I made my first international phone call Wednesday morning to interview a government ombudsman of Karachi, Pakistan.

He has written several journalistic books, most notably the in-depth and inspiring “Benazir Bhutto: A Political Biography.” He visited U.F. last summer for a six-week program, the U.S. State Department Institute on Journalism and Media. The College of Journalism and Communications hosted participants from 18 different countries, and I’m working on an article for the communigator about one of those participants in particular.

He’s a brilliant man who was a pleasure to interview. As a journalist, it’s always nice to to talk to someone who knows how things work and gives long, quotable answers. Makes my job a lot easier.

I opened the newspaper this morning to find a brief that stated there was violence in the streets of Karachi between pro- and anti-government supporters on Wednesday. I couldn’t believe it, so I read this article for the details: “7 Dead After Pro-Musharraf Lawyers Clash With Opponents in Pakistan.”

Yet I have a big problem with the way this story is reported across the board. The articles say this happened Wednesday, but they leave out the fact that there’s a 10-hour time difference between us on the east coast and Pakistan. My interview took place at 9 a.m. Gainesville time but 7 p.m. Karachi time.

So when did this violence occur there? Did it actually happen right after the interview? Right after I talked to him in that very city?

My maternal instincts kicked in - I wrote the ombudsman a very short e-mail, thanking him again for his time and asking if he is doing well after what happened. That might have been a little beyond my journalistic duty, but I’ll let you know when I hear word.