Media Coverage

Media Coverage and Additional Information

“I am far from denying that newspapers in democratic countries lead citizens to do very ill-considered things in common; but without newspapers there would be hardly any common action at all. So they mend many more ills than they cause.” – Alexis de Tocqueville, French observer who traveled the U.S. in 1831 and drafted his classic, Democracy in America

A number of projects with which I have been involved have been the subject of considerable public interest, debate, and media attention over the years. While for years I listed on my campus bio that I preferred no contact from the press, it seems they still got access to me, and so I responded.

VIDEO CLIPS AND INTERVIEWS:

Wesleyan University: Dialogue with The Foundation for Religious Diplomacy

H.E.L.P. Honduras: Stories in the Founding of H.E.L.P. International, NGO

MIRDEC: Interview in Hungary Scholars from The Masters International Interview Series

Microfinance for Beggars, Addicts, and Thieves

Ouelessebougou Alliance, NGO: Stories from Mali, Africa

25th Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies Network: Rwanda, Africa

Sermon at The United Church of Christ on Labor Sunday 2013

Sustain Haiti, NGO, After the Devastating Earthquake

Changing the World: A Life of Authenticity in Retirement

OTHER THOUGHTS AND REFERENCES:

Key efforts regarding quality of work and industrial democracy have resulted in media coverage on national television programs such as The Today Show, Bill Moyers Journal, P.M. Magazine, NBC News, 20/20, The Phil Donahue Show, ABC Nightline, McNeil – Leher Report, 60 Minutes, as well as radio programs locally, nationally, and the Voice of America internationally.  Major press coverage has included The Wall Street Journal, De Moines Register, Los Angeles Times, and magazines such as Business Week, Fortune, U.S. News and World Report, Forbes, Newsweek, Dunn’s Review, Industry Week, and Nation’s Business.  Much of this work has also been analyzed in academic journals and social change literature such as World of Work Reports, Dissent, Co-op Magazine, Workplace Democracy, Working Papers for a New Society, In These Times, and Mother Jones.  Portions of research have been excerpted in the Daily Labor Report, Boardroom Reports, Christian Science Monitor, and Conference Board Research Bulletin.

Plant closings and attempts to reopen them as worker-owned enterprises–Barbizon, NRP, and McNally–featured locally in the Provo Herald, Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, various radio and TV stations, and across the U.S. in the Minneapolis Tribune, Cleveland’s Plain Dealer, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Houston Chronicle, Denver Post, Indianapolis Star, San Diego’s Evening Tribune, Dallas Morning News, Virginian Pilot, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Internationally I have been interviewed for newspapers in Germany and the Netherlands, the Swedish labor publication, Arbetare (The Worker), featured in a television interview in Berlin regarding worker participation in capitalist and communist countries, interviewed on Polish radio in Warsaw, and had projects of mine covered in Britain’s The Economist, the Daily Express of London, and The Times.  Articles or portions of my research have been published in professional journals in Romania, Brazil, France, West Germany, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Great Britain, Peru, Mexico, Poland, and Jamaica.

My work with General Motor’s Fisher Body Factory was featured in a 1977 corporate videotape produced by GM entitled “Quality of Work Life:  Business Teams at Fisher Body”.  In 1980 I was featured in a commercially produced film made in New York, “In the Middle:  The Role of the Third Party in Labor/Management Cooperation.”  My role as consultant in the conversion to worker-ownership of Hyatt Clark Industries, New Jersey, was filmed for public television in 1982, narrated by Eric Sevareid, and has appeared nationally a number of times as a documentary entitled, “Buyout.”

