Teaching Plan Information

Presentation

Presentation

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the global media landscape has undergone structural changes which have dramatically changed the relationship between international politics and the worldwide communication system. The traditional Anglo-American dominance over global news flow has been replaced by a new circuit of cultural, regional and national systems all competing in what former French president Jacques Chirac once called the “global battle of images”. In this sense, the present course begins by looking at world news management from the American Revolution of 1776, through the technological advances of the 19th century, the Golden Age of international journalism (1860-1914), the mass media era, the use of propaganda and the rise of audiovisual media, the fallout of the Second World War, the lessons of Vietnam before reaching the Internet age, social media and the Twittersphere of Donald J. Trump and beyond.  

Our next stop examines the typology of international news producers: foreign correspondents, special envoys, agency reporters, freelancers, fixers and photojournalists. Within this typology special mentions is made of the figure of the war correspondent and the coverage of armed conflict in general. Once familiar with the news providers we then move to examine international media cartography as the geographical distribution of these reporters often determines the news agenda and coverage.

At the halfway stage of the course, we then analyze how the dynamics of international news reporting play out with regard to four specific case studies:  the media coverage of Islam, the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Africa story and the image of Spain in the foreign press.

By switching to Global Media we take a look at the new actors in the global news narrative and try to tackle questions such as: How does the future of the world news system shape up? What is South-South communication? What is the role of counter-hegemonic platforms such as Al-Jazeera or China’s CGTN? International news agencies are also considered here as global players and the role of the Big Three (Reuters, AP and AFP) along with EFE is also analyzed.

The International News Observation week –scheduled two weeks before the end of the course- is dedicated to putting our theoretical and case study work to test by tracking the international section of a major media outlet for a 72-hour period. The course concludes by proposing a transnational journalism model based on a reconfigured agenda designed to face the challenges of the 21st century and reflects on the future of “foreign” news.

Associated skills

Common core skills at the UPF are defined as

- Autonomy skills, which help to consolidate self-awareness and critical thinking skills; autonomous learning, project management and problem solving; personal initiative and entrepreneurship, and adaptation and change management in complex environments.

-Transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge skills, which allow to develop face-to-face and digital collaborative work capacities; interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary learning; and/or research and knowledge transfer.

-Global citizenship skills, which help develop the ability to examine the world and its challenges from a global perspective, from commitment to fundamental rights, social justice, democracy and the environment to personal and collective action for planetary well-being and sustainable development.

-Gender competence, which makes it possible to assess inequalities due to sex and gender, in order to design effective solutions.

-Communication skills, which ensure the work of critical reading and oral comprehension skills, excellence in written, oral and audiovisual expression, and multilingual, multilingual and intercultural relationships.

-Digital skills, which promote the achievement of an advanced degree of digital literacy and the creation and dissemination of digital content.

These core competences are reinforced in the International Journalism course. Transdisciplinary knowledge –particularly in the field of contemporary history, political science or international relations- is present and necessary throughout the course. Critical thinking is an essential component especially regarding the case studies under consideration. Critical reading and audiovisual comprehension skills are honed in on as students are faced with seminal texts on international journalism and the need to offer to a critique of a film or documentary in this field. Collaborative work is demanded and graded on at least two ocasions. Oratory skills are key as students are required to offer convincing presentations and defend their work when cross-examined by class peers. Special attention is paid to the quality of all written output required during the course. As for competences regarding global citizenry, the course is tailor-made towards developing “students’ capacity to examine the world and its challenges from a global perspective” especially when referring to fundamental rights, social justice and democracy. Given the international composition of the student profile, the fact that the course is in English and the necessary local/international mix regarding group work, “interrelated multilinguistic and intercultural communicational skills” are a must.

As for gender competences, efforts have been made to assure greater sensitivity to gender perspectives in the International Journalism course especially given the traditional female: male ratio imbalance between students enrolled on the course. Such initiatives included clear instructions to students to include references to the contribution and the role of women in their class presentations or case studies or to allude to questions of gender bias or their absence of perspective and general “invisibility” in the international news narrative. An appropriate example here is the role of female war correspondents so often marginalized in the literature on the subject. Students are also encouraged to include a gender perspective during the elaboration of the News Observatory project. If their individual remit refers to “news actors” they were encouraged to look at the gender plurality (or lack of it) in international political reporting. If, on the other hand, they are charged with checking “sources” students are also asked to consider the presence of female voices or perspective in the news. When looking at “resources”, students should reflect on the numbers of female foreign correspondents and reporters dedicated to the story. Such reflections are not only to be considered as case specific but as a wider reflection on the profession to which many students aspire to join. Ideas are invited to redress imbalances on these fronts.   

Other more “practical” measures included the complete revision of class reading lists and recommended bibliography to lend greater visibility to female authors. Every thematic block of the course includes female authors and many of been added to the list of wider bibliographical references. The same approach applies to the filmography. Students must prepare a critical analysis of a film or documentary related to international journalism and the recommended list has been revised to offer a greater balance regarding directorship, themes and perspective.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

The teaching objectives that underlie the course are wid eranging as they combine elements such as the importance of acquiring a relevant historical perspective to international reporting, the development of an understanding of the internal professional dynamics at work in this field and the application of theoretical constructs to tangible contemporary examples. More specifically, the goals of the course can be described in the following way:

-a clear understanding of how historical precedents intervene in the discussion of contemporary issues in international reporting (censorship, desinformation, press/power relations)

-the ability to distinguish between the role, demands and professional mission of those figures which intervene in the international news production chain

-ability to comprehend those international news mechanisms and routines employed when covering with “foreign” news stories such as the danger of stereotyping, the adoption of preconceived cognitive frameworks or the highlighting of conflictive elements when constructing the “Other” or when representing foreign cultures

-the development of analytical skills when examining international news discourse

-the incorporation of a world perspective on international news based on the changes taking place in the Global Media landscape and the challenge they represent to the traditional Anglo-American management of the international news story

-capacity to redefine or decode ideas at the heart of the international news debate such as “foreign news”, “transnational agenda”, or “Global South” communication

Sustainable Development Goals

The International Journalism and Global Media course currently addresses -whether directly or indirectly- a number of these goals. Goal#1 (No Poverty) and Goal#10 (Inequality) are addressed when discussing the media coverage of the African continent. Goal#5 regarding gender inequality is considered throughout the course when relating to gender visibility in international reporting or in-house professional issues regarding access. Goal#13 on Climate Action appears when dealing with the transnational agenda in the media where environmental reporting and “green” issues figure prominently. Goal#16 is present in the course when the tenets of Peace Journalism are considered as an alternative narrative to conventional war reporting.

Prerequisites

Except for English language competence, there are no strict course prerequisites although previous studies in the fields of Mass Communications Studies, Journalism, Political Science, International Relations or History would be an advantage.

Contents

Course Content

The course is made up of 9 main themes:

1. The History of International Journalism
2. The International Desk
3. War Reporting
4. Media Cartography
5. International News Case Studies
6. Global Media I: Television News Channels

Global Media II: International News Agencies

7. International News Observation Week
8. Trwnsnational Journalism
9. The Future of International News Reporting

Justification: While a historical perspective of international journalism over the last 250 years may seem a somewhat “classic” start to the course it is considered necessary as a short historical introduction allows us to make vital cross-historical references which very often debunk ideas regarding the “unprecedented” nature of certain news/journalism phenomena. This is particularly appropriate when referring to subjects apparently so contemporary such as disinformation or fake news -allowing us to contrast disinformation techniques employed in the First World War with Trumps “alternative facts”, the debate surrounding embedded war journalists which, while often presented as a modern Pentagon-led invention, was already employed in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904 and the war in Korea (1950-1953) or the official leaking of sensitive information regarding armed foreign interventions abroad which allows us to compare Wikileaks to the Vietnam “Pentagon papers”. In this way we can situate in their appropriate historical context the importance of information technologies and their impact on international news gathering procedures.   

Key concepts of the session. What can knowledge of contemporary history bring to the study of international journalism? How can we employ the analysis of past events to understand modern-day media trends? The narrative combines the “Golden Age” of International reporting (1860-1914) with the creation of the first contemporary International news desks, and the designation of the first professional foreign correspondents along with the most significant advances in information technology (carrier pigeons, birth of photography, electric telegraph, cable, film, radio, television, satellites, internet and social media). The timeline features illustrative examples such as the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon, Havas versus Reuters, the death of Lincoln, World War I, Nazis and Italian fascist use of audiovisual media, Spanish Civil War, World War II,  Israel 1948, Korean War, Sputnik and the Space Race, Castro and the Cuban Revolution, Vietnam, birth of CNN, fall of Berlin Wall, Gulf War I (1991); Internet & Balkans War, 9-11 and Citizen Journalism, Gulf War 2003, 11-M Madrid (2004), London 2005 & UGC, the explosion of Global Media (2005-2006), Obama as Podcast President, Arab Spring 2011, social media and foreign reporting, ISIS, the Twittersphere and Donald Trump. State of the Question.

Relevant Bibliography

Hohenberg, John. 1997. Foreign Correspondence. Syracuse University Press, 3rd Ed. pp. 1-49; pp. 80-118.

Knightly, Philip, 2004. The First Casualty. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Pp. 43-67 & pp. 207-237.

Moorcraft, Paul & Taylor, Philip. 2008. Shooting the Messenger. The Polítics of War Reporting. London: Potomac Books pp. 32-73.

Sreberny Annabelle & Patterson, Chris. International News in the 21st century. Hants: John Libbey, pp. 3-31.

Justification: To be better able to grasp the specific characteristics and constraints on foreign news production processes this session offers a radiography of the media professionals both in and outside the newsroom who form part of the International news chain from full-time staff correspondents to the indispensable figure of the fixer. Once classified and defined, their newsgathering and sourcing routines are studied along with other aspects which affect their day-to-day praxis (rotation policies, language issues, costs, obstacles, degree of specialization) and which may come to bear on how international news stories are managed in the media.

Key concepts of the session: The configuration of the foreign desk featuring bureau chiefs, full time staff correspondents, special envoys, international news agency reporters, stringers, freelancers, fixers, photojournalists and subeditors back in the newsrooms. Specific roles and destination-led demands. Myths and realities. Emerging figures: “foreign” foreign correspondents, “thematic” correspondents.

Relevant bibliography

Heinzerling, Larry. 2007. “Foreign Correspondents: A rare breed.” In. Reporters of the Associated Press. Breaking News. How the Associated Press has covered War, Peace and Everything Else. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 254-306.

Murrell, Colleen. (2015). Foreign Correspondents and International Newsgathering: The Role of Fixers. New York: Routledge.

Tsetsura, Katerina, Craig, David & Baisnée Olivier. (2011) “Professional values, ethics and norms of Foreign Correspondents” in Gross, Peter and Kopper, Gerd. Understanding Foreign Correspondence. New York: Peter Lang. pp. 165-186.

