with you. They they hate me. No one cares about what I do with it. No. No.
Rob Lee:That's I I agree. And, I think, yeah, going outside of I I look at the capital as, you know, perhaps related to so this is the approved sort of story that we're putting out there. I like to look in the cracks and crevices where the the smaller stories that don't get that attention, that don't have that that really wide range and appeal I find to you, there's that texture that's there. There's that sort of authenticity. That's what I dabble in.
Rob Lee:That's what I I trade in. So so I'm gonna shift gears a little bit, and go back to something that you touched on earlier. I wanna talk about double exposure, if you will. So, you know, you cofounded double exposure, right, which is now celebrating 10th 10th year?
Diana Schemo:That's the trans season. I I founded Double Exposure and co created it.
Rob Lee:Co created it.
Diana Schemo:With Sky Sydney. So we I kind of got the initial funding to launch it and, you know, shop the concept and sort of into that. And then Skye came on, and she actually helped me realize that vision, and made it better in important ways. So I owe her so much. But yeah, that started in 2015.
Diana Schemo:This is our 10th season. So I'm always saying like, is this our 10th anniversary? Or it's our 10th season. I guess 2025 will be our 10th anniversary. But it's our 10th season.
Diana Schemo:And, yeah, we launched in 2015 with the premier of Spotlight for DC. And we brought together the original Spotlight team. And, you know, it was really David Simon came and moderated Paul Schmore's own. And, you know, the director was there, the screenwriter, the original Spotlight crew. So we had a great, great, great launch.
Diana Schemo:And essentially, the idea behind double exposure is, well, I should take a step back and just say the mission of 100 Reporters
Rob Lee:is
Diana Schemo:the parent organization. It started out as a collective, a consortium of freelance journalists around the world. This was at the time of like the Arab Spring. And so yeah, so 100 Reporters was it launched around the time of the Arab Spring. And the whole idea was, well, you know, we are in this situation where access is multiplying.
Diana Schemo:You know, it's like anybody can throw up a website. But, you know, how do we kind of, in a sense, bring the best of what we have, you know, here in, you know, in a country that has a first amendment, that has, you know, reasonable liable laws and so forth, which is not the case everywhere where it's, you know, at least as we speak, it's not a crime to insult people in power most of the time, right? So, you know, we have a whole lot of rights and a tradition of a free press that, you know, we were thinking it would be really amazing if we are able to kind of bring that expertise to a lot of the places that are just starting to try to build that and don't have hospitable environments for it. You know, I don't want to go down the whole tangent of why that, you know, I felt that was necessary because it involves, you know, newspapers, you know, pulling up stakes in their foreign bureaus. But I just, you know, Phil and I both thought like this is a good opportunity to take the best of what we have and see if it can help create a real sort of accountability journalism around the world.
Diana Schemo:And so that's how we started with it. And we were building up that core. And then in 2015, we were members, the organization is a member of a sort of consortium that is now called the Institute For Nonprofit News. At the time, it was called the Investigative News Network. So the acronym stayed the same, but the twist changed a little bit.
Diana Schemo:But the investigative news network at the time said they had grants for ideas, you know, for fundraising. And I was sitting next to the executive director of that organization and said, I would love to do an investigative film festival. And he was like, Yes. He had a background in Hollywood, and he got it instantly. So, you know, we got a grant to start this.
Diana Schemo:And, you know, it was this funny experience where everybody that I spoke to in that 1st year, 2014, 2015, they would be like, wait, you mean this doesn't already exist? I was like, no, it doesn't. I was like, yeah, okay. I'll help you with that. And, you know, we found that there was like this a market for the work at the time, you know, Blackfish and, you know, all of this other stuff, you know, was coming up that was really incredible content.
Diana Schemo:And the platforms like Netflix and HBO were really into it. There was a market, and people were doing good work. So we thought, you know, journalism and film are so different. Like the cultures are so different. But we thought maybe there's a conversation to be had where, you know, the film community has things that they could teach, you know, journalism community, which is undergoing its own moment of self examination, in terms of how do we cover what we cover?
