After working 35 years in broadcast journalism, Rebecca Force is now one of the leading instructors at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication.
Force initially earned a degree in biology, with a minor in geology, at Vassar College, before taking up a job as the account payable clerk for KPTV, a news station in Portland, OR. Two years later, Force started to pressure her superiors for a position in broadcast. “One might say I lucked into it. I really didn’t like accounting and I thought journalism would be incredibly fun.”
She started producing news stories the first day on the job. “I got thrown into the deep end of the pool.” Force said that learning to make an effective story, to engage people’s interests, is where the craft becomes interesting. “It doesn’t come overnight. You learn to write by writing,” she said.
As her career developed, Force said she felt a sense of accomplishment. “I don’t think that in covering small market television news you’re going to necessarily have the opportunity to cover the next Pulitzer Prize winning story,” she said “but I do think that you can earn a place of trust in letting a community know what is happening in it, to it, for it. That’s a real service.”
Force said she believes democracy is well served by the body of the populace knowing what is going on around them. “Quality news is important,” she said. “I have what I call the 50-year rule. If news is not done well today, it probably won’t make a difference tomorrow, but in 50 years it’ll make a difference. News needs to be done well.”
In the spring of 2010, Force was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts and Science’s Silver Circle in honor of her years of service in television. “I was in credibly surprised. Most of the time that goes to people who work in the larger markets, but I guess if you’re around long enough you just might get it.”
As a journalism instructor at the University of Oregon, Force has taught several classes and is the advisor for Duck TV, the school’s student-produced television program. “I’m 67 years old. I could retire tomorrow, but I won’t because I am still connected to the student body here and to this institution.”
Force said she thinks storytelling is the most crucial aspect of how we connect to one another, and that her career in communication has been highly rewarding. “Journalism has sort of been my life and it has not been without great reward. I now get to work with young people and help them turn the key in their careers.”
Force plans on remaining active on campus for the foreseeable future. “I want to do that until I drop dead in front of a class, which I think will be incredibly good for the students. They will have to then cover that and report on it.”
By Garrett Guinn