Tulloch, Christopher. (2004) “Las fuentes informativas de los corresponsales” en Corresponsales en el extranjero. Mito y realidad. EUNSA pp. 131-174.

Justification: The coverage of armed conflict is considered worthy of differential treatment within the field of foreign correspondence due to the specific demands of this style of international reporting and the unique characteristics of the professional environment in which it is exercised. As such, the study of this specialist field requires both a practical, hands-on approach as well as academic analysis from disciplines such as ethics or international law.

Key concepts of the session. Is “war correspondence” is a self-styled label or whether we can identify elements which allow us to consider armed conflict reporting as a speciality within the field of international journalism? Cinematographic myth-making and war correspondents. International legal framework for the protection of journalists. Professional organizations: IFJ, INSI, RSF etc.  Deontological issues: risk of partiality, advocacy journalism, observation versus participation debate, Stockholm syndrome. Embeds versus unilaterals. Redefining “war”. Umberto Eco and “neo-war”. Obstacles: censorship, logistics, desinformation, health issues (PTSD). Motivations.

Relevant bibliography

Hatzfeld, Jean. (2004) Una temporada de machetes (Original: Une saison de machettes) Barcelona. Anagrama

Herr, Michael. Despachos de guerra. (1980) (Original: Despatches) Barcelona: Anagrama.

Leguineche, Manuel & Sanchez, Gervasio. (2001) Los ojos de la guerra. Barcelona: Plaza & Janes. pp. 315-460.

“What makes War Correspondents tick?” in Moorcraft, Paul & Taylor, Philip. 2008. Shooting the Messenger. The Polítics of War Reporting. London: Potomac Books pp. 248-255.

Marinovich, Greg & Silva Joao. (2002) El Club del Bang Bang. Grijalbo: Barcelona.

Paul, Christopher & Kim, James. (2004) Reporters on the Battlefield. Santa Monica CA: Rand.

Torres, Maruja. (1999) Mujer en Guerra. Santillana: Madrid. pp. 253-265.

Justification:  In order to understand international media dynamics, we must contrast their understanding of classic eurocentric maps of the world with alternative global maps presented by other countries such as China or Australia in order to understand the arbitrary nature of media geopolitics, the distribution of professional resources and the effects of these “flat earth” pictorial representations of the planet on how news stories are framed, cultures are presented and how some countries are overpresented while others are invisibilized by these conventions.

Key concepts of the session. How do established “world” maps determine international news management and distribution? What do the media really refer to with the label “world news”? This session experiments with maps in class and take students from the Jerusalem-centred Northern Hemisphere-exclusive Hereford “Mappamundi” of 1290 to the BRICs Global Media maps of the 21st century. How maps define ideas of “North”v “South”, “East” v ”West” and the “Middle” and “Far” East. Distribution criteria of foreign correspondents. “World” coverage and its consequences: overextension, news borrowing, “news holes” and stereotypization.

Relevant bibliography

“The world according to the media”. 2008  Observers.france24.com/en/20080326-world-news-media-coverage-representation

Hess, Stephen. (1995) “What Gets Covered and Where” in International News and Foreign Correspondents. Washington: Brookings Institution. pp. 28-46.

Sambrook, Richard. (2010) “Are Foreign Correspondents Redundant?” in The Changing Face of International News. Oxford University:  Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Tulloch, Christopher. (2004) “Distribución geográfica de las corresponsalias” en Corresponsales en el extranjero. Mito y realidad. Pamplona: Eunsa, pp. 109-121.

Wu, Denis. (2004). “The World’s Windows to the World” in Sreberny, Annabelle & Patterson, Chris. International News in the 21st century. Hants: John Libbey. pp. 95-111.

After analysing the historical context and professional framework of international news reporting the course moves to the “laboratory” to consider three major case studies -the coverage of Islam, media representation of the African continent and the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict- before returning to Spain and to Catalonia to consider the reverse dynamics: that is, how foreign correspondents project stories and construct a news agenda about a sociopolitical reality with which students are familiar. 

Case Study I:  Islam and the media

Justification:  The arrival of Ayatollah Khomeni in Iran in 1979 led to a shift in the coverage of the Islam story in the media and for many observers has filled a void left after the end of the Cold War. This session aims to track how the international media has portrayed Islam through the last four dècades and has crossreferenced it to a a wide range of largely negative concepts particularly since the events of the 11th September 2001. After this diagnosis, proposals are made and discussed in class regarding measures for improvement in coverage including wider source selection, greater specialization in the newsroom and an alternative Islam agenda.

Key concepts of the session. From the exoticism of the “Persian Gulf” to modern day “Islamic republics”. Muslims in the press and on the screen- Journalistic vocabulary, conventions and stereotypes when covering Islam. Photographic representation. Media demonization. Press templates regarding Muslim and non-Muslim violent acts. Ways forward.

Relevant bibliography

Alatas, Syed Farid (ed.) (2005) Covering Islam: Challenges & Opportunities for Media in the Global Village. Singapore: TimeEdge Pub.

Fioretti, Natascha & Foa, Marcello. (2008) Islam and the Western World: the role of the media. European Journalism Observatory.

Ghiles, Francis. “Reporting the Muslim World in the Western Media” in Mass Media and Mutual Perceptions. IEMed- Quaderns de la Mediterrània (8) pp. 45-57.

Pennington, Rosemary & Kahn, Hillary. (2018) On Islam: Muslims and the media. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Said, Edward. (1981) Covering Islam: How the Media and Experts Determine How We See The Rest Of The World. New York: Vintage Books.

Case Study II:  The Israel-Palestine conflict

Justification:  Since the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948, the conflict with Palestine has hardly been off the front pages and international communication scholars have calculated that approximately 30% of all foreign stories over the last seven decades have been tied to Israel and Palestine. If this is the case, it is therefore necessary to analyse the charateristics and framing of this fixture of the international news agenda. How are both sides represented in the media? What is specific about working the Middle East beat? What are the difficulties and obstacles of covering this conflict? How do both sides engage with journalists? 

Key concepts of the session. The keys to the extensive media coverage of the conflict: geopolitical and economic interests, US media support, religion factor, Jerusalem as a news hub and the “mediatic” quality nature of the story itself. David v Goliath frame. Photographic representation. Media performances: dramatic scenes in sacred places. The dynamics of “eternal coverage”. Mainstream sources v alternative sources.

Relevant bibliography

Peper, Myrthe. (2018) The visual representation of civilians in images of the Israel-Palestine conflict in Israeli media. UPF_repositori http://hdl.handle.net/10230/36079

Richardson, John & Barkho, Leo. (2009) “Reporting Israel-Palestine”. Journalism Studies, vol. 10 (5) pp. 594-622.

Ruigrok, Nel., van Atteveldt, Wouter. H., & Takens, Janet. (2013). Shifting frames in a deadlocked conflict: News coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In J. Seethaler, M. Karmasin, G. Melischek, & R. Woehlert (Eds.), Selling War: The role of the Mass Media in Hostile Conflicts. Bristol: Intellect. pp. 259-289

Roura. Joan. (1999) “La pell de l’altre. In El mon en minut i mig. Un experiència de periodisme internacional a la televisió. Barcelona: La Magrana. pp. 240-265

Case Study III:  Africa(s)

Justification:  The media coverage of Africa makes for interesting reading for any scholar of international journalism dynamics. From the mid-19th century to the end of the Second World War, press coverage of the continent was largely exoticised as part of a colonialist post-Berlin conference narrative. This comes to an abrupt end in the 1960s in a post-colonialist setting and the onset of the war in Biafra 1967-1970. From here on the African news story takes a dramatic downward spiral and the Western press fills its pages with a string of negative themes including famine, poverty, corruption, natural disasters or genocide. This class looks at the turnaround in the representation of Africa and allows us to consider the wider journalistic issues involved such as “parachute journalism”, knowledge gaps, stereotipization and phenomena such as the “white saviour syndrome” and celebrity media activism.

Key concepts of the session. The three Africas: media division of the continent. Narrative framing today. The Africa “script”: oversimplification, superficiality and exaggeration. “One country” syndrome. Media perpetuation of the victim stereotype. Untold stories. Changing media panorama in Africa: new global media platforms in Africa (Al-Jazeera, France 24) rise of African digital projects and bloggers, consolidation of new media hubs (Nairobi, Johannesburg. Lagos), the new African economy story (South Africa as a BRICS country, Chinese investment and the CGTN as soft power media project).

Relevant bibliography

African Women Journalism Project -  https://theawjp.org/

Williams Ezeru, Chikaire. (2021) “Africa’s global media image in a digital world as an exclusive Western preserve? International Communication.  https://doi.org/10.1177/17480485211063789

Nothias, Touissant. (2016) “How Western Journalists Actually write about Africa” in Journalism Studies, vol. 19, issue 8, pp. 1-22.

Wainaina, Binyavanga. (2005) “How to write about Africa”. Granta, 92.

The Media Impact project https://www.mediaimpactproject.org/africa-in-media.html

Case Study IV:  Spain in the international media

Justification:  After analyzing three contrasting case studies abroad, this session looks at the inverse news dynamics by examining how foreign correspondents represent Spain and Catalonia in the international press. This allows students to observe the media projection of a sociopolitical reality which is more familiar to them. The professional praxis involving sourcing routines, story framing, agenda-setting and the accuracy –or inaccuracy- in the journalistic translation of domestic political concepts and institutional terminology is more salient when applied to a familiar context.  

Key concepts of the session. A brief historical review of Spain in the international media: 1898, 1936 and 1975. From “The New France” to one of the PIGS: The change in perception of Spain as a “soft” news story –tourism, sport, cultural traditions, arts and gastronomy- to a “harder” story featuring economic crisis, terrorism, political corruption, emergence of new parties (Podemos, Vox...), crisis in the Monarchy, Catalan independence, Covid etc. Profile of the foreign correspondent in Spain. Number of media outlets. The Spain agenda today.

Relevant bibliography

Herzog, Werner. (2006) Vaya País. Cómo nos ven los corresponsales de prensa extranjera. Madrid: Santillana.

Leon, Teodoro, Rivera, Agustín y Redondo Myriam. (2018)  International Correspondents in Spain facing government and information sources. Evaluation of problems by analytic hierarchy process (AHP). In. El professional de la información. Vol. 27 (4) pp. 813-821.

Rojo, Pedro. “The Image of Spain in the Arab Press”. IEMed-Quaderns de la Mediterrània (8) pp. 45-56.

Salaverria, Ramon. (2014) Foreign Correspondents in Spain: Facing the econòmic and professional crisis. In: Terzis G. Mapping Foreign Correspondence in Europe. pp. 243-251. London: Routledge.

Justification:  This session is dedicated to examining those global media platforms which emerged at the beginning of the 21st century as part of what former French president Jacques Chirac called the “global battle for images”. After analysing such projects from the Arab world (Al Jazeera), China (CGTN)  Latin America (Telesur) and the Francophile world (France24) it is clear that a revamped global news landscape is emerging which along with concepts such as “South-South” communication is leading to the consolidation of a multicentred information ecosystem.