Diana Schemo:Are we being fair? Are we, you know, is it representation of the communities that you're reporting on in the newsroom? You know, how do you edit and make these decisions about, you know, where stories like all of this self, you know, interrogation was going on there. And filmmakers were going through the same thing, Right? Asking very similar questions.
Diana Schemo:And, you know, in looking at the 2 of them, I realized there's a real kind of a gap in the sense that journalists, even if they're freelancers, they know what a newsroom looks like. They know what, you know, departments there are. They know that there's like a copy editor. There's backfields, you know, like fresh eyes on a story. There's, you know, a legal team that will bulletproof your story and make sure you're not saying anything dangerous.
Diana Schemo:You know, there's just all kinds of infrastructure built into what you're doing. There's fact checking if it's for the magazine, right? Whereas filmmakers are much more like on their own. They don't have all of that infrastructure. So if they're venturing into investigative territory, they don't have like a legal department that can review their FOIA requests or help them craft a FOIA request.
Diana Schemo:Or somebody who can like look at the film and say, you know, you really need to get like the other side here in some way, at least show that you tried. All of these things that are important to protect you. Right? And for the integrity of the work. So we just thought, let's, you know, let's create that space.
Diana Schemo:And that's where the, you know, the conference comes in, the double exposure symposium. So the idea was, you know, 100 reporters set out with the goal of, in a sense, marrying the best practices that we have in journalism in this kind of, you know, traditional sphere of journalism to this emerging landscape of accountability reporting that is working under very difficult circumstances. And the double exposure festival kind of carries that forward, the ideas to kind of keep the standards strong as the technologies and forms of storytelling evolve. And that's, you know, double exposure is all about kind of connecting these 2 communities so that they can benefit from each other's knowledge and improve the way they do what they do and the final product. So it's, you know, it's a coherent whole.
Diana Schemo:But they're both very different, you know, signs of the organization.
Rob Lee:Thank you. And it's great that, and I have been running this idea of when I have a guest on, I let them cook because it makes me seem like I'm a better interviewer because you answered 2 other questions already. So shout out to you.
Diana Schemo:I love that. Thank you. And
Rob Lee:and I wanna go back to to one thing, that I I wanna comment on. I see it again, you know, I I I I'm in this lane, but I think sort of this notion of not having, you know, sort of the legal piece, that's the thing that stuck out, and the sort of the accountability. I had an interview, a while back, maybe earlier this year, late last year, with, Eric Deggans, who's a Oh, yeah. Yeah. And, he was talking about journalistic integrity is one of those things, and I always see my fellow peers in podcasting that get into a lot of trouble for not thinking things through and just rolling off of the cuff.
Rob Lee:And, you know, that the the ERRC thing comes to mind, which you were describing there as far as having that room, having those, like, the legal department, having people to fact check, things of that nature. And as a podcast educator, that's another thing that I've I've done in the last year, I'm sharing what I know with students who want to go into it, and these are considerations that I mention of what is the story? Did you research that, or are you just kind of popping off? What are you presenting your story as? And I've also listened more intently to the podcast that I'm I'm into, you know, like listening to those credits.
Rob Lee:Thanks to the team, and you'll name, like, a laundry list of people who are fact checking, who are going through these things. So when I got into podcasting 16 years ago, almost, there wasn't that. It was kinda like me and a couple of buddies.
Diana Schemo:We said,
Rob Lee:now now it's just like there are stakes there, there's budget, there's sponsorship. So there's things at stake. But then also, it's sort of like, make sure you get the story right. Like, when you have a podcast like Serial, for instance, you know, that a lot of people got a lot of, like, knowledge from, and it's, you know, caused some some change in investigating things. You can't just mention things that you can't really verify, you can't really check into, and you can put yourself in a position that
Diana Schemo:Yeah.