I’ve also participated in several talk shows discussing such issues as Dislocated Workers, New Work Structures, Career Paths, Women and Management.  These include KBYU Radio (December 1, 1980), KUTV “Take Two,” KSTV Channel 20 “Contact” (November 26, 1980), KSL Television “Face to Face” (January 12, 1981), KZJO Radio (May 4, 1983), KDYL Radio (July 19, 1984), Radio 107.5 Talk Show (September 1, 1985), Channel 4 on “Upcoming Bargaining Talks” (November 24, 1985),  Radio KPFK Los Angeles “Sharing Ownership” (March 28, 1987), Honolulu TV “Island Journal” (May 25, 1987), Hawaiian Cable TV “U.S. Foreign Policy:  Necessity or Duplicity,” (January 15, 1987), and other programs in Denver, Philadelphia and Iowa.  Presentations and talk shows also include KTALK Radio September 12, 1989 on “Business Ethics,” “U.S. Foreign Policy and War in the Middle East,” Channels 2, 4 and 5 (January 15, 1991), Global Economics and the Problems of International Poverty,” Radio 960 KFMY (September 17, 1991); “Corporate Downsizing’s Social Consequences,” Radio KCPW (January 12, 1996), as well as “Playing Employee Hardball Hurts Everyone, BYU Professor Says” (Daily Herald, August 24, 1996); KBYU Television News Analysis on Geneva Steel’s Downsizing (March 27, 1997).

The research on “De-Steeling” resulted in a number of provocative discussions in the Utah and national media during 1984 including AP, UPI, The Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, Daily Herald,; TV Channels 2, 4, 5, 11; and radio programs or news broadcasts on KFTN, KJVO, KBYU, KDYL, KSL, and KEYY.  Such discussions have launched a serious planning effort to create economic alternatives in the region.  Presentations and consultations were made at the request of various groups:  Utah State Public Utilities Commission, State Tax Commission, Department of Economic Development, local mayors and city councils, Provo Chamber of Commerce, Save Geneva Coalition, and Mountainlands Association of Governments.

The problems of Utah’s economy brought a number of media appearances in late 1985 and early 1986 including interviews in Utah newspapers, The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Philadelphia Inquirer.  There were talk shows on KCPX and KDYL radio as well as KUTV and KSL-TV.  Channel 2 featured me in “Project 2,000:  Utah’s Economy in the 21st Century” (February 26, 1986).  There were several interviews (Channel 11, March 4, 1986) on “Small Businesses and the Local Economy,” and a feature story published in The Small Business Promoter, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1986.  On February 9, 1986 I was featured in a one hour debate with Utah’s Director of Economic Development on KUTV’s “Take Two.”  I was a guest on a talk show, “Coping with Foreign Trade Deficits”, July 3, 1986, radio KUER in Salt Lake City, with state AFL-CIO president Ed Mayne and U.S. Congressman Howard Nielson.

My analysis of the U.S. labor movement led to 30-60 minute participation on talk shows such as ABC Talk Radio 63 (April 9, 1985), Radio 5DN in Sidney, Australia (May 13, 1985), Newsbeat–Cable TV (March 28, 1985), various news broadcasts, and I was a guest on the NBC nationally televised program Late Night America (October 11, 1984).

I was invited to lead a group of 40 small business owners, local government officials, school teachers, steelworkers, and other citizens from Utah to testify at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. as part of a national “Communities in Distress” campaign (June 16-17, 1986).  The innovative, worker-owned co-op Dr. Chris Meek and I designed and implemented with business and engineering students was featured in an educational film, EQUITECH: Integrating Manufacturing and Progressive Worker Ownership(1992).

The work of the International Enterprise Development Foundation (IEDF), now known as Enterprise Mentors International, has received growing attention, resulting in a number of requests for presentations in Utah and media coverage, such as “`Y’ on Line with Enterprise Assist,” The Daily Herald (July 27, 1992), as well as articles in BYU Today (August 1992),  The Deseret News (September 10, 1992), and The Post-Register, Idaho Falls (August 21, 1994), Philippine News (September 6, 1995; January 1, 1997), St. Louis Post-Dispatch (January 9, 1997).  Also a chapter in a book, When Workers Decide (Len Krimerman and Frank Lindenfeld, eds., Philadelphia, New Society Press, 1992).  My work in Eastern Europe and the ex-USSR appeared as the cover story, “Inventing a New Society,” BYU International, Vol. 10, No. 1, October 1992, pp. 1, 3-4, as well as a series of articles in the San Diego Universe-Tribune, “Learning From Capitalism,” 1993.