Key concepts of the session. The initial debate: NWICO and the MacBride Report. The “CNN effect” and dominant news flows. Reaction to US global television dominance (Al Jazeera, TeleSur, CGTN, RT, France 24, PressTV...). Transnational counterflows (Bollywood, telenovelas, K-Pop, Baidu...) End to the centre v periphery debate. Alternative news cosmovision. Redefinition of concept “South”. Global TV as “soft power” and public diplomacy.

Relevant bibliography

Barkho, Leon. (2006) “The Arabic Al Jazeera vs Britian’s BBC and America’s CNN: who does journalism right?”. American Communication Journal. Vol. 8. Num. 1 pp. 1-15

Bebawi, Saba. (2016) Media Power and Global Television News: The Role of Al-Jazeera English. London: I.B. Tauris.

Painter, James. (2008). Counter-Hegemonic News: A Case Study of Al-Jazeera English and Telesur. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Seib, Philip. (2010) “Transnational Journalism, Public Diplomacy and Virtual States”. In Journalism Studies, vol. 11 (5) pp. 734-744.

Tunstall, Jeremy (2008) The Media were American. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Justification:  The global news agencies are, in many ways, the “Cinderella” media when it comes to the study of international journalism. Unjustifiably overlooked, these “wholesalers” of world information are responsible for up to 80% of international news flow and are among the largest media organizations in the world. While this class examines the distribution, resources and internal dyanmics of the “top tier” companies –AP, Reuters, AFP and EFE- in setting the international news agenda, it also presents the wider cast of state-sponsored agencies, the use made by subscribers of their material and their role in the creation of the world news narrative.    

Key concepts of the session. Defining elements of these organizations for international news purposes: resources, distribution, speed, credibility, cost. Vocabulary and style of agency reporting. Mapamundi of news agencies. The Big Three + EFE. Alliances. Alternative news agencies. Ownership models. Advantages and criticism of agency foreign news.

Relevant bibliography

Boyd-Barrett, Oliver (Ed.) (2010). News agencies in the turbulent era of the Internet. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya. pp. 13-45

Boyd-Barrett, Oliver. (2012). “Researching the news agencies”. In Volkmer, Ingrid. (Ed.), The Handbook of Global Media Research. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell. Pp. 331-351

Gürsel, Zeynep Devrim (2016).  Agence France Press: What is the dominant? In Image Brokers. Visualizing World News in the age of Digital Circulation. Oakland: University of Califonaia Press. pp. 126-159

Justification:  After having analysed the international information production chain and the professional newsgathering routines which form part of this process along with the media coverage of four contrasting case studies –Islam, Middle East, Africa and Spain- students are then required to enter the International News Observatory to put these theoretical and experimental constructs into practice through an in-depth analysis of a 48-hour cycle of the International news section of a major media outlet. The exercise consists in the following: Students are divided into eight groups of approximately five members (depending on the number enrolled on the course)

1. Group 1 is adjudicated a newspaper based in Madrid (El Pais, El Mundo, Abc...)
2. Group 2 is given a newspaper based in Barcelona (Vanguardia, El Periódico, Ara...)
3. Groups 3 & 4 must analyse an Anglo-American paper (Guardian, NYTimes...)
4. Group 5 must check out a European audiovisual outlet (Euronews, France24...)
5. Groups 6+7 must follow a non-Western global network (Al Jazeera, CGTN...)
6. Group 8 is given an international news agency to track (Reuters, AP, AFP...) 

Within their groups, each member takes charge of analysing one of the following five aspects of coverage and is given the following remit:

1. Agenda/News Actors:  Who is in the news? Who dominates the agenda? What are the levels of media elitism and plurality?
2. Sources: Who gets to speak? What are the direct/indirect sources journalists use? How many are “official” or “non-official”? Can we build a typology of sources?
3. Resources: At a human resources level, how are the stories covered? By staff correspondents? Special envoys? Agencies ? Freelancers? The international desk?
4. Graphic aspects: What are the non-textual elements used to explain international news stories? Can we observe editorial intentionality in the photos? What about infographics? How are foreign news stories “visualized”? Use of data. Maps.
5. Language. Can we detect ideology in the general framing of the stories? If so, how? Can we see bias in the headlines? Adjectivization. Stereotypization.

Students must follow the dotcom version of their media for 48 hours at a date predetermined by the course instructor and then pool their ideas and reflections in order to present their conclusions during a follow-up seminar with their class colleagues. Once the groups have presented their findings, results are cross-referenced to see if similar patterns of coverage or divergent news practices are employed.

Key concepts of the session. International news factors. Media elitism. Agenda-setting. Sourcing practices. Economics of global news coverage. Alternative techniques for presenting foreign news.

Relevant bibliography

Artero, Juan Pablo, & Moraes, Renata. (2008). Opciones estratégicas de las agencias de noticias europeas: Reuters, France Presse y EFE [Strategic choice at European news agencies: Reuters, France Presse, and EFE]. Comunicación y Sociedad, 21(1), 53-79.

Dimitrova Daniela & Strömbäck Jesper. (2009) Look who’s talking: use of sources in newspaper coverage in Sweden and the United States. Journalism Practice 3(1): 75–91.

Galtung Johan & Ruge Mari Holmboe (1965) The structure of foreign news. Journal of Peace Research 2: 64–91.

Wu, H. Denis. (2000) Systemic Determinants of International News Coverage: A Comparison of 38 countries. Journal of Communication 50 (2) pp. 110-130.

Justification:  The collapse of communism and the consequent disappearance of the structure brought to international news dynamics by the bipolar Cold War model along with the advances in digital information technologies has meant that 21st century foreign newsmaking has had to confront a multipolar, crossfrontier and interdependent scenario in which the division between “foreign” and “home” news is more arbitrary and in which a new news agenda has appeared featuring -among other transversal issues- climate change, financial integration, religious rivalries, terrorism, refugees or global pandemics. This class aims to explain how newsrooms are dealing with this challenge and what remains to be done to align the contemporary International desk with these extraterritorial news stories.

Key concepts of the session. “International” Journalism versus “Transnational” Journalism. Parallel pan-national phenomena which combine to influence the transnational news agenda such as the consolidation of transnational political and financial institutions, the creation of transnational public opinion, shared transnational media practices and the consolidation of a cast of transnational news actors/protagonists. The emergence of transnational thematic correspondents. Transnational collaboration. Examples and future tendencies.

Relevant bibliography

Colombo, Furio. (1997) “Noticias Internacionales, noticias transnacionales” en Ultimas noticias sobre el periodismo. Barcelona: Anagrama.

Grieves, Kevin. (2012) Journalism Across Boundaries: The Promises And Challenges Of Transnational And Transborder Journalism. New York: Palgrave. 

Heinrich, Ansgard. (2012) Foreign reporting in the sphere of network journalism. Journalism Practice vol. 6. (5-6): 766–775.

Tulloch, Christopher. (2004) “La aparicion de las noticias transnacionales en la nueva agenda del corresponsal”. Corresponsales en el extranjero: mito y realidad. pp. 200-210.

Justification:  The final session of the course takes a look at the main debates surrounding the dynamics of international journalism in the coming years in order to further align those tendencies already appearing on the horizon with the structure, design and priorities of today’s International news desks. There are many questions to be debated: What changes will be made to the news mapamundi in the coming years? Where should we distribute our resources? Should we change the “generalist” for thematic specialists? How can we tell foreign news stories better? in new ways?

Key concepts of the session. Extinction or reinvention? The challenge of social media for International journalism deadlines. Citizen journalism and international news Rethinking geographical distribution. The BRICS agenda. International news storytelling techniques: gamification, longform/“slow”, immersive. Media concentration and international news. Alternative outlets. Personalization. Drone journalism. Diaspora media.

Relevant bibliography

Babawi, Seba & Evans, Mark. (2019) The Future Foreign Correspondent. London: Palgrave. 1-9

Sambrook Richard. (2010) “The Changing Role of the Foreign Correspondent” in: Are Foreign Correspondents Redundant? Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Pp. 3-9.

Wassermann Herman. (2016) Media, Geopolitics and Power. A View from the Global South. Urbana: University of Illnois Press. pp. 135-152.

Teaching Methods

The pattern of the classes is as following: a brief icebreaker session regarding International news in the media opens the session before moving on to the course instructors presentation of the class which will normally consist in.

- the revision of contents from the previous class

- the return of exercises and global class commentary

- opening lecture (particularly Weeks 1 & 2)

- student group presentation on the subject of the day and defence / feedback from students

- wider considerations based on presentations + related articles /reading /ideas for improvement

- explanation / preparation for next week's class

Evaluation

Mid-term exam (week 5)                                      20%

Final exam (end March)                                        30%

International News Observation Week               15%

Group Presentation                                                15%

Documentary/filmography                                    10%

General task compliance, preparation                10%

Bibliography and information resources

The texts listed below are relevant to all thematic blocks on the course.

Alatas, Syed Farid (ed.) (2005) Covering Islam: Challenges & Opportunities for Media in the Global Village. Singapore: TimeEdge Pub.

Aldekoa, Xavier (2019). Indestructibles. Barcelona: Columna.

Arbones, Toni. (2002) Històries d’una guerra invisible. Cròniques s’un reporter al Pakistan i al’Afganistan. Barcelona: Columna.

Archetti, Cristina. (2012) “Which Future for Foreign Correspondence?” Journalism Studies, 13 (5) 847-856.

Artero, Juan Pablo, & Moraes, Renata. (2008). Opciones estratégicas de las agencias de noticias europeas: Reuters, France Presse y EFE [Strategic choice at European news agencies: Reuters, France Presse, and EFE]. Comunicación y Sociedad, 21(1), 53-79.

Associated Press. Breaking News. How the Associated Press has covered War, Peace and Everything Else. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 254-306.

Bebawi, Saba. (2016) Media Power and Global Television News: The Role of Al Jazeera English. London: IB Tauris.

Dell.Orto, Giovanna & Irmgard Wetzstein (2019). Refugee News, Refugee Politics. Journalism, Public Opinion and Policymaking in Europe. New York: Routledge.

Dimitrova, Daniela & Jesper Strömbäck (2009) Look who’s talking: use of sources in newspaper coverage in Sweden and the United States. Journalism Practice 3(1): 75–91.

Feixas Torras, Txell (2020). Dones valentes: lluites femenines i feministes a l'Orient Mitjà. Ara Llibres.

Fioretti, Natascha & Foa, Marcello. (2008) Islam and the Western World: the role of the media. European Journalism Observatory.

Galtung Johan & Mari Holmboe Ruge (1965) “The structure of foreign news”. Journal of Peace Research 2: 64–91.

Garcia, Caterina & Angel Rodrigo. (2008) La seguredad comprometida. Nuevos desafios, amenazas y conflictos armados. Barcelona: Tecnos.

Garcia-Planas, Plàcid. (2010) Jazz en el despacho de Hitler. Otra forma de ver las guerras. Barcelona: Peninsula.