Rob Lee:Bad. That could be really bad. And I find, like, podcasts, as far as the smaller, more pop culture oriented, more disposable sort of fun content, they find themselves in hot water because they dive into these things that a little bit more, you should have ran this through someone first. Right. You should have got this vetted.
Diana Schemo:Right. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. I hadn't realized that.
Diana Schemo:I mean, in film, there's a there are organizations and production houses that are there and kind of, create, like, a kind of equivalent, like of a back office kind of a thing, like not clerical, but more like with these things of fact checking, of, you know, technical assistance, you know, all of the things that you would normally have like in a newsroom, that they're creating that similar kind of a structure tailored to the needs. So those do exist. IDA does that, you know, International Documentary Association, there are many that, or not so many, but there are some that actually do that, that provide that service for documentary films, which is what we focus on for the most part.
Rob Lee:So moving into this year's theme, could you could you tell us a bit about sort of this year's theme, I believe, what, influx out of bounds? That's the the the name?
Diana Schemo:Yeah. Exactly. I started out thinking it should be liminal spaces because I was feeling we're such as, like, twilight zone. But everybody I said that to like reached for dictionary. So I thought, okay, let me know what it actually means because it's, you know, it should be accessible to people.
Diana Schemo:Yeah. So influx out of bounds is kind of describing our moment that we're living through, isn't it? I mean, just seems like we're in such a crazy moment of transition where everything is things that you thought like, oh, this can't possibly happen. And then it's like, oh, yeah, okay, that happened. And now we're in this new place.
Diana Schemo:And you know, the fact that, you know, people are worried about what's gonna happen the day after the election, and is it gonna be like that's completely new space for most of us, you know. And 4 years ago, you know, not that 4 years ago was a model for anything, but 4 years ago, the question never really, you know, occurred to anybody. Like, is there a risk of, you know, is there a risk of, you know, violence after an election? Like, that didn't really occur to people 4 years ago before election day. And, you know, we're in this space where, you know, the unthinkable is perfectly thinkable right now, and we don't know where we're going.
Diana Schemo:So influx out of bounds is kind of addressing that and just kind of putting that out there on the table that, you know, we're in this unprecedented space. And our symposium and films, a lot of them are reflecting that, that kind of uncertainty that we're living through. And And the symposium is kind of taking that on in its programming because this is where we bring together filmmakers and journalists to talk about their craft. And, you know, they're the content creators, if you will. And, you know, this moment poses, you know, real challenges in terms of how you put together documentary film.
Diana Schemo:And, you know, that's what we're kind of addressing with this. It's both sort of the external thing, but also for the practitioners. What does it mean for you trying to tell the stories of an era that is, you know, changing daily?
Rob Lee:Yeah. And I think you touched on a really good point there, and I'll even like add this piece in there, sort of what maybe wasn't a consideration. Now it seems like this is possible, where, you know, sort of weirdness sort of post the the notion, the terminology of fake news floating out there, there's that. So everything is being judged in a in a in a way versus maybe it didn't need that. Let's just assume that the work is being done right.
Rob Lee:It's being vetted and all of that good stuff, but the fact that it can be batted down with those two buzzwords is one thing. Yeah. You know, there's this sort of notion of, as you you touched on, so the the threat of violence, if something doesn't go my way, you know, let's do this. Let's incite this. And I interviewed, JM Giordano twice, and he was there January 6 covering it, you know, of, like, this is this is what it is, boots on the ground for photography, photographer.
Rob Lee:And I'm just like, wow, this is this is I thought I was watching a TV show. I thought I was like, what is this? And now it's like this thing that should or could be fiction is like, oh, this is just a part of what it's been over the last 4 to 5 years.
Diana Schemo:Right.
