CLASS SCHEDULE AND TOPICS

News for a New World		Sept. 11
Ethics and Conflicts		Sept. 18, 25
Getting the Story		Oct. 2, 9
Writing for Real People		Oct. 16
Covering the Unfamiliar		Oct. 23
War and Other Dangers		Oct. 30
The Impact of New Media		Nov. 6
Careers in International Reporting		Nov. 13

In advance of each class, students should send a 300-word note to the instructor with comments on one or more of the readings or audio/video clips listed for that session. Please also include suggestions for class discussion, based on the readings or other sources.

Some classes may begin with a discussion of the coverage of a current international news story, announced in advance. Students should come prepared with opinions on coverage of the story.

All readings are online and may be read and printed from this site with a password provided by the instructor.

Rarely has the world faced so many challenges and conflicts, one succeeding the other with dizzying speed. How can international reporting keep up? Who's writing international news these days, and who reads it? How can we make it more understandable and compelling, across different kinds of media? Which international stories get covered, and which don't? Why do some people get their world news from Jon Stewart's "Daily Show"? Why can the press miss major stories until it’s too late? Broadening international news coverage. Attempts to change the flow of world news. Critics of international reporting.

A set of ethical problems will be discussed at these classes. Students should read them in advance and form ideas – strong ones, preferably – for class discussions about how they ought to be handled.

The ethics of international reporting. How much does (and should) the press influence foreign policy? Relations with governments and the military. Ethics of interviewing. Gifts. Off-the-record material. Intentionally withholding news. Should ethics change when lives are in the balance? What happens when local values clash with the ethics we learned at Columbia? Misrepresenting yourself, for good and evil. Anonymity. Handling grisly images.

Reporting techniques. The news "pack." Alternatives to politics-and-disaster reporting. Getting information. Dealing with government officials, opposition groups, ordinary citizens and truly awful people. Beating the opposition. When not to write anything. Language issues. The role of the foreign desk: do editors and reporters naturally hate each other? Deadline first aid for fractured stories. Ensuring fairness in copy. The uses -- and dangers -- of anonymity.

What readers are looking for in international news writing. Writing with credibility, authority and flash. The many uses of context. The lead. Choosing the right word. Focusing on what's truly important. Writing from the reader's perspective. When to use, and avoid, detail. Grappling with obscenities, ungrammatical quotes and, uh, bull. Wooden writing, arrogant writing and other ways to lose the reader (and never get him back).

Covering unfamiliar political ideologies, religions, cultures and armed movements. Labels and stereotypes. Looking at motivations. Simplifying without being simplistic. What you see isn't necessarily what's there. Understanding the passions that drive events. Fighting preconceived notions. Controversies over the names of cities, countries and peoples: is it Burma or Myanmar?

“Reasonable risk.” What you can protect yourself from, and what you can't. Equipment and dress in a danger zone. Surveillance and harassment. "I was there" reporting. Giving your own opinion. The temptation to take risks. Covering the military: When it’s “our boys” fighting. Press access and operations in recent major stories, including Iraq and the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

This class will take place at the new multimedia headquarters of The Associated Press, 450 West 33rd St., New York.

How technology has helped cover international stories. The burdens and opportunities technology offers correspondents. Blogs, "citizen journalists" and the growth of "robot media." Who's a journalist now? New ways of distributing and reading news. The new multimedia newsroom.

The thrills and frustrations of life as an international correspondent. Freelancing, stringers, "superstringers" and local hires. Preparing for a foreign reporting career. Can a correspondent have a family? How about a life? Breaking into traditional and new media. Do's and don'ts when applying for jobs. Tips for interviews. Getting along in a news organization.