Golan, Guy, Thomas Johnson & Wayne Wanta. (2010) International Media Communication in a Global Age. New York: Routledge.

González Aldea, Patricia (2014). El periodismo internacional en la era digital. Editorial Idea.

Gross, Peter and Kopper, Gerd. (2011)  Understanding Foreign Correspondence. Peter Lang.

Gürsel, Zeynep. (2016) Image Brokers. Visualizing World News in the Age of Digital Circulation. Oakland: University of California Press.

Hafez, Kai. (2000) Islam and the West in the Mass Media. New Jersey: Hampton Press.

Hannerz. Ulf. (2004) Foreign News: Exploring the World of Foreign Correspondence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Hatzfeld, Jean. (2004) Una temporada de machetes (Original: Une saison de machettes) Barcelona. Anagrama

Heinrich, Ansgard. (2012) Foreign reporting in the sphere of network journalism. Journalism Practice, vol. 6. (5-6): 766–775.

Herr, Michael. (1980) Despachos de guerra. (Original: Despatches) Barcelona: Anagrama.

Hess, Stephen. (1996) International News and Foreign Correspondents. Washington: Brookings Institution.

Herzog, Werner. (2006) Vaya País. Cómo nos ven los corresponsales de prensa extranjera. Madrid: Santillana.

Hohenberg, John. (1997) Foreign Correspondence. Syracuse University Press, 3rd ed.

IeMed. Mass Media  and Mutual Perceptions. Quaderns de la Mediterrània 8. Barcelona: Icaria Editorial.

Knightly, Philip. (2000) The First Casualty. London: Prion.

Leguineche, Manuel. (2001) Los Ojos de la Guerra. Barcelona: Plaza & Janes.

Leon, Teodoro, Agustín Rivera & Myriam Redondo (2018) International Correspondents in Spain facing government and information sources. Evaluation of problems by analytic hierarchy process (AHP). El Professional de la Información. vol. 27 (4) pp. 813-821.

Massé, Mark. (2011) Trauma Journalism. New York: Continuum Pub.

McLaughlin, Greg. (2016) The War Correspondent. Pluto Press (2a ed).

Miles, Hugh. (2005) Al-Jazeera. How Arab TV News Challenged The World. London: Abacus.

Moeller, Susan (1999) Compassion Fatigue. How the Media Sell War, Famine, War and Death. Oxon: Routledge.

Moorcroft, Paul. & Philip Taylor. (2011) Shooting the Messenger. The Politics of War Reporting. London: Biteback Publishing.

Murrell, Colleen. (2015) Foreign Correspondents and International Newsgathering. The Role of Fixers. New York: Routledge.

Nicolas Gavilan, Maria Teresa. (2014) El enfoque del conflicto israelí-palestino. Análisis de los factores culturales que influyen en los corresponsales de guerra. Madrid: Fragua.

Nohrstedt, Stig. (2013) New Wars, New Media and New War Journalism. Stockholm: NordiCom

Nothias, Touissant. (2016) “How Western Journalists Actually write about Africa” in Journalism Studies, vol. 19, issue 8, pp. 1-22.

Painter, James. (2008). Counter-Hegemonic News: A Case Study of Al-Jazeera English and Telesur. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Patterson, Chris and Annabelle Sreberny. (2004) International News in the 21st Century. New York: John Libbey.

Paul, Christopher. (2004) Reporters on the Battlefield. Santa Monica, Calif: Rand.

Pennington, Rosemary & Kahn, Hillary. (2018) On Islam: Muslims and the Media. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Richardson, John & Barkho, Leo. (2009) “Reporting Israel-Palestine”. Journalism Studies, vol. 10 (5) pp. 594-622.

Ruigrok, Nel., Wouter van Atteveldt, & Janet Takens. (2013). “Shifting frames in a deadlocked conflict: News coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”. Seethaler, Josef, Mattias Karmasin & Gabriele Melischek (Eds.), Selling War: The role of the Mass Media in Hostile Conflicts. Bristol: Intellect.

Rogers, James. (2012) Reporting Conflict. Hampshire: Palgrave.  

Roura, Joan. (1999) “La pell de l’altre. In El mon en minut i mig. Un experiència de periodisme internacional a la televisió. Barcelona: La Magrana. pp. 240-265

Said, Edward. (1981) Covering Islam: How the Media and Experts Determine How We See The Rest Of The World. New York: Vintage Books.

Sambrook, Richard. (2010) “Are Foreign Correspondents Redundant?” in The Changing Face of International News. Oxford University:  Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Seib, Philip. (2010) “Transnational Journalism, Public Diplomacy and Virtual States”. In Journalism Studies, vol. 11 (5) pp. 734-744.

Serrano, José Luis. (2012) Manual militar para periodistas. Granada: Universidad de Granada.

Sistiaga, Jon. (2004) Ninguna guerra se parece a otra. Barcelona: Plaza & Janes.

Solé, Joan (2015). Cinc mirades del periodisme internacional: Marc Marginedas, Martí Anglada, Toni Cruanyes, Jordi Pérez Colomé, Sergi Vicente. Librooks

Terzis Georgios. (2014) Mapping Foreign Correspondence in Europe. London: Routledge.

Torres, Maruja (1999) Mujer en Guerra. Madrid: Santillana.

Tulloch, Christopher. (2004) Corresponsales en el extranjero: Mito y realidad. Pamplona: EUNSA.

Tuñón, Jorge (2016). Comunicación internacional: información y desinformación global en el siglo XXI. Madrid: Fragua. 

Tunstall, Jeremy. (2008) The Media Were American. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Televisió de Catalunya. (1999) El món en minut i mig, Una experiència de periodisme internacional a la televisió. Barcelona: Edicions La Magrana.

Valle, Nicolas. (2012) Secrets de Guerra. Barcelona: Ara Llibres.

Van Ginneken, Jaap. (1998) Understanding Global News. London: SAGE.

Wainaina, Binyavanga. (2005) “How to write about Africa”. Granta, 92.

Wassermann Herman. (2016) Media, Geopolitics and Power. A View from the Global South. Urbana: University of Illnois Press.

Wu, H. Denis. (2000) Systemic Determinants of International News Coverage: A Comparison of 38 countries. Journal of Communication 50 (2) pp. 110-130.

Information Resources

RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS /INSTITUTIONS (examples)

EU: https://european-union.europa.eu/index_es

UN: https://www.un.org/

NATO: https://www.nato.int/

ACNUR: www.acnur.org

AGENCIA ESPAÑOLA DE COOPERACION INTERNACIONAL www.aecid.es/ES

BANCO MUNDIAL www.bancomunidal.org

CIA WORLD FACTBOOK: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/

COMISION ECONOMICA PARA AMERICA LATINA: www.cepal.org

DEPARTAMENT D’ACCIÓ EXTERIOR GENCAT: https://exteriors.gencat.cat/ca/ambits-dactuacio/afers_exteriors/

INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS: https://www.icrc.org/en

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT:  https://www.icc-cpi.int/

MINISTERIO DE ASUNTOS EXTERIORES https://www.exteriores.gob.es/es/Paginas/index.aspx

OECD: https://www.oecd.org/

OSCE: https://www.osce.org/es

SEAE: https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/institutions-and-bodies/institutions-and-bodies-profiles/eeas_es

UNICEF: www.unicef.es

UNION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN https://ufmsecretariat.org/

INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM ORGANIZATIONS

Circulo de Corresponsales Extranjeros en España: https://corresponsales.com/

European Journalism Centre: https://ejc.net/

European Journalism Observatory: https://en.ejo.ch/

International Fact-Checking Network: https://www.poynter.org/ifcn/

International Center for Journalists: www.icfj.org

International Consortium for Investigative Journalists: https://www.icij.org/

International Press Institute: www.ipi.media

Poynter Institute: www.poynter.org

The Carter Centre: https://www.cartercenter.org/

EUROPE

IEMED https://www.iemed.org/?lang=es

COMISION EUROPEA: https://ec.europa.eu/info/index_es

AQUI EUROPA: www.aquieuropa.com

BRUSSELS REPORTER: www.brusselsreporter.org

EUOBSERVER: https://euobserver.com/

EURACTIV: https://www.euractiv.com/

PRESS CLUB BRUSSELS EUROPE: https://www.pressclub.be/

JOURNALS/MAGAZINES

FOREIGN AFFAIRS: www.foreignaffairs.org

FOREIGN POLICY: www.foreignpolicy.com

GLOBAL POST: https://theworld.org/programs/globalpost

GLOBAL VOICES: www.globalvoices.org

NIEMAN REPORTS: https://niemanreports.org/

POLITICA EXTERIOR: www.politicaexterior.com

REVISTA5W: www.revista5v.com

VANGUARDIA DOSSIER: www.lavanguardia.com/vanguardia-dossier

WORLD PRESS: www.Worldpress.org (non-US media)

NEWS AGENCIES

AFP: https://www.afp.com/es/noticias

ASSOCIATED PRESS: https://www.apimages.com/historical-photo-archive

EFE: https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/1

REUTERS: https://www.reuters.com/

THINK TANKS

CIDOB: https://www.cidob.org/ca/

REAL INSTITUTO ELCANO: https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/

FRIDE: https://www.esglobal.org/autor/fride/

INSTITUTO ESPAÑOL DE ESTUDIOS ESTRATEGICOS: https://www.ieee.es/

INSTITUT FRANÇAIS DES RELACIONS INTERNACIONALES: www.ifri.org

INSTITUT DE RELATIONS INTERNACIONALES ET STRATEGIQUES: www.iris-france.org/

RAND: https://www.rand.org/

ROYAL INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Chatham House: www.chathamhouse.org

JOURNALISM AND WAR / CONFLICT

Committee to Protect Journalists -  https://cpj.org/

Institut Català Internacional per la Pau: www.icip.cat

International Federation for the Protection of Journalists:  https://www.ifj.org/

IWPR - Institute for War and Peace Reporting https://iwpr.net/

Reporters Without Borders -  https://rsf.org/en

Rory Peck Trust -  https://rorypecktrust.org/

MIDDLE EAST

https://www.btselem.org/

https://www.aljazeera.com/

https://www.haaretz.com/

AFRICA

www.AllAfrica.com

www.africanews.com

African Women Journalism Project -  https://theawjp.org/

The Media Impact project https://www.mediaimpactproject.org/africa-in-media.html

Casa Africa: https://casafrica.es/es

GLOBAL MEDIA

CHINA GLOBAL TELEVISION NETWORK: https://www.cgtn.com/

DEUTSCHE WELLE: www.dw.com/es/actualidad

FRANCE 24: https://www.france24.com/es/

PRESSTV: https://www.presstv.ir/

TELESUR:  https://www.telesurtv.net/

MEDIA CARTOGRAPHY

Yanko Tsevtkov - https://atlasofprejudice.com/

https://geology.com/world/world-map.shtml

World through the eyes of the US Front pages: https://pudding.cool/2018/12/countries

Teaching Plan Information

Presentation

Presentation

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the global media landscape has undergone structural changes which have dramatically changed the relationship between international politics and the worldwide communication system. The traditional Anglo-American dominance over global news flow has been replaced by a new circuit of cultural, regional and national systems all competing in what former French president Jacques Chirac once called the “global battle of images”. In this sense, the present course begins by looking at world news management from the American Revolution of 1776, through the technological advances of the 19th century, the Golden Age of international journalism (1860-1914), the mass media era, the use of propaganda and the rise of audiovisual media, the fallout of the Second World War, the lessons of Vietnam before reaching the Internet age, social media and the Twittersphere of Donald J. Trump and beyond.  

