REPORT: Notes From… Morocco/Indonesia Journalists
Another in our “Notes From…” series - short notes by volunteers summarizing various events around the school, to help those of us who didn’t/couldn’t attend. Watch for several other “Notes From…” throughout the year (if you have one, send it in! Or let us know in advance that you’d like to do one).
Below, tips from an August visit by seven journalists - two from Indonesia and five from Morocco. Many thanks to volunteer notes-taker Elizabeth Berry, J2007. Feel free to drop her a note or post a comment below (free, one-time registration required).
Notes From… Meeting with Morocco/Indonesia Journalists
By Elizabeth Berry
E-mail: ecb2123[at]columbia.edu
ROOM 601B, AUG. 18, 2006 — “Why would anyone want to go into journalism in this country?”
After spending 20 days crisscrossing the United States, a group of five Moroccan journalists were still puzzled as to why anyone would want to participate in a news media they viewed as toothless and myopic.
These journalists, in addition to a pair from Indonesia, visited Columbia’s Journalism School as part of a U.S. State Department program that brings hundreds of international journalists each year to the U.S. They participated
in a forum with a group of more than 25 Columbia journalism students. During the hour-long session (the Moroccans had to run to a Blue Man Group
performance and the Indonesians were going to “Mama Mia”), the journalists had a spirited discussion with the students moderated by Dean Sreenivasan (who gave some historical background on Columbia, various current crises in American journalism and more).
One Indonesian journalist expressed concern that his country’s news media has been going in the direction of character assassination and such, and he was adamant that the media should be independent of the business interests that foster sensationalism.
The Moroccans (speaking through a French interpreter) said that in the time that they had been in the U.S., they had noticed that there was almost no coverage of international news beyond the wars in Lebanon and Iraq. One said, “I feel isolated; as if we were on an island.” He noted that in Morocco, he could watch channels from all over the world, whereas here it seemed like we were limited to American networks. At the same time, the Moroccans acknowledged that it was only a recent development that they could write negatively about
the royal family.
Columbia students explained aspects of how the American media works from their respective points of view. One factor cited for lack of in-depth foreign news: the fact that the country is geographically isolated from other countries, and therefore has less interest in the rest of the world. Another factor: the emphasis on local news over regional or world news. But they also mentioned that with large immigrant communities comes a plethora of perspectives—one student mentioned Spanish language media as providing a very different take on the news versus English language reports.
In the course of the discussion, Columbia students attempted to help the visitors understand why they wanted to become journalists here. Among them:
While the American news media may be embattled, it is worth fighting for.
In response to a question about job/internship opportunities in their countries for Columbia grads, the Moroccans said there are plenty of opporunities for French speakers. The Indonesians also indicated that there are internships available for US-trained journalists, even for those who only spoke English.
Students interested in pursuing such opportunities should e-mail the following gentlemen (referring to the Columbia meeting):
Morocco: Mohammed Rida Braim: editor, Maghreb Arab Press, Rabat
E-mail: braim30[at]yahoo.fr
Indonesia: Benny Butar-Butar, National Editor, ANTARA News Agency, Jakarta
E-mail: benny_butarbutar[at]yahoo.com
-30-