Projects to create a technical assistance program in Africa for micro entrepreneurs, along with a village banking system and producer cooperatives have been featured in The Daily Herald (January 3, 1996); The Daily Universe (January 10, 1996); Deseret News (January 5, 1996); The Salt Lake Tribune (December 21, 1996); and the Utah County Journal (1997); “Utahns Build Wells, Provide Jobs in Mali,” The Universe (February 17, 1998); “BYU Adopts African Tribe,” NewsNet (September 21, 1999); a film for public viewing, “Mission for Life” on OUA was produced and shown in 1993; “Ouelessebougou-Utah Alliance Village Bank Program in Africa,” featured on Channel 1, Mali National Television.  There were also brief news clips (December 13, 1998); a half-hour documentary on Alliance development programs (December 14, 1998); and a 20 minute film in 1997 “Making a Difference in Africa.”

My book, Working Toward Zion, has received considerable notice since its publication.  Sources include The Daily Universe, “Authors Study LDS Economic Development” (June 26, 1996); The Daily Herald, “Book Offers Suggestions for Applying the United Order Now” (June 27, 1996); The Salt Lake Tribune, “Can LDS Aid Meet Demand of 3rd World?” (July 13, 1996).  I was also interviewed on half hour media programs including radio stations such as KSGI (St. George, June 19, 1996); KENZ (107.5 of Salt Lake, June 21, 1996); KFAM (Salt Lake, June 23, 1996); as well as KBYU television (June 19, 1996).  Book reviews in the media include “Working Toward Zion Explores Capitalism, United Order,” The Daily Herald, (January 6, 1997); “LDS Essays Assess Life in the Next Century”, The Salt Lake Tribune, (April 17, 1999); “Intellectuals Need to Help Others, Speaker Says,” Deseret News (July 15, 1999).

Other Third World development programs that student and business collaborators and I have worked on have been the topic of a number of media stories on “social entrepreneurship” such as “The ‘Poorest of the Poor’ Targeted in BYU-sponsored Conference,” International (Winter 1998, pp. 14-15); “Microcredit Conference at BYU,” Deseret News (February 4, 1998); “Conference to Discuss Poverty,” The Daily Universe (February 5, 1998); “Microcredit Helps Ease Poverty in the World,” Deseret News (February 6, 1998); “BYU Conference Touts Group that Makes Loans to Empower the Poor,” The Salt Lake Tribune (February 8, 1998); “Creating Zion,” Interview on 5 radio stations conducted by nationally-known investment advisor and author Wade Cook, (Winter 1998); “BYU Students Fight Poverty,” The Daily Universe (July 30, 1998); “Bank Fights World Poverty,” The Daily Universe (September 18, 1998); “High in the Andes,” Church News (November 7, 1998, pp. 8-10); “Utah Group Puts Building Skills to Work,” The Salt Lake Tribune (September 26, 1998).

During 1999 several global efforts were featured including “Microcredit Loans Making a Major Difference Worldwide,” Deseret News (March 20, 1999); “Microcredit Sparks Big Changes,” The Daily Universe (March 29, 1999); “Banishing Poverty to Museums and History Books,” (article on my projects and BYU’s growing involvement in microcredit) Brigham Young Magazine (Spring 1999, pp. 35-39); “Students Give Aid in Nigeria,” The Daily Universe (July 21, 1999); “Conference Helps Others Become Self-Sufficient,” The Daily Universe (July 29, 1999); “Y Students Give Fijians New Hope,” The Daily Universe (October 11, 1999); “International Strengthening of the Family,” Woodworth interview on KBYU-TV, Channel 11 (November 23, 1999); “Y Students Serve,” The Daily Universe (December 7, 1999).

Several of the long-term Third World development programs we have created have been produced as film/video documentaries including: “The Business of Humanity,” 1995 commercial video on producer co-ops and microenterprise training (21 minutes); “Building Self-Reliance,” 1996 on Enterprise Mentors International (15 minutes); “Building the Filipino Spirit,” 1995 (12 minutes); “A New Heart,” 1999, on our Peru program in the Sacred Valley of the Inca (13 minutes); “Chasqui: Legacy of Empowerment,” 2000; and our Mali, Africa indigenous NGO has been featured in two videos, “I Remember Africa,” 1997; and “Ouelessebougou Village Development,” 1999 (11 minutes).