Our next stop examines the typology of international news producers: foreign correspondents, special envoys, agency reporters, freelancers, fixers and photojournalists. Within this typology special mentions is made of the figure of the war correspondent and the coverage of armed conflict in general. Once familiar with the news providers we then move to examine international media cartography as the geographical distribution of these reporters often determines the news agenda and coverage.

At the halfway stage of the course, we then analyze how the dynamics of international news reporting play out with regard to four specific case studies:  the media coverage of Islam, the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Africa story and the image of Spain in the foreign press.

By switching to Global Media we take a look at the new actors in the global news narrative and try to tackle questions such as: How does the future of the world news system shape up? What is South-South communication? What is the role of counter-hegemonic platforms such as Al-Jazeera or China’s CGTN? International news agencies are also considered here as global players and the role of the Big Three (Reuters, AP and AFP) along with EFE is also analyzed.

The International News Observation week –scheduled two weeks before the end of the course- is dedicated to putting our theoretical and case study work to test by tracking the international section of a major media outlet for a 72-hour period. The course concludes by proposing a transnational journalism model based on a reconfigured agenda designed to face the challenges of the 21st century and reflects on the future of “foreign” news.

Associated skills

Common core skills at the UPF are defined as

- Autonomy skills, which help to consolidate self-awareness and critical thinking skills; autonomous learning, project management and problem solving; personal initiative and entrepreneurship, and adaptation and change management in complex environments.

-Transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge skills, which allow to develop face-to-face and digital collaborative work capacities; interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary learning; and/or research and knowledge transfer.

-Global citizenship skills, which help develop the ability to examine the world and its challenges from a global perspective, from commitment to fundamental rights, social justice, democracy and the environment to personal and collective action for planetary well-being and sustainable development.

-Gender competence, which makes it possible to assess inequalities due to sex and gender, in order to design effective solutions.

-Communication skills, which ensure the work of critical reading and oral comprehension skills, excellence in written, oral and audiovisual expression, and multilingual, multilingual and intercultural relationships.

-Digital skills, which promote the achievement of an advanced degree of digital literacy and the creation and dissemination of digital content.

These core competences are reinforced in the International Journalism course. Transdisciplinary knowledge –particularly in the field of contemporary history, political science or international relations- is present and necessary throughout the course. Critical thinking is an essential component especially regarding the case studies under consideration. Critical reading and audiovisual comprehension skills are honed in on as students are faced with seminal texts on international journalism and the need to offer to a critique of a film or documentary in this field. Collaborative work is demanded and graded on at least two ocasions. Oratory skills are key as students are required to offer convincing presentations and defend their work when cross-examined by class peers. Special attention is paid to the quality of all written output required during the course. As for competences regarding global citizenry, the course is tailor-made towards developing “students’ capacity to examine the world and its challenges from a global perspective” especially when referring to fundamental rights, social justice and democracy. Given the international composition of the student profile, the fact that the course is in English and the necessary local/international mix regarding group work, “interrelated multilinguistic and intercultural communicational skills” are a must.

As for gender competences, efforts have been made to assure greater sensitivity to gender perspectives in the International Journalism course especially given the traditional female: male ratio imbalance between students enrolled on the course. Such initiatives included clear instructions to students to include references to the contribution and the role of women in their class presentations or case studies or to allude to questions of gender bias or their absence of perspective and general “invisibility” in the international news narrative. An appropriate example here is the role of female war correspondents so often marginalized in the literature on the subject. Students are also encouraged to include a gender perspective during the elaboration of the News Observatory project. If their individual remit refers to “news actors” they were encouraged to look at the gender plurality (or lack of it) in international political reporting. If, on the other hand, they are charged with checking “sources” students are also asked to consider the presence of female voices or perspective in the news. When looking at “resources”, students should reflect on the numbers of female foreign correspondents and reporters dedicated to the story. Such reflections are not only to be considered as case specific but as a wider reflection on the profession to which many students aspire to join. Ideas are invited to redress imbalances on these fronts.   

Other more “practical” measures included the complete revision of class reading lists and recommended bibliography to lend greater visibility to female authors. Every thematic block of the course includes female authors and many of been added to the list of wider bibliographical references. The same approach applies to the filmography. Students must prepare a critical analysis of a film or documentary related to international journalism and the recommended list has been revised to offer a greater balance regarding directorship, themes and perspective.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

The teaching objectives that underlie the course are wid eranging as they combine elements such as the importance of acquiring a relevant historical perspective to international reporting, the development of an understanding of the internal professional dynamics at work in this field and the application of theoretical constructs to tangible contemporary examples. More specifically, the goals of the course can be described in the following way:

-a clear understanding of how historical precedents intervene in the discussion of contemporary issues in international reporting (censorship, desinformation, press/power relations)

-the ability to distinguish between the role, demands and professional mission of those figures which intervene in the international news production chain

-ability to comprehend those international news mechanisms and routines employed when covering with “foreign” news stories such as the danger of stereotyping, the adoption of preconceived cognitive frameworks or the highlighting of conflictive elements when constructing the “Other” or when representing foreign cultures

-the development of analytical skills when examining international news discourse

-the incorporation of a world perspective on international news based on the changes taking place in the Global Media landscape and the challenge they represent to the traditional Anglo-American management of the international news story

-capacity to redefine or decode ideas at the heart of the international news debate such as “foreign news”, “transnational agenda”, or “Global South” communication

Sustainable Development Goals

The International Journalism and Global Media course currently addresses -whether directly or indirectly- a number of these goals. Goal#1 (No Poverty) and Goal#10 (Inequality) are addressed when discussing the media coverage of the African continent. Goal#5 regarding gender inequality is considered throughout the course when relating to gender visibility in international reporting or in-house professional issues regarding access. Goal#13 on Climate Action appears when dealing with the transnational agenda in the media where environmental reporting and “green” issues figure prominently. Goal#16 is present in the course when the tenets of Peace Journalism are considered as an alternative narrative to conventional war reporting.

Prerequisites

Except for English language competence, there are no strict course prerequisites although previous studies in the fields of Mass Communications Studies, Journalism, Political Science, International Relations or History would be an advantage.

Contents

Course Content

The course is made up of 9 main themes:

1. The History of International Journalism
2. The International Desk
3. War Reporting
4. Media Cartography
5. International News Case Studies
6. Global Media I: Television News Channels

Global Media II: International News Agencies

7. International News Observation Week
8. Trwnsnational Journalism
9. The Future of International News Reporting

Justification: While a historical perspective of international journalism over the last 250 years may seem a somewhat “classic” start to the course it is considered necessary as a short historical introduction allows us to make vital cross-historical references which very often debunk ideas regarding the “unprecedented” nature of certain news/journalism phenomena. This is particularly appropriate when referring to subjects apparently so contemporary such as disinformation or fake news -allowing us to contrast disinformation techniques employed in the First World War with Trumps “alternative facts”, the debate surrounding embedded war journalists which, while often presented as a modern Pentagon-led invention, was already employed in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904 and the war in Korea (1950-1953) or the official leaking of sensitive information regarding armed foreign interventions abroad which allows us to compare Wikileaks to the Vietnam “Pentagon papers”. In this way we can situate in their appropriate historical context the importance of information technologies and their impact on international news gathering procedures.   

Key concepts of the session. What can knowledge of contemporary history bring to the study of international journalism? How can we employ the analysis of past events to understand modern-day media trends? The narrative combines the “Golden Age” of International reporting (1860-1914) with the creation of the first contemporary International news desks, and the designation of the first professional foreign correspondents along with the most significant advances in information technology (carrier pigeons, birth of photography, electric telegraph, cable, film, radio, television, satellites, internet and social media). The timeline features illustrative examples such as the French Revolution, the rise of Napoleon, Havas versus Reuters, the death of Lincoln, World War I, Nazis and Italian fascist use of audiovisual media, Spanish Civil War, World War II,  Israel 1948, Korean War, Sputnik and the Space Race, Castro and the Cuban Revolution, Vietnam, birth of CNN, fall of Berlin Wall, Gulf War I (1991); Internet & Balkans War, 9-11 and Citizen Journalism, Gulf War 2003, 11-M Madrid (2004), London 2005 & UGC, the explosion of Global Media (2005-2006), Obama as Podcast President, Arab Spring 2011, social media and foreign reporting, ISIS, the Twittersphere and Donald Trump. State of the Question.

Relevant Bibliography

Hohenberg, John. 1997. Foreign Correspondence. Syracuse University Press, 3rd Ed. pp. 1-49; pp. 80-118.

Knightly, Philip, 2004. The First Casualty. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Pp. 43-67 & pp. 207-237.

Moorcraft, Paul & Taylor, Philip. 2008. Shooting the Messenger. The Polítics of War Reporting. London: Potomac Books pp. 32-73.

Sreberny Annabelle & Patterson, Chris. International News in the 21st century. Hants: John Libbey, pp. 3-31.

Justification: To be better able to grasp the specific characteristics and constraints on foreign news production processes this session offers a radiography of the media professionals both in and outside the newsroom who form part of the International news chain from full-time staff correspondents to the indispensable figure of the fixer. Once classified and defined, their newsgathering and sourcing routines are studied along with other aspects which affect their day-to-day praxis (rotation policies, language issues, costs, obstacles, degree of specialization) and which may come to bear on how international news stories are managed in the media.

Key concepts of the session: The configuration of the foreign desk featuring bureau chiefs, full time staff correspondents, special envoys, international news agency reporters, stringers, freelancers, fixers, photojournalists and subeditors back in the newsrooms. Specific roles and destination-led demands. Myths and realities. Emerging figures: “foreign” foreign correspondents, “thematic” correspondents.

Relevant bibliography

Heinzerling, Larry. 2007. “Foreign Correspondents: A rare breed.” In. Reporters of the Associated Press. Breaking News. How the Associated Press has covered War, Peace and Everything Else. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 254-306.

Murrell, Colleen. (2015). Foreign Correspondents and International Newsgathering: The Role of Fixers. New York: Routledge.

Tsetsura, Katerina, Craig, David & Baisnée Olivier. (2011) “Professional values, ethics and norms of Foreign Correspondents” in Gross, Peter and Kopper, Gerd. Understanding Foreign Correspondence. New York: Peter Lang. pp. 165-186.

Tulloch, Christopher. (2004) “Las fuentes informativas de los corresponsales” en Corresponsales en el extranjero. Mito y realidad. EUNSA pp. 131-174.

