International Reporting

The Baruch Journalism Students and Alumni Facebook group is live here.

Discussion

What is news?

There are a number of different, oft-overlapping factors that can make a story newsworthy. Most good stories have at least two or three of these.

1. Novelty: Is there an element of the unexpected? A twist of the usual narrative?

For journalism students everywhere. Today’s @southwalesargus front page. pic.twitter.com/Xb9PDIcQjd

— Adrian Masters (@adrianmasters84) June 14, 2014

Timeliness: In breaking news, you’re quick or you’re dead. But it’s important to be first AND to be right. Timeliness is also relevant when it comes to something called a news peg. Have a story about climate change that you think is great but which has been rejected by multiple editors? Try pitching it ahead of the global climate change summit. Have a story about the public health crisis caused by open defecation in India? Wait until World Toilet Day rolls around, then pitch it.

Impact/Consequence: Is it about something that will have a direct effect on someone, especially the outlet’s readership/viewership? Contaminated water, public school funding, etc.

Proximity: The above mentioned contaminated water isn’t particularly big news to a small town newspaper in Connecticut if it’s happening in Ukraine, but if it’s happening right in their town, that’s huge news.

Conflict: This is why people often criticize “the media” for being so negative, but it’s unavoidable to some extent. The millions of people who don’t get murdered each day aren’t news. The few who do are. Conflict doesn’t have to be violent or super dramatic; it just means that tension has arisen between people who want different things. Lawsuits, NIMBYs getting mad about vendors in their local parks, etc.

Human interest:  This is a little tricky to define, but generally speaking, people are interested in other people. Looking into someone else’s life as part of a well-told narrative appeals to human nature. Ideally, a human interest story will have some other news element to help it get some traction (a news peg of some sort). Some stories, like this one, are pegged to something that happened awhile ago but it was such a huge, news-cycle-dominating story when it happened that people remember it well and tend to prick up their ears when they see some sort of follow-up.

Prominence: Imagine this headline: “Area Woman Announces She’s Expecting Twins.” No one cares. Now try this: “Beyonce Announces She’s Expecting Twins.” Prominence is obviously a subjective thing, and it can sometimes be tricky when it comes to ethics because it plays into who is fair game as a public figure. That’s why this Gawker story was so controversial.

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Global news stories

Having gone over all of this, one way you guys can be assured of some news value in the stories you report this semester is to peg them to a larger “evergreen” issue. There are some topics that are almost always going to be newsworthy because they are ongoing sources of global conflict and impact, and it’s up to you to provide the proximity factor by looking for local angles on these international stories. So let’s take a look at some major issues affecting the world today and brainstorm some ways they affect people here in New York.

 

 

 

 

Climate change

Public health

Refugees and migration

Economic development

Labor issues

Women’s rights

 

Assignment

Due next class (Wednesday, because there’s no class Monday):

Pick a country (or stateless nation) as your beat for the semester and write a “beat memo.” In this document you will compile background information (languages spoken, religions practiced, history, most-read and most-viewed local news outlets, current events, demographics and popular neighborhoods for the immigrant community in New York) as well as contact info for relevant local and international sources whom you may call on for interviews and research throughout the semester.

Requirements

At least 800 words, not counting contact info
Should include quote or quotes from at least one interview with one of the people you’ve found

How to approach a potential source for a story?

 

The Wall Street Journal is a business-focused international newspaper based in New York City. The Journal is a global news organization that provides leading news, information, commentary and analysis. Published by Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal engages readers across print, digital, mobile, social, and video. Building on its heritage as the preeminent source of global business and financial news, the Journal includes coverage of U.S. & world news, politics, arts, culture, lifestyle, sports, and health. It holds 36 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism and even has an Asian and European edition. The Wall Street Journal is the largest newspaper in the United States by circulation.

 

Quartz concentrates on various amounts of subjects, but it’s mostly focused on statstics about events, in relation to business and affairs. Most recently, statistics based off of tourism interest for the United States. This article states that tourism interest in the United States has gone way down because of Trump’s travel ban, and that that might cause income to drop from tourism.

Interest in travel to the US has plummeted since Trump became president

They also do tons of work on finances and even analyze movies sometimes and create opinion pieces off them. Such as this film Split that came out, which is a psychological horror movie. They say it’s Hollywood’s best bet considering it made a lot at the box office, and made 15 times more than its budget. I went to a screening for this before it came out and can safely say that it has a bunch of Satanic themes and propaganda, which migh fit the horror theme technically. Hollywood’s already messed up with symbolism so I don’t think they should mess themselves up with Satanic themes strictly, just for money.

 

 

The Daily Mail is based out of London, England. It is a tabloid publication and is the second such best selling publication in the area before The Sun. Started in 1896, it was one of the first publications to be aimed at the newly educated lower middle class of England that resulted from mass education. The Daily Mail has two international editions, Continental Daily Mail, covering all of the Europe and North Africa, and Overseas Daily Mail, which covers the rest of the world.

 

As it is a tabloid, the Daily Mail has been often accused of publishing sensationalist stories full in an effort to increase readership. The publication has also been accused of racism and homophobia, due to its conservative leaning. One example occurred after the 2015 Paris attacks, when the Daily Mail posted an editorial cartoon about the Syrian refugee crisis and how they supposedly tie into the attacks.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., National Public Radio (NPR) is a broadcasting and media production organization established in February 1970, but did not begin broadcasting until 1971, by Bill Siemering. The radio network is made up of approximately 900 radio stations across the United States.

