GLOBAL JOURNALISM

Three Perspectives

An idea of “global” journalism World: More connected People: More mobile National economy: Tied to global

markets News moves faster Internet: No national borders

Global issues in the news Climate change & global warming Economy and trade Disease outbreaks, such as bird flu

(avian influenza) Nuclear disasters, such as Fukushima,

Japan (2011) Terrorism Human trafficking

A question

In the past, newspapers used to have a separate section called “foreign news.”

Today, is any news really “foreign”?

Global issues in the news Entertainment: Fans of Lady Gaga are

interested in her, regardless of which country she visits

Politics: Educated people want to know what happens in foreign elections, especially when the country is large and important (like Egypt)

Crime and oddity: But what about Etan Patz? (Global importance?)

Aspects of global journalism A style of reporting and analyzing news

events People: Journalists around the world Reporting from other countries: Same

story, different viewpoints / The foreign correspondent

A style of reporting and analyzing news events

Global Journalism (1)

A new style of news?

Peter Berglez says global journalism is “an emerging news style.”

Berglez is a Swedish researcher in communications, and an associate professor at Örebro University, Sweden.

Peter Berglez

View the world as one place

Put events into their proper contexts, using analysis and in-depth coverage

See the whole picture

Journalism should:

Peter Berglez

Until now, researchers have only compared news coverage and journalism practices by comparing different countries ...

Research about global journalism The culture of journalism and mass

media in different countries Journalism ethics: Similarities and

differences, theory and practice Avoiding cultural stereotypes and

Euro-centrism in news reports How news is reported from military

conflicts in different parts of the world

... but Peter Berglez has offered a new perspective.

Global journalism is: More than just

international news reporting

Related to globalization, which involves “ongoing relations between regions and peoples”

Peter Berglez

Global journalism is:

An ongoing journalistic practice with an everyday routine of investigating how people and their actions, etc., in different parts of the world are interrelated

(Berglez, 2007, p. 151)Peter Berglez

Berglez gives us a definition of global journalism as a new kind of news reporting, which is very well suited for the increasing interconnectedness of our world today.

Berglez gives us a definition of global journalism as a new kind of news reporting, which is very well suited for the increasing interconnectedness of our world today.

Journalism (at its best) can help us understand the world, and our own place in the world.

An example from Indonesia

An example from IndonesiaForest Loss in Sumatra “Here on the island of Sumatra, about 1,200 miles from the global climate talks under way on Bali, are some of the world’s fastest-disappearing forests … Responding to global demand for palm oil, which is used in cooking and cosmetics and, lately, in an increasingly popular biodiesel, companies have been claiming any land they can.”

—nytimes.com, 6 Dec. 2007Quoted by Berglez (2008, pp. 848–849)

“Global journalism is thus not a theory waiting to be tested, or something yet to arrive. It already exists.”

(Berglez, 2008, p. 847)

By showing the connections between people and events … by showing how the actions in one place produce a result in another place … global journalism makes people smarter and prepares them for making good decisions.

Journalists around the world

Global Journalism (2)

Journalism’s people

Studies and surveys about reporters in many different countries

Compare their work, the tasks they do Attitudes toward their work Ethics Their pay and working conditions Their education Their age, and other demographic data

“The Global Journalist”

Survey: More than 30,000 journalists in 33 countries Many similarities

among journalists, regardless of their home country

Differences in ethical practices and values

David Weaver

Two of Weaver’s 11 books

The Global Journalist in the 21st Century: News People Around the World (published 2012) *

The American Journalist in the 21st Century: U.S. News People at the Dawn of a New Millennium (published 2006)David Weaver

* Weaver published a similar study in 1998

Some differences in ethics Is it acceptable to use personal documents

without permission? U.S. journalists: 40 percent say yesAll journalists: Average of 23 percent say yes

Is it acceptable to pay for secret info? U.S. journalists: Only 32 percent say yesIndonesian journalists: 60 percent say yes

Is it acceptable to claim to be someone else to get information? All journalists: Average of 32 percent say yes

Is it acceptable to harass sources? All journalists: Average of 37 percent say yes

Why are they different?

The country’s politics and government Cultural and historical differences in the

journalism profession Prediction about journalists is difficult:

For example, Sweden and Demark are very similar countries, but the journalists surveyed in each had very different responses to Weaver’s survey

Survey findings

Average age of a journalist: 39 U.S. journalists average slightly older

There are more women in journalism now than in the pastBut women do not stay in the profession as

long as men, especially in the U.S. An average of 82 percent of journalists

worldwide hold university degreesBut only about 45 percent were journalism

majors

Some points of agreement Reporting quickly Reporting objectively Providing entertainment (the news

should be interesting) Not revealing confidential sources

Most journalists agree that these are good goals, good behaviors.

While the basic job description of a journalist is similar everywhere, the traditions, values, and morals of journalists around the world are very different.

(How does it affect the content of their news reporting?)

Many of the differences are related to education and training.

Well-trained journalists see journalism as:

A mission A service to society A way to improve the nation

Summary: The global journalist

In Weaver’s research, the “global journalist” means all journalists, all around the world

Weaver studies what is different (and what is the same) about journalists and how they work

His research gives us a question: What are the conditions that make the journalists behave and work differently?

Reporting from (and about) other countries

Global Journalism (3)

The Global Journalist: News and Conscience in a World of Conflict

This 2002* book has a very different focus from Weaver’s book:

International news reporting.

These reporters used to be called “foreign correspondents.”

