Curriculum
In International Reporting: Courses Faculty Careers Events
International Reporting
"During my second year at the J-School, North Gate Hall resembled not a school so much as an airport terminal. Writers, photographers and filmmakers crisscrossed in the hallway on their way to far-flung spots. China, Chile, India, Iraq, Thailand. The list goes on. I was bound for South Africa. I took with me 100 pounds of equipment and a year's worth of training in film production. Three weeks later, I returned with a handful of videotapes. Somewhere within all those billions of newly encoded 1s and 0s was the story of a man's life. I clutched the bag of tapes—as precious to me as oxygen—the entire way home." Dan Krauss, MJ 2004, freelance documentary film director and cameraman
Such overseas reporting classes are one of several key components of the school's growing international reporting program. In recent years, permanent faculty and lecturers—including many seasoned foreign correspondents from the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, ABC News, CBS News, and NPR—have led classes to nearly two dozen countries, including Argentina, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Ghana, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kashmir, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Class projects have focused on women's health issues in rural India; Cuba entering the 21st century; the "Al-Aqsa Intifada" in the West Bank; the 15th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall; and the social, cultural and political impact of global warming around the world. Students in the international reporting courses produce print, photo, documentary, TV or radio pieces that routinely end up in prestigious publications and broadcast outlets around the country and the globe.
Admission to international reporting travel courses is by application. Some students also receive international travel grants to work on projects with faculty advisors or FRONTLINE/World producers. Students spend time in the classroom, preparing for the travel portion of the class and generally travel during winter break, spring break or early summer. The classroom emphasis is on reporting and on the privilege and responsibility of working as a journalist overseas. Issues like reporting with cultural senstivity, working with translators and other international partners, and getting the necessary information in an unfamiliar setting are all addressed prior to the travel portion of the course.