Justification: The coverage of armed conflict is considered worthy of differential treatment within the field of foreign correspondence due to the specific demands of this style of international reporting and the unique characteristics of the professional environment in which it is exercised. As such, the study of this specialist field requires both a practical, hands-on approach as well as academic analysis from disciplines such as ethics or international law.

Key concepts of the session. Is “war correspondence” is a self-styled label or whether we can identify elements which allow us to consider armed conflict reporting as a speciality within the field of international journalism? Cinematographic myth-making and war correspondents. International legal framework for the protection of journalists. Professional organizations: IFJ, INSI, RSF etc.  Deontological issues: risk of partiality, advocacy journalism, observation versus participation debate, Stockholm syndrome. Embeds versus unilaterals. Redefining “war”. Umberto Eco and “neo-war”. Obstacles: censorship, logistics, desinformation, health issues (PTSD). Motivations.

Relevant bibliography

Hatzfeld, Jean. (2004) Una temporada de machetes (Original: Une saison de machettes) Barcelona. Anagrama

Herr, Michael. Despachos de guerra. (1980) (Original: Despatches) Barcelona: Anagrama.

Leguineche, Manuel & Sanchez, Gervasio. (2001) Los ojos de la guerra. Barcelona: Plaza & Janes. pp. 315-460.

“What makes War Correspondents tick?” in Moorcraft, Paul & Taylor, Philip. 2008. Shooting the Messenger. The Polítics of War Reporting. London: Potomac Books pp. 248-255.

Marinovich, Greg & Silva Joao. (2002) El Club del Bang Bang. Grijalbo: Barcelona.

Paul, Christopher & Kim, James. (2004) Reporters on the Battlefield. Santa Monica CA: Rand.

Torres, Maruja. (1999) Mujer en Guerra. Santillana: Madrid. pp. 253-265.

Justification:  In order to understand international media dynamics, we must contrast their understanding of classic eurocentric maps of the world with alternative global maps presented by other countries such as China or Australia in order to understand the arbitrary nature of media geopolitics, the distribution of professional resources and the effects of these “flat earth” pictorial representations of the planet on how news stories are framed, cultures are presented and how some countries are overpresented while others are invisibilized by these conventions.

Key concepts of the session. How do established “world” maps determine international news management and distribution? What do the media really refer to with the label “world news”? This session experiments with maps in class and take students from the Jerusalem-centred Northern Hemisphere-exclusive Hereford “Mappamundi” of 1290 to the BRICs Global Media maps of the 21st century. How maps define ideas of “North”v “South”, “East” v ”West” and the “Middle” and “Far” East. Distribution criteria of foreign correspondents. “World” coverage and its consequences: overextension, news borrowing, “news holes” and stereotypization.

Relevant bibliography

“The world according to the media”. 2008  Observers.france24.com/en/20080326-world-news-media-coverage-representation

Hess, Stephen. (1995) “What Gets Covered and Where” in International News and Foreign Correspondents. Washington: Brookings Institution. pp. 28-46.

Sambrook, Richard. (2010) “Are Foreign Correspondents Redundant?” in The Changing Face of International News. Oxford University:  Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Tulloch, Christopher. (2004) “Distribución geográfica de las corresponsalias” en Corresponsales en el extranjero. Mito y realidad. Pamplona: Eunsa, pp. 109-121.

Wu, Denis. (2004). “The World’s Windows to the World” in Sreberny, Annabelle & Patterson, Chris. International News in the 21st century. Hants: John Libbey. pp. 95-111.

After analysing the historical context and professional framework of international news reporting the course moves to the “laboratory” to consider three major case studies -the coverage of Islam, media representation of the African continent and the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict- before returning to Spain and to Catalonia to consider the reverse dynamics: that is, how foreign correspondents project stories and construct a news agenda about a sociopolitical reality with which students are familiar. 

Case Study I:  Islam and the media

Justification:  The arrival of Ayatollah Khomeni in Iran in 1979 led to a shift in the coverage of the Islam story in the media and for many observers has filled a void left after the end of the Cold War. This session aims to track how the international media has portrayed Islam through the last four dècades and has crossreferenced it to a a wide range of largely negative concepts particularly since the events of the 11th September 2001. After this diagnosis, proposals are made and discussed in class regarding measures for improvement in coverage including wider source selection, greater specialization in the newsroom and an alternative Islam agenda.

Key concepts of the session. From the exoticism of the “Persian Gulf” to modern day “Islamic republics”. Muslims in the press and on the screen- Journalistic vocabulary, conventions and stereotypes when covering Islam. Photographic representation. Media demonization. Press templates regarding Muslim and non-Muslim violent acts. Ways forward.

Relevant bibliography

Alatas, Syed Farid (ed.) (2005) Covering Islam: Challenges & Opportunities for Media in the Global Village. Singapore: TimeEdge Pub.

Fioretti, Natascha & Foa, Marcello. (2008) Islam and the Western World: the role of the media. European Journalism Observatory.

Ghiles, Francis. “Reporting the Muslim World in the Western Media” in Mass Media and Mutual Perceptions. IEMed- Quaderns de la Mediterrània (8) pp. 45-57.

Pennington, Rosemary & Kahn, Hillary. (2018) On Islam: Muslims and the media. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Said, Edward. (1981) Covering Islam: How the Media and Experts Determine How We See The Rest Of The World. New York: Vintage Books.

Case Study II:  The Israel-Palestine conflict

Justification:  Since the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948, the conflict with Palestine has hardly been off the front pages and international communication scholars have calculated that approximately 30% of all foreign stories over the last seven decades have been tied to Israel and Palestine. If this is the case, it is therefore necessary to analyse the charateristics and framing of this fixture of the international news agenda. How are both sides represented in the media? What is specific about working the Middle East beat? What are the difficulties and obstacles of covering this conflict? How do both sides engage with journalists? 

Key concepts of the session. The keys to the extensive media coverage of the conflict: geopolitical and economic interests, US media support, religion factor, Jerusalem as a news hub and the “mediatic” quality nature of the story itself. David v Goliath frame. Photographic representation. Media performances: dramatic scenes in sacred places. The dynamics of “eternal coverage”. Mainstream sources v alternative sources.

Relevant bibliography

Peper, Myrthe. (2018) The visual representation of civilians in images of the Israel-Palestine conflict in Israeli media. UPF_repositori http://hdl.handle.net/10230/36079

Richardson, John & Barkho, Leo. (2009) “Reporting Israel-Palestine”. Journalism Studies, vol. 10 (5) pp. 594-622.

Ruigrok, Nel., van Atteveldt, Wouter. H., & Takens, Janet. (2013). Shifting frames in a deadlocked conflict: News coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In J. Seethaler, M. Karmasin, G. Melischek, & R. Woehlert (Eds.), Selling War: The role of the Mass Media in Hostile Conflicts. Bristol: Intellect. pp. 259-289

Roura. Joan. (1999) “La pell de l’altre. In El mon en minut i mig. Un experiència de periodisme internacional a la televisió. Barcelona: La Magrana. pp. 240-265

Case Study III:  Africa(s)

Justification:  The media coverage of Africa makes for interesting reading for any scholar of international journalism dynamics. From the mid-19th century to the end of the Second World War, press coverage of the continent was largely exoticised as part of a colonialist post-Berlin conference narrative. This comes to an abrupt end in the 1960s in a post-colonialist setting and the onset of the war in Biafra 1967-1970. From here on the African news story takes a dramatic downward spiral and the Western press fills its pages with a string of negative themes including famine, poverty, corruption, natural disasters or genocide. This class looks at the turnaround in the representation of Africa and allows us to consider the wider journalistic issues involved such as “parachute journalism”, knowledge gaps, stereotipization and phenomena such as the “white saviour syndrome” and celebrity media activism.

Key concepts of the session. The three Africas: media division of the continent. Narrative framing today. The Africa “script”: oversimplification, superficiality and exaggeration. “One country” syndrome. Media perpetuation of the victim stereotype. Untold stories. Changing media panorama in Africa: new global media platforms in Africa (Al-Jazeera, France 24) rise of African digital projects and bloggers, consolidation of new media hubs (Nairobi, Johannesburg. Lagos), the new African economy story (South Africa as a BRICS country, Chinese investment and the CGTN as soft power media project).

Relevant bibliography

African Women Journalism Project -  https://theawjp.org/

Williams Ezeru, Chikaire. (2021) “Africa’s global media image in a digital world as an exclusive Western preserve? International Communication.  https://doi.org/10.1177/17480485211063789

Nothias, Touissant. (2016) “How Western Journalists Actually write about Africa” in Journalism Studies, vol. 19, issue 8, pp. 1-22.

Wainaina, Binyavanga. (2005) “How to write about Africa”. Granta, 92.

The Media Impact project https://www.mediaimpactproject.org/africa-in-media.html

Case Study IV:  Spain in the international media

Justification:  After analyzing three contrasting case studies abroad, this session looks at the inverse news dynamics by examining how foreign correspondents represent Spain and Catalonia in the international press. This allows students to observe the media projection of a sociopolitical reality which is more familiar to them. The professional praxis involving sourcing routines, story framing, agenda-setting and the accuracy –or inaccuracy- in the journalistic translation of domestic political concepts and institutional terminology is more salient when applied to a familiar context.  

Key concepts of the session. A brief historical review of Spain in the international media: 1898, 1936 and 1975. From “The New France” to one of the PIGS: The change in perception of Spain as a “soft” news story –tourism, sport, cultural traditions, arts and gastronomy- to a “harder” story featuring economic crisis, terrorism, political corruption, emergence of new parties (Podemos, Vox...), crisis in the Monarchy, Catalan independence, Covid etc. Profile of the foreign correspondent in Spain. Number of media outlets. The Spain agenda today.

Relevant bibliography

Herzog, Werner. (2006) Vaya País. Cómo nos ven los corresponsales de prensa extranjera. Madrid: Santillana.

Leon, Teodoro, Rivera, Agustín y Redondo Myriam. (2018)  International Correspondents in Spain facing government and information sources. Evaluation of problems by analytic hierarchy process (AHP). In. El professional de la información. Vol. 27 (4) pp. 813-821.

Rojo, Pedro. “The Image of Spain in the Arab Press”. IEMed-Quaderns de la Mediterrània (8) pp. 45-56.

Salaverria, Ramon. (2014) Foreign Correspondents in Spain: Facing the econòmic and professional crisis. In: Terzis G. Mapping Foreign Correspondence in Europe. pp. 243-251. London: Routledge.

Justification:  This session is dedicated to examining those global media platforms which emerged at the beginning of the 21st century as part of what former French president Jacques Chirac called the “global battle for images”. After analysing such projects from the Arab world (Al Jazeera), China (CGTN)  Latin America (Telesur) and the Francophile world (France24) it is clear that a revamped global news landscape is emerging which along with concepts such as “South-South” communication is leading to the consolidation of a multicentred information ecosystem.

