International Reporting: Who Decides What's Important?

In many news organization there is usually two key actors who help reporters decide which stories to cover. Those individuals are usually the news director and the assignment editor although on some occasion, story choice can come directly from the reporter, but still requires approval from the director or editor within the news agency. The bureaucratic structure of news agencies is arguably a necessary component to deliver current and important news to the public, but this system is questionable when assessing whether or not this system leads to the production of fair and balance news.

In Hafez’ text International Reporting, he defines international reporting as, “the content and processes of media coverage of realities beyond the home state.” The “realities” that Hafez’ mentions includes events such as famine, droughts, conflict and even elections abroad. The role of international reporting has evolved over the past 20 years and has become a central to the American news diet. As with domestic news, journalists are central to delivering the story in international reporting and in many ways have become “intermediaries in the process of globalization (Hafez, 1).” The author’s definition of the role that journalists have in process of globalization is valid considering they carry messages about culture and societal norms from one country to another through media networks. For example, after the terrorist attack on America in 2001, the Muslim religion and Middle East culture were both central to understanding the individuals who committed the hijackings. I remember a CNN news story that covered the growing trend of Americans converting to Islam after September 11^th. The story was a western perspective on Islam and did little to help the public understand the religion itself and its influence in supporting the terrorists in their act (if at all).

Agenda setting becomes especially problematic in international reporting since time and resources determine which stories can and cannot be covered. In many ways, the limitations in international reporting appear as if there is bias toward particular topics and events. As Hafez mentions, “only a small number of countries, topics and perspectives make it into the international reporting within a particular nation.” For countries like Somalia, international reports on its famine crisis came too late. Thousands of people in Somalia died due to hunger and some suggest that many deaths could have been prevented if the media covered the crisis sooner.