Rob Lee:And even sort of the the news around the other piece around the violence of, you know, anything around, how we cover or how we view maybe assassination attempts or whatever that those stories were. It's just like those are out there and how are they gonna be treated. I what I'm looking for, I just wanna know, like, can we get facts versus sort of opinion? And I think we've shifted as far as the way that mass coverages, let's say, through social media and so on, to this place where it feels like, here's my take, here's my opinion, versus here are some facts. And I think it's just a really tough spot at times for folks to want sort of, what's the real story?
Rob Lee:What do I need to know to be better informed at, to take care of myself? And from a content, from a media, from filmmaking, how that that plays in now with that we've had this over the last 4 to 5 years, this sort of backdrop.
Diana Schemo:Mhmm. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly.
Rob Lee:So there's one more question I have that I wanna before as I wrap up here that I wanna ask you, and this is maybe a little self serving for your your humble podcast host here, but what advice would you give, and we're definitely gonna shamelessly plug at the end, but what advice would you give to, you know, up and coming journalists and maybe journalists with this, well, filmmakers rather, with this, like, journalistic sort of approach, to their work that wanna do the investigative, that wanna do this accountable sort of work when it comes to their storytelling? What advice would would you share with your your background, your experience, and sort of the work that you're doing now? What advice would you share?
Diana Schemo:Make a friend. That's the best advice I can give you. Make a friend. Like, it's really important to kind of not feel like you have to do everything yourself. So I would say, find a partner to work with.
Diana Schemo:Because if your strength is words and, you know, telling stories and text, and you have a great story that you're burning to tell, you will have a much easier and possibly better outcome, but definitely much easier outcome. If you make a friend with, you know, somebody whose work you admire, and you can interest a filmmaker who's really good to take it on because they know how to tell a visual story, and you know how to tell a word story. Or if you're a filmmaker, and you want to tell the story of something that, you know, a journalist has already kind of unpacked for you, connect with them, and you bring them into the process because it's really, you know, it's just crazy making to try to do everything yourself. And, you know, even if you have a very accomplished resume, and so forth, you know, you're not doing yourself a favor by, you know, going it alone. It's always good to have somebody else on the journey with you.
Diana Schemo:You know, if it's somebody that you click with, and you trust each other, and, you know, you're kind of in a good space, you know, when it works, it can work beautifully. So I would say that's my best advice, you know, be careful, but make a friend.
Rob Lee:That's so good. Thank you. That's that's really good. I'm I'm feeling that, especially some of the stuff that I've maybe shared a little bit earlier before we got started and making a friend is is very important and friendship. Yeah, it's important.
Rob Lee:It's very important.
Diana Schemo:Can I wait? Can I interrupt you for a second? Because I just wanted to add one thing to what I just said. Because that's also true for this festival that I'm doing. Like the festival, the idea was mine.
Diana Schemo:But if it was just me, it would have remained an idea. And it would never have become what it is. So every year from 2015, and, you know, and especially this year, which has been really, you know, a challenge in these changing times to put together the festival, I just have to say like I have an incredible team that works with me. And I just want to give them a bit of a shout out because they are working tirelessly. And, you know, there's anybody who's done a festival knows that there are buckets of frustration that go with it.
Diana Schemo:And they are just pros every step of the way. So I just wanted to give them a shout out because without them, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Rob Lee:Thank you. That's a really good point. And, you know, I've interviewed a few folks who are organizing festivals, parts of festivals, and hearing about it. It gives me a little bit of the sweats, and they're like, it's a lot of work that goes in to bringing it to fruition, and it's it's never really one person. So thank you for for shouting out the team.
Rob Lee:Hey, guys. Rob Lee here, chiming in the middle of the podcast, and we'll be right back to that in a moment. But I wanted to remind you that if you're following me on Instagram, and I hope you are the truth in his heart, make sure that you explore the links, link in bio. I know that people always talk about follow me, link in bio, and all of that, but there are some valuable stuff in there such as a survey for my newsletter. You've probably received the newsletter, and if not, definitely sign up for it.