Key concepts of the session. The initial debate: NWICO and the MacBride Report. The “CNN effect” and dominant news flows. Reaction to US global television dominance (Al Jazeera, TeleSur, CGTN, RT, France 24, PressTV...). Transnational counterflows (Bollywood, telenovelas, K-Pop, Baidu...) End to the centre v periphery debate. Alternative news cosmovision. Redefinition of concept “South”. Global TV as “soft power” and public diplomacy.

Relevant bibliography

Barkho, Leon. (2006) “The Arabic Al Jazeera vs Britian’s BBC and America’s CNN: who does journalism right?”. American Communication Journal. Vol. 8. Num. 1 pp. 1-15

Bebawi, Saba. (2016) Media Power and Global Television News: The Role of Al-Jazeera English. London: I.B. Tauris.

Painter, James. (2008). Counter-Hegemonic News: A Case Study of Al-Jazeera English and Telesur. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Seib, Philip. (2010) “Transnational Journalism, Public Diplomacy and Virtual States”. In Journalism Studies, vol. 11 (5) pp. 734-744.

Tunstall, Jeremy (2008) The Media were American. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Justification:  The global news agencies are, in many ways, the “Cinderella” media when it comes to the study of international journalism. Unjustifiably overlooked, these “wholesalers” of world information are responsible for up to 80% of international news flow and are among the largest media organizations in the world. While this class examines the distribution, resources and internal dyanmics of the “top tier” companies –AP, Reuters, AFP and EFE- in setting the international news agenda, it also presents the wider cast of state-sponsored agencies, the use made by subscribers of their material and their role in the creation of the world news narrative.    

Key concepts of the session. Defining elements of these organizations for international news purposes: resources, distribution, speed, credibility, cost. Vocabulary and style of agency reporting. Mapamundi of news agencies. The Big Three + EFE. Alliances. Alternative news agencies. Ownership models. Advantages and criticism of agency foreign news.

Relevant bibliography

Boyd-Barrett, Oliver (Ed.) (2010). News agencies in the turbulent era of the Internet. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya. pp. 13-45

Boyd-Barrett, Oliver. (2012). “Researching the news agencies”. In Volkmer, Ingrid. (Ed.), The Handbook of Global Media Research. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell. Pp. 331-351

Gürsel, Zeynep Devrim (2016).  Agence France Press: What is the dominant? In Image Brokers. Visualizing World News in the age of Digital Circulation. Oakland: University of Califonaia Press. pp. 126-159

Justification:  After having analysed the international information production chain and the professional newsgathering routines which form part of this process along with the media coverage of four contrasting case studies –Islam, Middle East, Africa and Spain- students are then required to enter the International News Observatory to put these theoretical and experimental constructs into practice through an in-depth analysis of a 48-hour cycle of the International news section of a major media outlet. The exercise consists in the following: Students are divided into eight groups of approximately five members (depending on the number enrolled on the course)

1. Group 1 is adjudicated a newspaper based in Madrid (El Pais, El Mundo, Abc...)
2. Group 2 is given a newspaper based in Barcelona (Vanguardia, El Periódico, Ara...)
3. Groups 3 & 4 must analyse an Anglo-American paper (Guardian, NYTimes...)
4. Group 5 must check out a European audiovisual outlet (Euronews, France24...)
5. Groups 6+7 must follow a non-Western global network (Al Jazeera, CGTN...)
6. Group 8 is given an international news agency to track (Reuters, AP, AFP...) 

Within their groups, each member takes charge of analysing one of the following five aspects of coverage and is given the following remit:

1. Agenda/News Actors:  Who is in the news? Who dominates the agenda? What are the levels of media elitism and plurality?
2. Sources: Who gets to speak? What are the direct/indirect sources journalists use? How many are “official” or “non-official”? Can we build a typology of sources?
3. Resources: At a human resources level, how are the stories covered? By staff correspondents? Special envoys? Agencies ? Freelancers? The international desk?
4. Graphic aspects: What are the non-textual elements used to explain international news stories? Can we observe editorial intentionality in the photos? What about infographics? How are foreign news stories “visualized”? Use of data. Maps.
5. Language. Can we detect ideology in the general framing of the stories? If so, how? Can we see bias in the headlines? Adjectivization. Stereotypization.

Students must follow the dotcom version of their media for 48 hours at a date predetermined by the course instructor and then pool their ideas and reflections in order to present their conclusions during a follow-up seminar with their class colleagues. Once the groups have presented their findings, results are cross-referenced to see if similar patterns of coverage or divergent news practices are employed.

Key concepts of the session. International news factors. Media elitism. Agenda-setting. Sourcing practices. Economics of global news coverage. Alternative techniques for presenting foreign news.

Relevant bibliography

Artero, Juan Pablo, & Moraes, Renata. (2008). Opciones estratégicas de las agencias de noticias europeas: Reuters, France Presse y EFE [Strategic choice at European news agencies: Reuters, France Presse, and EFE]. Comunicación y Sociedad, 21(1), 53-79.

Dimitrova Daniela & Strömbäck Jesper. (2009) Look who’s talking: use of sources in newspaper coverage in Sweden and the United States. Journalism Practice 3(1): 75–91.

Galtung Johan & Ruge Mari Holmboe (1965) The structure of foreign news. Journal of Peace Research 2: 64–91.

Wu, H. Denis. (2000) Systemic Determinants of International News Coverage: A Comparison of 38 countries. Journal of Communication 50 (2) pp. 110-130.

Justification:  The collapse of communism and the consequent disappearance of the structure brought to international news dynamics by the bipolar Cold War model along with the advances in digital information technologies has meant that 21st century foreign newsmaking has had to confront a multipolar, crossfrontier and interdependent scenario in which the division between “foreign” and “home” news is more arbitrary and in which a new news agenda has appeared featuring -among other transversal issues- climate change, financial integration, religious rivalries, terrorism, refugees or global pandemics. This class aims to explain how newsrooms are dealing with this challenge and what remains to be done to align the contemporary International desk with these extraterritorial news stories.

Key concepts of the session. “International” Journalism versus “Transnational” Journalism. Parallel pan-national phenomena which combine to influence the transnational news agenda such as the consolidation of transnational political and financial institutions, the creation of transnational public opinion, shared transnational media practices and the consolidation of a cast of transnational news actors/protagonists. The emergence of transnational thematic correspondents. Transnational collaboration. Examples and future tendencies.

Relevant bibliography

Colombo, Furio. (1997) “Noticias Internacionales, noticias transnacionales” en Ultimas noticias sobre el periodismo. Barcelona: Anagrama.

Grieves, Kevin. (2012) Journalism Across Boundaries: The Promises And Challenges Of Transnational And Transborder Journalism. New York: Palgrave. 

Heinrich, Ansgard. (2012) Foreign reporting in the sphere of network journalism. Journalism Practice vol. 6. (5-6): 766–775.

Tulloch, Christopher. (2004) “La aparicion de las noticias transnacionales en la nueva agenda del corresponsal”. Corresponsales en el extranjero: mito y realidad. pp. 200-210.

Justification:  The final session of the course takes a look at the main debates surrounding the dynamics of international journalism in the coming years in order to further align those tendencies already appearing on the horizon with the structure, design and priorities of today’s International news desks. There are many questions to be debated: What changes will be made to the news mapamundi in the coming years? Where should we distribute our resources? Should we change the “generalist” for thematic specialists? How can we tell foreign news stories better? in new ways?

Key concepts of the session. Extinction or reinvention? The challenge of social media for International journalism deadlines. Citizen journalism and international news Rethinking geographical distribution. The BRICS agenda. International news storytelling techniques: gamification, longform/“slow”, immersive. Media concentration and international news. Alternative outlets. Personalization. Drone journalism. Diaspora media.

Relevant bibliography

Babawi, Seba & Evans, Mark. (2019) The Future Foreign Correspondent. London: Palgrave. 1-9

Sambrook Richard. (2010) “The Changing Role of the Foreign Correspondent” in: Are Foreign Correspondents Redundant? Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Pp. 3-9.

Wassermann Herman. (2016) Media, Geopolitics and Power. A View from the Global South. Urbana: University of Illnois Press. pp. 135-152.

Teaching Methods

The pattern of the classes is as following: a brief icebreaker session regarding International news in the media opens the session before moving on to the course instructors presentation of the class which will normally consist in.

- the revision of contents from the previous class

- the return of exercises and global class commentary

- opening lecture (particularly Weeks 1 & 2)

- student group presentation on the subject of the day and defence / feedback from students

- wider considerations based on presentations + related articles /reading /ideas for improvement

- explanation / preparation for next week's class

Evaluation

Mid-term exam (week 5)                                      20%

Final exam (end March)                                        30%

International News Observation Week               15%

Group Presentation                                                15%

Documentary/filmography                                    10%

General task compliance, preparation                10%

Bibliography and information resources

The texts listed below are relevant to all thematic blocks on the course.

Alatas, Syed Farid (ed.) (2005) Covering Islam: Challenges & Opportunities for Media in the Global Village. Singapore: TimeEdge Pub.

Aldekoa, Xavier (2019). Indestructibles. Barcelona: Columna.

Arbones, Toni. (2002) Històries d’una guerra invisible. Cròniques s’un reporter al Pakistan i al’Afganistan. Barcelona: Columna.

Archetti, Cristina. (2012) “Which Future for Foreign Correspondence?” Journalism Studies, 13 (5) 847-856.

Artero, Juan Pablo, & Moraes, Renata. (2008). Opciones estratégicas de las agencias de noticias europeas: Reuters, France Presse y EFE [Strategic choice at European news agencies: Reuters, France Presse, and EFE]. Comunicación y Sociedad, 21(1), 53-79.

Associated Press. Breaking News. How the Associated Press has covered War, Peace and Everything Else. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. pp. 254-306.

Bebawi, Saba. (2016) Media Power and Global Television News: The Role of Al Jazeera English. London: IB Tauris.

Dell.Orto, Giovanna & Irmgard Wetzstein (2019). Refugee News, Refugee Politics. Journalism, Public Opinion and Policymaking in Europe. New York: Routledge.

Dimitrova, Daniela & Jesper Strömbäck (2009) Look who’s talking: use of sources in newspaper coverage in Sweden and the United States. Journalism Practice 3(1): 75–91.

Feixas Torras, Txell (2020). Dones valentes: lluites femenines i feministes a l'Orient Mitjà. Ara Llibres.

Fioretti, Natascha & Foa, Marcello. (2008) Islam and the Western World: the role of the media. European Journalism Observatory.

Galtung Johan & Mari Holmboe Ruge (1965) “The structure of foreign news”. Journal of Peace Research 2: 64–91.

Garcia, Caterina & Angel Rodrigo. (2008) La seguredad comprometida. Nuevos desafios, amenazas y conflictos armados. Barcelona: Tecnos.

Garcia-Planas, Plàcid. (2010) Jazz en el despacho de Hitler. Otra forma de ver las guerras. Barcelona: Peninsula.

