Laurent Peter: Pursuing unique voices and perspectives

As the Consider This team translates news stories into on-air conversations, each segment needs people who can provide unique and insightful perspectives. Laurent Peter, one of the Consider This interview producers, offers crucial support by finding and securing these guests. He also has a unique perspective, having lived in France, Germany, and the United States and traveled through six continents. In this Meet the Staff interview, Laurent explains his process, shares how he entered journalism, and provides advice for budding journalists.

Q. What makes for an ideal TV guest? How do you get ideas for guests?

A. There are multiple discussions among the senior staff before we [my fellow interview producers and I] move forward into research mode for the right voice to bring onto the show. … Once we get the green light, we go full force by digging through articles and websites, [searching for] experts and tapping into our own network to find the relevant voice that is able tell the story in a clear and concise way. Having lived a transatlantic life, I often tap into my own network when we cover international stories.

Bringing on a guest that has relevance and expertise is essential, and at the same time, we want to make sure a guest is able to hold a 7- to 10-minute discussion with [Consider This host] Antonio Mora, especially if they are first-timers on TV. Since it is television, it's important the guest has the ability to clearly communicate their experience to help drive the conversation. … Therefore, I often look for [prior] video appearances. But if they don’t have that, just speaking to them over the phone provides a glimpse into their comfort zone.

Like everything in journalism, it comes down to the story. Without the relevant story, that is factually vetted, there is no sense in [pursuing the segment]. At Consider This, each segment requires a different research process. Sometimes we focus on experts on foreign policy for a particular region — like Syria, Egypt, North Korea — which will drive the search towards [organizations like] The Council on Foreign Relations, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, or publications such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and of course, the wide Al Jazeera network.

If breaking news comes through — the Navy Yard shooting, the Philippines storm, and most recently, Mandela — we race to seek on-location voices that can include local blogs, and oftentimes social media has proven to be very effective.

Then there are segments that are current affairs-driven, but we have some leeway with time. The guests drive the appearance, because they have a book we want to cover, a documentary we want to discuss, or an article they authored that sparks a one-on-one conversation with Antonio. [We've featured] David Rohde's extensive profile on John Kerry for Reuters and Maajid Nawaz coming on set to talk about the U.S. release of his autobiography "Radical." These segments may take a week or at times a month [to book], but we know it is well worth the wait.

We are constantly researching and accumulating new stories. As was emphasized by our senior executive producer [Aaron Volkman], the show needs our collaborative effort in coming up with story ideas, especially since everyone brings unique experience to the table. 

Q. How did you decide to pursue journalism?

A. I've been photographing since my late teens. … Photography has been my pillar and tool to dive into communities, from spending time with Omani fisherman in the city of Sur, to stopping by an aboriginal community in Australia, to more recently photographing [ethnic communities in] Bay Ridge and Crown Heights, Brooklyn. I learned early on that no story is too small, especially when it is done through a lens.

I then worked in publishing and as a producer for digital media assignments that were project-driven and for the most part done to appease to corporate clients. Shortly after graduation, with an international business degree, I dabbled in the film industry before venturing into a unique publishing [company] that allowed for extensive travel, but with little fulfillment when it came to the work, since it was sponsor-driven.

Based in New York City, I worked multiple jobs, including recording some voiceovers in French, as I built a boutique digital agency and made my way to a small UN-based press agency called MediaGlobal. There, I helped the team build a website and push their visual journalism, [including photography and videos]. I have great respect for this small agency, as it covers stories on the least-developed countries, but I knew I had to focus on a journalism career.

I applied for Columbia [University's graduate] journalism program and once I was accepted, my path was journalism path was solidified. As I often did with my photography, I was now able to be fully immersed in the journalism world, with all the tools needed to research and report stories — all very helpful as an interview producer.

Q. Are there stories that you feel the news neglects?

A. I think it's more about how the news covers the key issues at hand. For the most part, the news networks skim important issues such as immigration, poverty, health care, and education, for example, with a story here and there. They oftentimes neglect to give local voices enough airtime, to allow the audience to truly dive into their world. In the digital world, one can find the stories if they want to find them, but when it comes to television news or network news websites, few take the time to cover the local voices on a daily basis. Of course, there are exceptions, such as magazine style-shows like 60 Minutes, [Christiane] Amanpour's multiple shows, PBS' Frontline, Charlie Rose's interviews and online platforms like MediaStorm.

I must say that I've always been bothered by headlines that catch fire and blanket other important stories for days on end, which seems to be a specialty among the larger U.S. networks. It is so important for an audience to not be blindfolded to what else is happening throughout the country and around the world. I observed U.S. news organizations skimming through local stories that have national relevance. In Europe, the reportage style of digging deeper into a story seems to be more embedded into the daily news digest.

Q. What's your favorite story that you've covered and what did you learn from it?

A. I do not have a favorite one, per se, but one that came full circle was the [Consider This] segment to discuss the special immigrant visa (SIV) that was created for Iraqi and Afghan translators who worked with U.S. soldiers during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. I reached out to Matt Zeller, an Afghan veteran, to join the conversation since he was fighting for his own translator, Janis Shinwari, to receive the visa, since Janis aided Matt in Afghanistan and literally saved his life.

Since Janis was in hiding he was not able to join us from Afghanistan, but we invited another Iraqi translator who joined us from Baghdad, via Skype. He was willing to come on as long as we hid his identity. The segment gave the audience a glimpse into the challenges of receiving this new visa.

Weeks later, I started my day by skimming through the headlines, and lo and behold, CBS announced that Janis had just arrived to the U.S. [CBS This Morning] filmed Matt and Janis’ airport reunion. I immediately called Matt to see if he could come on the show with Janis. I briefed the team and that evening Matt and Janis came on Consider This to discuss their reunion and the importance of this day, as Janis started his new life with his family. This story came full circle. I'm currently working on another story that may also encompass a reunion. 

The most challenging stories involve breaking news, when we have three hours to find a voice, especially if we want to push for an international angle, like Syria. Or during the Navy Yard shooting, where we wanted to tell the story without overanalyzing, before the hard facts came out. This is where the teamwork really comes into play, as we each take a different avenue to cover the ground to get that relevant voice that evening or the following day. We often lead the show with the latest news, so the team will tap into our respective network.

Looking back, there are so many stories that we've covered and I can only imagine what is to come as Consider This pushes the envelope with unique stories. The ability to bring the audience into D.C. politics at the top of the show then bring them to Iran or Jordan, for example, and then bring them back to the U.S. to discuss a cultural issue makes every day a very unique journey in the office.

Q. What advice would you give someone who is entering journalism?

A. Curiosity and persistence, in my humble opinion, are two key components in journalism. Without curiosity, I cannot see how one would want to dive into stories day in and day out, to not only stay on top of the news, but to seek out the untold stories. I've always been curious and whether it was in a form of photography or talking to strangers, it's embedded in me. … Persistence paves the way to surpass the countless challenges that come with this industry, especially when we are talking about convincing an individual to tell one's story on national TV. Digging through the Web for a unique voice, on deadline, definitely requires both intense curiosity and persistence.

This interview has been condensed and edited.