Step into Beth Knobel’s office, and you’ll discover that she is not only an Emmy Award-winning journalist, but also an avid Mets fan and a taekwondo black belt holder.
Below, take a look at some of Knobel’s most fascinating possessions in the first installment of our What’s on Your Desk? series, where we highlight interesting objects and keepsakes displayed by professors in their offices.
‘The Mets Deserve Their Little Corner of Fordham’
Knobel has a “Mets shrine” on her bookshelf, home to bobbleheads, a replica of Shea Stadium, and more. “The Bronx is Yankees country, but I feel like the Mets deserve their little corner of Fordham,” said Knobel. “I made my peace with the Yankees, thanks to people like Michael Kay, as well as Justin Shackil and Ryan Ruocco, who were in my very first class I taught at Fordham. I’m so happy for their success.”
(Future) Taekwondo Master Knobel
Knobel is a third-degree black belt in taekwondo who proudly displays her first and second degree black belts in her office. “I’m scheduled to go up for my fourth-degree black belt in June, which is the first rank of mastery. People at my taekwondo school will have to call me Master Knobel. I will be the first woman at my school to make master, so that’s super exciting,” she said.
An Autograph from the Last Leader of the Soviet Union
Knobel cherishes her autographed photo of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union. “This was a 40th birthday present from a friend at CBS who knew that I admired Gorbachev greatly. I wrote my dissertation about Gorbachev and how he used the press as a strategic tool in governing. That’s why I started going to Russia. I actually fell in love with a Russian journalist on my first trip, and then eventually moved there,” said Knobel, who served as the Moscow bureau chief at CBS News for seven years.
Advice to an Afghan President on How Not to Get Assassinated
Pinned to a bulletin board behind her desk are press passes from her 20-year career as a journalist, including passes for the Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan and a U.S. presidential visit to Russia. Beside her own press passes are her son’s. “When I was a foreign correspondent, my son needed an accreditation card as a member of my family to enter the country,” she said. “You can see him growing up in those little cards.”
There are also photos of Knobel with former colleagues, including Scott Pelley and Bill Owens from CBS News—and even well-known political figures. “That’s Hamid Karzai, back when he was president of Afghanistan, and our team interviewing him in 2002,” Knobel said, pointing to a group photo. “We gave him advice on how to not get assassinated.”
A Message from ‘The Most Trusted Man in America’
Knobel also has an autographed photo of revered American journalist Walter Cronkite. “It would be fascinating to talk with him today about the importance of objectivity,” she said. “In the Cronkite years, TV news didn’t tell people what to think—but what to think about. Not all news does that anymore.”
An Emmy for Covering a Hostage Crisis in Russia
Knobel earned an Emmy for her role as a producer in CBS News’s coverage of the 2002 Moscow theater siege, where nearly 1,000 people were taken hostage by terrorists.
“As a producer, you’re aiding the correspondent, looking at the script and making suggestions, talking to the cameraman and editor to make sure they’re getting all the pictures that they need, and putting it together in a way that makes sense to a viewer who doesn’t know a lot about Russia or this hostage situation,” said Knobel. “I remember sitting in a car, two blocks away from where this was going on, and feeling so powerless to help those people inside, but trying to make sure that whatever we reported was accurate and fair.”
A Miniature Burqa for a Barbie Doll
At first glance, a blue cloth sitting atop a stack of plastic cups doesn’t seem unique. But it’s actually a burqa for Barbie dolls—a keepsake from Knobel’s reporting trip to Afghanistan.
“It’s a reminder to me of how different our world is, yet the same. Everyone plays with dolls and dresses them in their native clothing,” said Knobel. “To me, all of my work as a teacher and a journalist has essentially been about bringing understanding to the world. It’s a representation of how journalism is the coolest job in the world.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