Philip Seib* This book is somewhat outdated now

A better book (newer: 2009)

This book has a similar focus to Seib’s book ...

But here, each chapter is written by a different international news reporter.

International News Reporting: Frontlines and Deadlines

Two facts

Everybody has a point of view Journalism is supposed to be

“objective”

A recent example

I will show 4 screens of text taken from a press release (May 23, 2012)

Then I will show two newspaper articles (from two different newspapers) on May 24, 2012

Both newspapers wrote about the same news that is in the press release

From the Asian Human Rights Commission

Today, the Indonesia's human rights record was reviewed by the UN Human Rights Council in the 13th session of the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, Switzerland. Key issues, such as the protection of freedom of religion or the human rights situation in Papua, were raised by many UN Member States participating in the review.

May 23, 2012

http://www.humanrights.asia/

Press Release

From the Asian Human Rights Commission

“The responses by the government of Indonesia to the issues and human rights violations discussed during the review were deeply disappointing, as they often contained only denials and showed a lack of respect for victims and their rights,” noted Wong Kai Shing, Executive Director of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).

May 23, 2012

http://www.humanrights.asia/

Press Release

From the Asian Human Rights Commission

… Many of the AHRC and ALRC’s concerns were shared by states conducting the review. Sweden, Germany and Switzerland, for example, expressed concerns regarding the persecution of religious minority groups in Indonesia, including Ahmadiyah, Christians, Shiites and the Baha’i. …

May 23, 2012

http://www.humanrights.asia/

Press Release

From the Asian Human Rights Commission

A number of states, including France, Japan and New Zealand, raised the situation in Papua, which includes widespread violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as unlawful restrictions of freedom of expression and assembly. France called in particular for access to Papua to be granted to foreign journalists. The US and Germany raised articles 106 and 110 of the Penal Code which are used abusively against activists in Papua.

May 23, 2012

Press Release

May 24, 2012

May 24, 2012

Compare:

“The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has praised the Indonesian government’s efforts to promote human rights, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.” (first paragraph: Jakarta Post)

“Indonesia is facing fresh criticism over its human rights record following a year of continued unrest and the jailing of leading political activists in Papua.” (first paragraph: Sydney Morning Herald)

May 24, 2012

May 31, 2012

Aspects of international news Who is the reporter? (background,

experience, language skills)Local reporter, native speakerForeign reporter

What is the story? (for example, Lady Gaga? Or violence in Papua?)

What is the interest level in the receiving country? (near or far? Friends or enemies?)

What kind of news about Indonesia is seen in the foreign newspapers and TV news?

Search on Google News for “indonesia”

Lady Gaga Cancels Indonesian Concert After Threat (The Wall Street Journal and many others)

Child addicts at heart of Indonesia anti-smoking suit (Chicago Tribune and others)

Australian foreign minister denies making deal to get high-profile Indonesia inmate clemency (The Washington Post) Indonesia says to release Australian Corby in 2017 (Agence

France-Presse) Corby must spend five years in Indonesia (Sydney Morning

Herald) IOI Plans Palm Oil Refinery in Indonesia as Production

Expands (Bloomberg News) Landslide kills 6 gold miners in Indonesia

(Sacramento Bee and others) From May 27, 2012

Most news about foreign countries concerns wars, elections, and natural disasters.

April 27, 2012

May 3, 2012

The same freelance journalist, Sara Schonhardt, wrote about Aceh and also the previous story, about the Indonesia Mengajar program in Gobang, West Java.

May 1, 2012

The same journalist, Sara Schonhardt, also wrote about a solar power workshop, held in Jakarta.

(Who chooses how your country is viewed, outside your country?)

http://sschonhardt.com/blog/

Facts to consider

Most of the news in any country will be news about that country

The news about other countries will be very limited

Big foreign countries (China, United States) will get more coverage

Neighbor countries (Singapore, Malaysia) will get more coverage

In an interconnected world, is it enough to get such limited information about all the other countries?

If you see news about another country on TV, ask yourself:

Who made this news report? What country does the reporter come

from? Why did the TV news decide to include

this report?

Indonesia’s global issues

Loss of rainforestsPalm oil plantations (perkebunan kelapa

sawit)Orang-utan habitats

Migrant workers (workers from Indonesia, working in other countries)

Human rights (especially in Papua; and also, religious freedom in all provinces)

How would these stories be different if the reporters interviewed the average people who are affected?

“Press release journalism” Lazy journalism Not original, not special, not really

valuable No original sources, just officials Lacks context Does not show the big picture

“Press release journalism” Lazy journalism Not original, not special, not really

valuable No original sources, just officials Lacks context Does not show the big picture Is NOT global journalism

“Envelope journalism”

Lazy journalism Not original, not special, not really

valuable No original sources, just officials Lacks context Does not show the big picture Is NOT global journalism

Global journalism: Review A style of reporting and analyzing news

events People: Journalists around the world Reporting from other countries: Same

story, different viewpoints / The foreign correspondent

Peter Berglez

Global journalism

Global journalists

Global journalism: ReviewAll three perspectives encourage us to think about the effects of journalism:

What kinds of journalism can help people understand the world?

How can journalism become better?

Today, we all have choicesMembers of the public can use the Internet to check facts and compare stories.

Citizens can demand better reporting and more global perspectives in the journalism from their own country.

Global citizen journalism: in English …

… and in local languages too

GLOBAL JOURNALISM

Three Perspectives

CONTACT http:// mindymcadams.com