The services of 46 volunteers I took to Honduras in 1999 after the ravages of Hurricane Mitch resulted in considerable media coverage as we dug mud from homes, rebuilt bridges and houses, delivered babies, reopened schools and gave other kinds of humanitarian service, as well as organizing 47 new village banks.  Stories appeared in the following: “BYU Students to Create Banks,” The Daily Universe (January 21, 1999); “Students Help Honduras,” NewsNet (March 30, 1999); “BYU Students Want to Help Hondurans Help Themselves,” The Daily Herald (April 10, 1999); “Students Race to Support Hurricane Victims,” The Daily Universe (May 11, 1999); “Cypress Siblings Make Charity for Hondurans a Family Matter,” The Orange County Register (June 29, 1999); “Loans that Beat Poverty,” Deseret News (September 12, 1999); “Student Samaritans: Synergy in the Global Neighborhood,” (coverage of my student internships in Nigeria, Bulgaria, Guatemala and Honduras) Exchange Magazine (Fall 1999 issue, pp. 14-23). “Y Students on Humanitarian Crusade,” in The Daily Universe (March 13, 2000); “‘HELP’ to the Rescue,” NewNet (June 15, 2000) featured over 90 students and volunteers who each spent several months in four nations of Latin America.

Several of our Third World development efforts received media coverage including a new video: “Fighting Poverty: The HELP Honduras Story (1999); my being featured on the television program, “Contact,” KUED Channel 7, March 13, 2000; “Students Out to Save the World,” The Daily Universe (October 16, 2000); and Community Service” The College Times (October, 2000).

The work of our NGO, Mindanao Enterprise Development Foundation (MEDF) in the Philippines, was featured by Fred Ball, “Speaking on Business,” KSL News Radio 1160, November 28, 2000; Enterprise Mentors was featured in a full page article, “Getting It Started,” The Provo Daily Herald, July 2, 2000, and we were also in a 3 page article in the Church News, December 9, 2000 (pp. 8-10) entitled “A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out.”

The first ever LDS-related UNITUS Economic Summit, held October 10, 2000 in Salt Lake City, Utah, received considerable media attention including KUTV Channel 2, KTVX Channel 4, KSLTV Channel 5 and numerous radio stations.  The following newspapers also covered the story:  “Conference Seeks Solutions to Poverty,” Daily Universe (October 11, 2000); “President Hinckley Honored for Service,” Daily Universe (October 11, 2000); “Humanitarian Group Hails President Hinckley” Deseret News (October 21, 2000); “Daily Bread,” Salt Lake Tribune (October 14, 2000).  The humanitarian work of UNITUS also appeared in the international press including Tuhulu (Tonga), Der Stern (Germany) and L’Etoile (France) in 2001.

Humanitarian work of mine was also featured in the Deseret News, (June 16, 2000); a project of my students at HART: “Relief Team Helps Ghana Fight Illness,” in the Daily Universe (January 18, 2000); “King Supporters Share Dream with March, Service Activities, in the Provo Daily Herald (January 18, 2000); “Students Spread Microcredit Effort,” Brigham Young Magazine (Summer Issue 2000); and “Matter Unorganized: Be Inspired to be a Doer of the World,” Provo Daily Herald (October 21, 2000); and “Service Learning Turns to Action, “Deseret News (October 28, 2000).

Over a six month period I worked to arrange a special visit to Utah by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, founder and managing director of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh.  Ultimately, I succeeded in having him speak at a UNITUS Executive luncheon for a hundred “movers and shakers” in the Salt Lake business community, as well as a presentation to 900 BYU students and faculty at the launch of the 4th Annual Microenterprise Conference on campus.  Both events were held March 20, 2001 and Yunus agreed to also serve in an ongoing role as a member of the UNITUS Advisory Board, along with Chieko Okazaki and John Hatch, founder of FINCA International.

I was featured in a new university film celebrating the research and creative accomplishments of leading 10 BYU professors for being outstanding research mentors to our students.  The film was premiered at an ORCA banquet for BYU administrators, faculty and honor students, April 10, 2001. Our SOAR China partnership with the Chinese Guangxi Women’s Federation was featured in their booklet on rural development and microenterprise creation, Nanning City, Spring 2001.