NPR prides itself on getting their news in methods that the average journalist might not utilize, including “bunkers, streets, alleys, jungles and deserts around the world.” They also highlight their diverse workforce made up of engineers, editors, inventors and visionaries.

In a case study by FAIR.rog, NPR has been accused of having elitist and influential guests during their broadcasts whose views do not represent that of the American public.

http://www.npr.org/

National Plutocrat Radio

Al Jazeera Media Network is based out of Doha, Qatar. It started as a major news publication specializing in providing inertactive news to a vast audience so that it is entertaining, neutral, as well as informative . Al Jazeera English is part of the media network, that provides coverage in English and is also based out of Doha, Qatar.

Al Jazeera brings news topics to light that go underreported, its mission is to provide a “voice to the voiceless” and has expanded to podcasts, aj+, aj shorts, and sports. AJ has expanded to over 100 countries, and is continuing to expand. The channel aims to provide both a regional voice and a global perspective for a potential world audience of over one billion English speakers who do not share the Anglo-American worldview. Al Jazeera was also the first independent news channel in the Arab world.

The Huffington Post, formed in May 9th, 2005, is a predominantly liberal online newspaper and blog that covers almost all forms of informing. It covers from topics like politics and business all the way to more modern forms like blog posts and satire. In their past they have been generally separated from controversy with the exception of a couple of stories.

HuffPo began to face labor disputes in February 2011, when Visual Art Source went on strike and boycotted them. They were also involved in a lawsuit upwards of millions of dollars on behalf of the United States District Court because of accusations of not paying massive amounts of bloggers who had written for the Newspaper. The case later ended in their favor in March 2012.

A suspicious incident that has been discussed from the Huffington Post is their inclusion of articles supporting anti-vaccination and alternative medicine. This was momentous for HuffPo because this is quite the controversial topic, and they hired Dana Ullman who is apparently, according to Steven Novella of the New England Skeptical Society, “a notorious homeopathy apologist”. By definition, homeopathy is “the treatment of disease by minute doses of natural substances that in a healthy person would produce symptoms of disease.” For any news outlet to pick a firm standing on a topic that is deemed so controversial, seems to be a very risky move on behalf of HuffPo.

 

Here is the link for Steven Novella’s article about HuffPo’s stand on alternative medicine and anti-vaccination:

 

http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/homeopathy-pseudoscience-at-the-huffpo/

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Huffington_Post#cite_note-NESS

 

Discussions:

Your blog posts on media organizations

What is the media climate right now in America and abroad?

Should journalists protest in Trump’s America?

Fact-checking under President Trump

Assignment: Pick a country (or stateless nation) as your beat for the semester and write a “beat memo.” In this document you will compile background information (languages spoken, religions practiced, history, most-read and most-viewed local news outlets, current events, immigrant community in New York) as well as contact info for relevant local and international sources whom you may call on for interviews and research throughout the semester. DUE DATE: Next Wednesday Feb. 15

Next class: We’ll discuss the major news stories/important issues unfolding around the world right now, including but not limited to climate change, public health, refugees and migration, economic development, labor issues and women’s rights, and the possible local angles you might find on these major topics here in New York.

CNN

  On June 1, 1980, The Cable News Network, known as CNN, made history as becoming the first 24-hour news service on Television. CNN was not always the affluent corporation it is today. After being told by his superiors in the broadcasting field that a 24-hour news service was not feasible, Ted Turner took four years developing what would soon be a powerhouse in American media. Turner was then up against the 3 networks that practically controlled all of America’s TV news, ABC, CBS, and NBC. During it’s first years of production, CNN was widely criticized for its poor funding and minimal networking resources. However, Turner was not going to give up on the potential he saw in the network. It was Turner’s main goal to steadily expand CNN’s connections and media resources. As a result, CNN was often first to the scene on all matters, domestic or international. They became known for their live coverage of current events and ability to get the story out before other networks. Gaining more momentum, CNN bought out the Satellite News Channel in 1983. This only strengthened their ability to report first on any and all issues around the world. Within less than 10 years of being on air, CNN was surpassing other news networks with its on-site, non-stop, full coverage reporting.
What is often seen as the most pivotal aspect of CNN’s climb to fame is its coverage on the Persian Gulf War in 1990. It was the broadcast that truly introduced America to both CNN and reporter Wolf Blitzer. CNN was the only network providing 24/7 live coverage of The Gulf War. During a time of stress, intrigue, and fear, the urgency of CNN’s coverage was needed by the people of America. It was the first time that a real war was being covered in actual time, viewers were watching the war progress in a clear way. Many networks covering the War refrained from putting reporters in the middle of the live action, but CNN refused to leave. CNN, faced by Wolf Blitzer, covered the entirety of The Gulf War in excruciating detail.

Now, thanks to Ted Turner, 24/7 news coverage is widespread, and CNN is a thriving network that many households depend on.

 

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cnn-launches

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/01/politics/wolf-blitzer-gulf-war-iraq-kuwait-cnn/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cable-News-Network

The Economist is one of the oldest international news organizations. It was established in 1843 in Britain. The Economist offers insight and opinion on international news, politics, business, finance, science and technology. They have sections from Europe to the Middle East Africa.

They release their print version every Fridays. As more readers are heading to digital. The Economist also offers a variety of web-only content, including blogs, debates and audio/video programs.

Their covers for their print versions remind me a lot of Time Magazine Covers. Just recently their covers have been about the Donald Trump Presidency. In the January 28^th issue, their cover has Donald Trump throwing a Molotov cocktail.

http://www.economist.com/printedition/covers/2017-02-02/ap-e-eu-la-me-na-uk