Gone are the days of globetrotting reporters traveling first class and hobnobbing with rock stars and diplomats. Today’s foreign correspondents are young, resourceful, and adventurous; able to report in video, print, photo, and audio; and as likely to be freelancers as staffers.
Our International Reporting Program prepares this new breed of reporters to explore the world and share the stories of real people. Classes cover economics and globalization, human rights, immigration, religion, climate change, U.S. foreign policy, and development, preparing students to put stories in global context, avoid stereotypes, and help audiences understand the trends that link us all.
Most of our students do their summer internship abroad. Before they go, they undertake a two-day risk awareness and emergency medical training workshop. In some years, the class also travels to an international news hot spot to get a hands-on understanding of the issues involved. We’ve had two class trips to Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Students hone skills needed to report overseas by covering one of the diverse immigrant populations in New York City, such as the Burmese in Ozone Park, West Africans in Harlem, Mexicans in Jackson Heights, and Chinese and Koreans in Flushing.
Our faculty includes some of the most experienced journalists working in foreign reporting. We also host an international journalist in residence – an exile from war or a repressive regime that opposes free press.
Alums of the program work around the world and in the U.S., in media such as The New York Times, the BBC, NPR, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Vice, Buzzfeed, Fusion, CBS, The Independent, the Jakarta Globe, The Phnom Penh Post, and Premium Times (Nigeria).