I was interviewed about “Mormon Executives and Their Religious Values” on WIUM public radio in Macomb, Illinois, October 18, 2001; Also television station WWIR in Illinois, “Developing Global Change Agents,” October 19, 2001. My Third World economic development work was highlighted in a 22 minute BYU-produced video “Introduction to Microcredit” to be used in various courses across campus, from all twelve sections of the Marriott School’s “Management Suite” course (integrating business with religion) to graduate courses in social work, ecology, and Third World development, 2001.

During a 2 ½ week business trip to southern Brazil, I gave 11 speeches, presentations and/or workshops to over 2,000 government, academic, corporate and public participants.  Those efforts led to a number of PR and media events including a one hour panel discussion on TV Southern Brazil, interviews on local stations TVFLOR (Florianopolis TV), TVSC (Santa Catarina Television), Radio Crisul, Radio Garibaldi (in Laguna), and Radio FM in Criciuma.  Five newpaper articles were published containing my remarks as well.  Themes included U.S. Globalization, Third World Poverty, Microfinance Tools and Methods, as well as commentary on Brazil’s Progress Toward Modernization (June 18-29, 2001).

In 2001, I was invited to be the featured speaker at the following LDS events: Temporal Well Being of Poor Latter-day Saints: Training seminar for ten stake presidents in Curitiba, Brazil, July 1, 2001;  How Latter-day Saints are Transforming the Planet: Presentation to Florianopolis Stake Fireside, Brazil, June 17, 2001; The Gospel of Humanitarian Service:  Presentation to Tubarao Stake Fireside, Tubarao, Brazil, June 24, 2001.

I also gave a number of guest lectures to various Church and community groups in Utah including the following:  “Becoming a Global Faith” (August 15, 2001); “How Latter-day Saints Can Change the World” (August 16); “Building a Gospel-based Community” (August 17); “Love at Home” (August 19); “Self-Reliance as a Practical Goal” (August 20); “Practicing True Religion” (August 21); “Stewardship: Serving Those in Need” (August 23); “Working Toward Zion” (August 24); “Social Entrepreneurship” (August 29); “Establishing New Social Purpose Ventures” (August 30). I also spoke to students and families in the Midwest (Macomb, Illinois): “Unto the Least of These: Methods for Building Zion,” October 20, 2001.

In 2001 our microcredit efforts led to a number of media spots.  For example, radio clips included presentations at the following stations: KUER-FM 90.1 Salt Lake City; KLO-AM 1430 Ogden; KPCW-FM 91.9 Park City.  Months of work in arranging the visit to BYU of Dr. M. Yunus, Managing Director of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh led to news stories and interviews on KBYU-TV (March 20, 2001); The Daily Universe (March 20); “Speaker Calls for Loans to the Poor,” The Daily Herald (March 21); Y News (March 16); “Microcredit Stories to Help the Poor,” Daily Universe (March 21); Deseret News (March 23); Y News (March 30); “Microloans Give Entrepreneurs a Fighting Chance,” The Salt Lake Tribune (April 5), “Microcredit Thrives with Y,” Daily Universe (April 9); “Former Cougars Speak at Conference,” Daily Universe (April 9).  In addition, there was a major story in the LDS Church News, “Helping the Poor Help Themselves, and Then Each Other” (April 21, 2001).

“Perpetual Education Fund is a Hit,” Deseret News (April 1, 2001); “Mormons Answering the Prayer of Hinckley’s Perpetual Education Fund,” The Salt Lake Tribune (April 7); Media coverage of projects I started, managed, etc. included “Microenterprise at Marriott School,” Y-News (March 20); “BYU Humantarians to Hold Fundraiser,” Daily Universe (April 20); “Students Seeking Out Humanitarian Education,” Daily Herald (April 29); “May Luncheon to Feature Dr. Warner Woodworth,” Connections: The Newsletter of the Utah Valley Entrepreneural Forum, Vol. 12, No. 5, May 2001; “Chamber Honors Provo’s Best at Annual Smoot Awards,” Orem-Geneva Times (June 20); “Utah Group Builds Homes in Peru,” Daily Herald (August 1); “Graduating BYU Student Lays Groundwork for Microcredit Programs in China,” BYU News (August 15); “Small Loans for Self-Development,” Y-News (September 14); “Woodworth Speaks on H.E.L.P. Honduras,” Western Illinois Courier (October 22); “BYU Visits WIU,” Western Illinois Courier (October 23, 2001).