Rob Lee:There's some interesting stuff there. We have profiles of certain guests. We have sort of, you know, curated episodes because we're around 800 right now, and, it's a lot to go through. And all of them won't be available on every platform all the time, so being able to revisit and go back there, to check out those episodes is important. So definitely check out the survey.
Rob Lee:Let us know what what you think of the newsletter and what you would like to have included in there, and continue to make this podcast, yours as well as mine's. And, yeah, back to the podcast, Rapid Fire. So, alright, here's here's the Rapid Fire piece. Because I got 2 of them for you, then we'll wrap up with that request that I have for you. So, you know, the first one is, what's a talent or skill that you have that most people have no idea that you have?
Rob Lee:Like, one of those hidden talents. Like, some people are gardeners, and it's like, yeah, I'm in a band, and I do punk, you know, music or what have you, but I also garden. It's like, I didn't know that.
Diana Schemo:Right. Yeah. Yeah. No. I I'm terrible with gardening.
Diana Schemo:I'm just, you know, plants see me and they wilt, you know. They're just like, no, don't come here. But I am a very good, I'm a very good sewer. Like I can sew clothes that are really nice. I haven't done it for ages because of time.
Diana Schemo:But my sister, who was older than me, taught me when I was a teenager. We didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up. But we lived in a community where looks really mattered. And she helped me kind of learn about sewing. She also taught me how to ice skate and everything else, but my big sister.
Diana Schemo:So yeah, so there's that. And I guess the other thing is not so much talent, but I love opera. I'm a huge opera fan, and will travel to see opera just to see opera. So that's probably 2 things people don't know.
Rob Lee:See, I like I like how you put a bonus one in there. It's like, you know, like when I talk to painters, you gotta use 3 colors. Well, here's my 4th one. It was like, alright, cool.
Diana Schemo:Right. Okay. Yeah. The play only holds 3.
Rob Lee:So this is the the the second one that I have for you. I'm I'm always about sort of that the dopamine hit, those endorphins, and all of that good stuff. What is a song or even an album that instantly puts you in a good mood?
Diana Schemo:I'm gonna botch his name maybe, but Israel Kamenikuyu, who does Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
Rob Lee:Okay. And
Diana Schemo:It's a Wonderful World.
Rob Lee:Gotcha. Yeah.
Diana Schemo:I love that song. I could listen to that all day.
Rob Lee:Yes. I I see you. I I I feel the same way about that song. It definitely puts me in a good mood. I was like, let me put that on quick.
Rob Lee:It's been a rough holiday.
Diana Schemo:A lot of people sang that song.
Rob Lee:Yes. And so so those are the 2 those are the 2 rapid fire ones, so thank you for indulging Sure. Rapid fire. In these final moments, there are 2 things I wanna do. 1, I wanna thank you for for spending some time with me coming on to the podcast, and and 2, I wanna make that request.
Rob Lee:If you could share with the listeners sort of those final details, like dates and all of that good stuff, website, the full is yours, please.
Diana Schemo:Thank you. So the festival website is, dxfest dotcom, like short for festival, dxfest.com. And the dates are November 7th to 10th. It takes place, the symposium pieces and some of the select screenings are at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Downtown DC, which some people will know as the museum space. It's 555 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Diana Schemo:We have additional screenings at the Maple Heritage Center, which is at 701 Pennsylvania Avenue. We offer shorts, strands free to the public at Martin Luther King Library on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday around lunchtime. And we really welcome people to come. You can get tickets at the website or at the door. You know, we're really excited to have this out there.
Diana Schemo:And you know, want to see your listeners and everybody else in town coming to this.
Rob Lee:And there you have it, folks. I want to again thank Diana Schimmel for coming on to the podcast and sharing a bit about double exposure. And make sure that you pull up to the festival on November 7th through that that weekend. And for Diana Schemo, I'm Rob Lee saying that there's art, culture, and community in and around your neck of the woods. You've just got to look for it.
