After reporting as a foreign correspondent in Beirut, Paris, Sarajevo and Berlin for 20 years, Roger Cohen became editor of The New York Times’ foreign desk on Sept. 11.

But his orientation to running the desk was not quite what he envisioned.

The day’s terrorist attacks altered the way American reporters will cover international news in the future, he told more than 75 people Monday in Fisk 211 as part of the Literature of Fact lecture series.

“(Sept. 11) has certainly opened American eyes to many things,” Cohen said. “Foreign correspondence has never been more essential.”

As Cohen dropped his son off at school that morning, someone shouted that a World Trade Center tower was on fire, he said. He tried to get closer to the scene by traveling to Times Square on one of the last subways into the city, Cohen said.

But the day’s events also reminded Cohen of the importance of family. His daughter Adele turned 4 years old on Sept. 11, paralleling her grandmother’s birth on Sept. 1, 1933 – which became an infamous date exactly six years later when the Nazis invaded Poland.

“History moves in strange patterns,” Cohen said. “Adele’s birthday is September 11, and she is the granddaughter of Amalia, born on September 1, 1933. My wife Frida is a bridge between the wars.”

Since Sept. 11, the demand for foreign news has increased because of the ongoing war in Afghanistan and heightened interest in the Arab world, he said.

“I think Americans are asking themselves a lot more questions about the world since Sept. 11, especially ‘Why don’t they like us?'” Cohen said.

Cohen also discussed the kidnapping and death of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, expressing profound sadness and disgust at Pearl’s murder.

“What is different with Pearl is that he was lured into a trap and targeted because he was an American and a Jew,” Cohen said. “Pearl needed contacts in Karachi just as I did (in Beirut). He was not allowed to do his job.”

Pearl’s death has caused newspapers such as The New York Times to pull their reporters out of dangerous areas such as Karachi, he said.

“When you go into an area of conflict, no matter how much caution you take, at the very least you need the absence of bad luck,” Cohen said. “I don’t see any alternative to trying to go out as we do as journalists. You can’t know what (is) going on unless you open the door.”

Asked to predict future foreign hot spots, Cohen focused on the violence in the Middle East.

“The Middle East will be a major story, as will the situation in China,” he said. “I feel strongly that Africa is a major issue.”

Medill Prof. Marda Dunsky, a former reporter for the Jerusalem Post who attended Cohen’s lecture, said she agrees that the media will continue to focus on the Islamic world after Sept. 11.

“There is no question that the Middle East will continue to be a big story because there is no visible end in sight and it has much broader implications for American interests,” Dunsky said. “There will certainly be other compelling stories such as South America, but I think that focal points will be east of there.”

Medill freshman Mike Saccone said he was impressed with Cohen’s knowledge of foreign affairs, but he added that he expects news coverage to switch back to domestic issues.

“I think as we get further from September 11 the demand for foreign news is going to shrink,” Saccone said. “America is inherently isolationist. The desire for immediate gratification won’t include foreign news.”