Golan, Guy, Thomas Johnson & Wayne Wanta. (2010) International Media Communication in a Global Age. New York: Routledge.

González Aldea, Patricia (2014). El periodismo internacional en la era digital. Editorial Idea.

Gross, Peter and Kopper, Gerd. (2011)  Understanding Foreign Correspondence. Peter Lang.

Gürsel, Zeynep. (2016) Image Brokers. Visualizing World News in the Age of Digital Circulation. Oakland: University of California Press.

Hafez, Kai. (2000) Islam and the West in the Mass Media. New Jersey: Hampton Press.

Hannerz. Ulf. (2004) Foreign News: Exploring the World of Foreign Correspondence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Hatzfeld, Jean. (2004) Una temporada de machetes (Original: Une saison de machettes) Barcelona. Anagrama

Heinrich, Ansgard. (2012) Foreign reporting in the sphere of network journalism. Journalism Practice, vol. 6. (5-6): 766–775.

Herr, Michael. (1980) Despachos de guerra. (Original: Despatches) Barcelona: Anagrama.

Hess, Stephen. (1996) International News and Foreign Correspondents. Washington: Brookings Institution.

Herzog, Werner. (2006) Vaya País. Cómo nos ven los corresponsales de prensa extranjera. Madrid: Santillana.

Hohenberg, John. (1997) Foreign Correspondence. Syracuse University Press, 3rd ed.

IeMed. Mass Media  and Mutual Perceptions. Quaderns de la Mediterrània 8. Barcelona: Icaria Editorial.

Knightly, Philip. (2000) The First Casualty. London: Prion.

Leguineche, Manuel. (2001) Los Ojos de la Guerra. Barcelona: Plaza & Janes.

Leon, Teodoro, Agustín Rivera & Myriam Redondo (2018) International Correspondents in Spain facing government and information sources. Evaluation of problems by analytic hierarchy process (AHP). El Professional de la Información. vol. 27 (4) pp. 813-821.

Massé, Mark. (2011) Trauma Journalism. New York: Continuum Pub.

McLaughlin, Greg. (2016) The War Correspondent. Pluto Press (2a ed).

Miles, Hugh. (2005) Al-Jazeera. How Arab TV News Challenged The World. London: Abacus.

Moeller, Susan (1999) Compassion Fatigue. How the Media Sell War, Famine, War and Death. Oxon: Routledge.

Moorcroft, Paul. & Philip Taylor. (2011) Shooting the Messenger. The Politics of War Reporting. London: Biteback Publishing.

Murrell, Colleen. (2015) Foreign Correspondents and International Newsgathering. The Role of Fixers. New York: Routledge.

Nicolas Gavilan, Maria Teresa. (2014) El enfoque del conflicto israelí-palestino. Análisis de los factores culturales que influyen en los corresponsales de guerra. Madrid: Fragua.

Nohrstedt, Stig. (2013) New Wars, New Media and New War Journalism. Stockholm: NordiCom

Nothias, Touissant. (2016) “How Western Journalists Actually write about Africa” in Journalism Studies, vol. 19, issue 8, pp. 1-22.

Painter, James. (2008). Counter-Hegemonic News: A Case Study of Al-Jazeera English and Telesur. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Patterson, Chris and Annabelle Sreberny. (2004) International News in the 21st Century. New York: John Libbey.

Paul, Christopher. (2004) Reporters on the Battlefield. Santa Monica, Calif: Rand.

Pennington, Rosemary & Kahn, Hillary. (2018) On Islam: Muslims and the Media. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Richardson, John & Barkho, Leo. (2009) “Reporting Israel-Palestine”. Journalism Studies, vol. 10 (5) pp. 594-622.

Ruigrok, Nel., Wouter van Atteveldt, & Janet Takens. (2013). “Shifting frames in a deadlocked conflict: News coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”. Seethaler, Josef, Mattias Karmasin & Gabriele Melischek (Eds.), Selling War: The role of the Mass Media in Hostile Conflicts. Bristol: Intellect.

Rogers, James. (2012) Reporting Conflict. Hampshire: Palgrave.  

Roura, Joan. (1999) “La pell de l’altre. In El mon en minut i mig. Un experiència de periodisme internacional a la televisió. Barcelona: La Magrana. pp. 240-265

Said, Edward. (1981) Covering Islam: How the Media and Experts Determine How We See The Rest Of The World. New York: Vintage Books.

Sambrook, Richard. (2010) “Are Foreign Correspondents Redundant?” in The Changing Face of International News. Oxford University:  Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Seib, Philip. (2010) “Transnational Journalism, Public Diplomacy and Virtual States”. In Journalism Studies, vol. 11 (5) pp. 734-744.

Serrano, José Luis. (2012) Manual militar para periodistas. Granada: Universidad de Granada.

Sistiaga, Jon. (2004) Ninguna guerra se parece a otra. Barcelona: Plaza & Janes.

Solé, Joan (2015). Cinc mirades del periodisme internacional: Marc Marginedas, Martí Anglada, Toni Cruanyes, Jordi Pérez Colomé, Sergi Vicente. Librooks

Terzis Georgios. (2014) Mapping Foreign Correspondence in Europe. London: Routledge.

Torres, Maruja (1999) Mujer en Guerra. Madrid: Santillana.

Tulloch, Christopher. (2004) Corresponsales en el extranjero: Mito y realidad. Pamplona: EUNSA.

Tuñón, Jorge (2016). Comunicación internacional: información y desinformación global en el siglo XXI. Madrid: Fragua. 

Tunstall, Jeremy. (2008) The Media Were American. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Televisió de Catalunya. (1999) El món en minut i mig, Una experiència de periodisme internacional a la televisió. Barcelona: Edicions La Magrana.

Valle, Nicolas. (2012) Secrets de Guerra. Barcelona: Ara Llibres.

Van Ginneken, Jaap. (1998) Understanding Global News. London: SAGE.

Wainaina, Binyavanga. (2005) “How to write about Africa”. Granta, 92.

Wassermann Herman. (2016) Media, Geopolitics and Power. A View from the Global South. Urbana: University of Illnois Press.

Wu, H. Denis. (2000) Systemic Determinants of International News Coverage: A Comparison of 38 countries. Journal of Communication 50 (2) pp. 110-130.

Information Resources

RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS /INSTITUTIONS (examples)

EU: https://european-union.europa.eu/index_es

UN: https://www.un.org/

NATO: https://www.nato.int/

ACNUR: www.acnur.org

AGENCIA ESPAÑOLA DE COOPERACION INTERNACIONAL www.aecid.es/ES

BANCO MUNDIAL www.bancomunidal.org

CIA WORLD FACTBOOK: https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/

COMISION ECONOMICA PARA AMERICA LATINA: www.cepal.org

DEPARTAMENT D’ACCIÓ EXTERIOR GENCAT: https://exteriors.gencat.cat/ca/ambits-dactuacio/afers_exteriors/

INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS: https://www.icrc.org/en

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT:  https://www.icc-cpi.int/

MINISTERIO DE ASUNTOS EXTERIORES https://www.exteriores.gob.es/es/Paginas/index.aspx

OECD: https://www.oecd.org/

OSCE: https://www.osce.org/es

SEAE: https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/institutions-and-bodies/institutions-and-bodies-profiles/eeas_es

UNICEF: www.unicef.es

UNION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN https://ufmsecretariat.org/

INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM ORGANIZATIONS

Circulo de Corresponsales Extranjeros en España: https://corresponsales.com/

European Journalism Centre: https://ejc.net/

European Journalism Observatory: https://en.ejo.ch/

International Fact-Checking Network: https://www.poynter.org/ifcn/

International Center for Journalists: www.icfj.org

International Consortium for Investigative Journalists: https://www.icij.org/

International Press Institute: www.ipi.media

Poynter Institute: www.poynter.org

The Carter Centre: https://www.cartercenter.org/

EUROPE

IEMED https://www.iemed.org/?lang=es

COMISION EUROPEA: https://ec.europa.eu/info/index_es

AQUI EUROPA: www.aquieuropa.com

BRUSSELS REPORTER: www.brusselsreporter.org

EUOBSERVER: https://euobserver.com/

EURACTIV: https://www.euractiv.com/

PRESS CLUB BRUSSELS EUROPE: https://www.pressclub.be/

JOURNALS/MAGAZINES

FOREIGN AFFAIRS: www.foreignaffairs.org

FOREIGN POLICY: www.foreignpolicy.com

GLOBAL POST: https://theworld.org/programs/globalpost

GLOBAL VOICES: www.globalvoices.org

NIEMAN REPORTS: https://niemanreports.org/

POLITICA EXTERIOR: www.politicaexterior.com

REVISTA5W: www.revista5v.com

VANGUARDIA DOSSIER: www.lavanguardia.com/vanguardia-dossier

WORLD PRESS: www.Worldpress.org (non-US media)

NEWS AGENCIES

AFP: https://www.afp.com/es/noticias

ASSOCIATED PRESS: https://www.apimages.com/historical-photo-archive

EFE: https://www.efe.com/efe/espana/1

REUTERS: https://www.reuters.com/

THINK TANKS

CIDOB: https://www.cidob.org/ca/

REAL INSTITUTO ELCANO: https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/

FRIDE: https://www.esglobal.org/autor/fride/

INSTITUTO ESPAÑOL DE ESTUDIOS ESTRATEGICOS: https://www.ieee.es/

INSTITUT FRANÇAIS DES RELACIONS INTERNACIONALES: www.ifri.org

INSTITUT DE RELATIONS INTERNACIONALES ET STRATEGIQUES: www.iris-france.org/

RAND: https://www.rand.org/

ROYAL INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Chatham House: www.chathamhouse.org

JOURNALISM AND WAR / CONFLICT

Committee to Protect Journalists -  https://cpj.org/

Institut Català Internacional per la Pau: www.icip.cat

International Federation for the Protection of Journalists:  https://www.ifj.org/

IWPR - Institute for War and Peace Reporting https://iwpr.net/

Reporters Without Borders -  https://rsf.org/en

Rory Peck Trust -  https://rorypecktrust.org/

MIDDLE EAST

https://www.btselem.org/

https://www.aljazeera.com/

https://www.haaretz.com/

AFRICA

www.AllAfrica.com

www.africanews.com

African Women Journalism Project -  https://theawjp.org/

The Media Impact project https://www.mediaimpactproject.org/africa-in-media.html

Casa Africa: https://casafrica.es/es

GLOBAL MEDIA

CHINA GLOBAL TELEVISION NETWORK: https://www.cgtn.com/

DEUTSCHE WELLE: www.dw.com/es/actualidad

FRANCE 24: https://www.france24.com/es/

PRESSTV: https://www.presstv.ir/

TELESUR:  https://www.telesurtv.net/

MEDIA CARTOGRAPHY

Yanko Tsevtkov - https://atlasofprejudice.com/

https://geology.com/world/world-map.shtml

World through the eyes of the US Front pages: https://pudding.cool/2018/12/countries