Through the Lens: World Media in the Age of Globalization

Event summaries from Globalization Week 2003

Tuesday, February 25, 2003

How is global integration reported, and is the news media really now globalized? What is the future of journalism, and is it being transformed by modern technology? These subjects, as well as coverage of the potential war with Iraq and the reputation of U.S. news overseas, were explored by a panel of four distinguished former foreign correspondents addressing a student forum entitled "Through the Lens: World Media in the Age of Globalization." This student forum was a part of Globalization Week 2003, a series of events organized by the GW Center for the Study of Globalization.

Opinions were divided over whether globalization is occurring in news-gathering. Mark Feldstein, Professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs and former CNN correspondent, said that one of the greatest recent transformations of all has taken place in the media.

The newfound power of this global media was demonstrated by the fall of the Berlin Wall, according to Brad White, an independent documentary producer who previously covered eastern Europe for CNN. "The Berlin Wall could block trade, but it couldn't block radio waves," stated White, who was once told by a spy chief that the fall of European Communism began in East Germany because its public had easy access to West German television news.

A more complex analysis was provided by Amos Gelb, a former producer with CNN now teaching journalism at American University. As the exposure of corruption in China reveals, the Internet allows local events to rapidly become global. However, he remains skeptical about whether journalism as a profession has fully embraced globalized and diverse perspectives.

Chris Hanson, who teaches journalism at the University of Maryland following a career with publications such as Time and the Washington Star, argued that U.S. news coverage has not yet globalized enough. American news organizations—including CNN—stem from an extremely provincial tradition, from which the events of September 11, 2001 were a rude awakening, Hanson said.

Amos Gelb agreed, claiming that overseas there is the clear view that U.S.journalism is "parochial, questionable, and filled with propaganda." This is partly the result of many networks belonging to corporations that see news as just another entertainment commodity—as is the case with Disney and its ABC News subsidiary.

Globalization as a story has been mostly ignored by the U.S. news media, according to Mark Feldstein, because it is a trend that "oozes over decades." Brad White agreed, suggesting that in a sense mainstream television news cannot report globalization well because it is complex and incremental. Amos Gelb, on the other hand, said that the media has diligently covered specific globalization events, such as the protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999.

Panelists considered the impact of new technology upon investigative journalism to be mixed. The Internet, for instance, allows unprecedented transparency on a worldwide scale for those who can access it. However, online journalism is unregulated, and is therefore open to purposes such as the promotion of racial hatred on the scale of a "global Rwanda," Amos Gelb predicted.

Turning to the possible war with Iraq, the four journalists were particularly forthcoming on the Pentagon's proposal to "embed" reporters with U.S. military units. One reason that the Pentagon desires close links with reporters is to control information, said Chris Hanson. Amos Gelb also suggested that move shows that the U.S. military is anxious to win the inevitable propaganda war by avoiding such controversies as accusations of massacres, as hounded Israel's Army last year following a battle at the Jenin refugee camp without press coverage.

All speakers were keen to discuss the future of journalism. Brad White argued that television news coverage is increasingly character-driven. The presentation of print journalism is transforming because of the falling number of newspapers and the growing popularity of Internet news sources, said Chris Hanson. Online news reporting is becoming multi-media in format, with written narrative accompanying sound and moving pictures, he added. However, most Internet journalism is not financially viable, and Hanson's recommendation to all budding reporters is that the best skill to have remains the ability to write a wire-style piece to a tight deadline. Amos Gelb pointed out that reporting is becoming increasingly dangerous for U.S. journalists who venture into hotspots such as Colombia and Chechnya—a reality with which foreign journalists have had to live for decades.

Moderator

  • Mark Feldstein, Professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs and former correspondent for CNN in Washington and ABC News in New York. Professor Feldstein's numerous journalistic prizes include two Peabody awards, the Edward R. Murrow and Columbia DuPont baton, and nine regional Emmys. He was best known in the nation's capital for exposing corruption and drug use by Washington, DC mayor Marion Barry and his administration.

Speakers

  • Amos Gelb, Academic Director of the Washington Journalism Semester Program at American University and former senior producer at CNN, where he produced some of the network's highest profile international specials. He has also produced for ABC News Nightline, National Geographic, A&E Investigative Reports, and other international broadcasters.
  • Chris Hanson, Professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland who previously spent 20 years as a reporter with Time, The Washington Star, Reuters, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Professor Hanson was a combat correspondent in the 1991 Gulf war and covered the civil war in Rwanda.
  • Brad White, Washington, DC-based independent television producer, who was formerly a special investigator for the U.S. Senate and a foreign correspondent for CNN. While with CNN, Mr. White covered such stories as the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall and Lech Walesa's rise to power.