April 7, 2001 at the 4th Annual BYU Microenterprise Conference held April 5-7, 2001 it was announced that the Marriott School and microcredit organizations around the world had joined together to create the Warner P. Woodworth Humanitarian Service Prize to recognize outstanding leadership in the field of microfinance.  It will be an annual award that includes a Third World craft product as recognition, as well as a cash prize to be donated in the winner’s name to any nonprofit humanitarian organization of his or her choice.  In the spirit of becoming a global change agent, the Woodworth Humanitarian Prize will designate individuals who have truly transformed the world by their personal sacrifice, radical strategies, and long-term vision.

2002: Our microenterprise efforts at BYU were featured in various media sources including the following:  “30-Dollar Goat Helps Develop Self-Reliance,” Daily Universe, December 9, 2002;  “HELP Volunteers Teach Needy Families to be Self-Sufficient,” Provo Daily Herald, December 19, 2002; “Organization Mobilizes Students to Save Lives,”  Newsnet, September 24, 2002;  “Microcrédito e Passo para um Outro Mundo,” Correio do Povo (Brazil), February 4, 2002;  “Microfinance Provides Financial Services,” Daily Universe, Januarry 22, 2002;  “Americanos Participam no Forum Social Mundial,” Jornal do Centro, February 6, 2002.

During 2002, I offered free consulting advice, conducted workshops, gave speeches, and met with NGO leaders to increase their capacity and improve their effectiveness.  The following groups are the most relevant: Reach the Children (Sichuan); Enterprise Mentors (4 countries); Ouelessebougou-Utah Alliance (Mali, West Africa); HART (Ghana); NAME (Navajo Nation).

2003: Media coverage of my research and writing, as well as our field projects and/or quotes from me appeared in a number of international, national and local news outlets during 2003:  “Why Micro Matters,” (article on our Unitus NGO) Time Magazine, November 24, 2003; “Y Student Puts Money Where Heart Is—In Guatemala,”  Daily Universe, June 12, 2003;  “Some Microlenders Prove Good Causes and Profits Mix,” Dow Jones Newswire, August 13, 2003;  Microfinance Study by Professor and Student Earns Best Paper Award,” Marriott School’s Home Page, December 2003;  “Charity Makes $4.7M gift to India,” Puget Sound Business Journal, June 9, 2003;  “BYU Conference Centered Around Movement Dedicated to Creating Jobs, Fighting Poverty,” Provo Daily Herald, March 15, 2003;  “Ouelessebougou’s Impacts,”  Africa story featured on KSL Radio 1160—Fred Ball “Speaking on Business,” August 20, 2003;  “Microcredit Loans the Best Helping Hand,” Seattle Post Intelligencer, March 21, 2003;  “MicroEnterprise Conference Declared a Success,” Daily Universe, March 19, 2003;  “Loan Mentors Started at BYU is Moving into Peru,” Deseret News, March 21, 2003;  “Brazil Leaves Impression on LDS Church,” Salt Lake Tribune, April 5, 2003;  “Philanthropy is a Verb,” Synergos Institute: Global Giving Matters, February/March 2003;  “Provo Group Helping Salvadorans Stay Home,” Deseret News, July 6, 2003;  “Student Spends Summer in Service,” Newsnet,  BYU, April 29, 2003;  “Super Hero: Senior Swimmer Bill Betz Changes Lives,” Daily Universe, March 23, 2003; “BYU Forms Center for Economic Self-Reliance,” announcement of CESR on the Marriot School Home Page, June 5, 2003; “Utahns Experience Africa,” Salt Lake Tribune, August 24, 2003; “Funding Micro-Miracles,” BYU Magazine, Winter 2003;  “BYU Student, Professor Win Awards for Research,” Daily Universe, November 25, 2003;  “Business Leaders Optimistic About Reducing World Poverty,” The Oregonian, March 12, 2003.

Two innovative corporate projects I worked on have been written up as cases for the Harvard Business School.