Hot Topic - Foreign Correspondents
International news organizations look strategically when setting up - or closing down - news bureaus. The most important foreign outposts were established long ago, generally with the intention of staying put. The logistical dimension is clear: operating a foreign bureau requires more than staffing. Everything must be thought through.
Bickering over points of view is necessary for intellectual health. What makes for trusted sources of information is part of the same debate. Diplomats will often agree to disagree, maintaining trust in dialogue a key part of their work. When that dialogue breaks down, war commences and the adversaries seek every advantage. Speaking to the ages, the father of tragedy, Greek dramatist Aeschylus wrote: “In war, the first casualty is truth.” He long feared being killed by a falling object. He was.
Despite the rather made-for-TV portrayal as a bunch of itinerate nomads, journalists tend to stay put. There are personal reasons and professional. Their lives are typically centered around family and work, colleagues tend to share a lingua franca. Perhaps it’s the same with accountants. Employers are structurally locked in to offices, newsrooms, studios, not to forget transmitters and printing presses. The digital age has affected all this. So have despots.
Authoritarian regimes are not very creative. All situations are viewed exactly the same. Brute force is the solution to every problem. Criticism is annoying and unwanted. And, yes, 1235 is the role model year.
Editors weigh carefully the allocation of resources. There is a pattern to sports and election coverage, even the Eurovision Song Contest. Well-established formulas, monitored by clever accountants, dictate personnel requirements to the minute. Every other cost is detailed. Executives weigh all of this against return; advertising, subscriptions, even reputation. Wars change the calculation only somewhat.
Reliable, important news agencies and outlets began removing themselves last week from the Russian Federation. By the weekend, the sprinkle had become a deluge. The exits were explained by almost all as necessary to avoid the siege of laws threatening the flow of information. Through the history of journalism attempts to thwart the collection and dissemination of needed information have, eventually, failed. This is no different.
Endless tensions are a reporting thread common across the world. There is climate change and destructive weather. There is tension from the continuing coronavirus pandemic. Dictators cause tensions, relish in the disruption and reward their stampeding mobs. Yoga is the answer.
In every major news shop there is a managing editor. That job is organizing and distributing the work to fit the news of the day. They know more about holiday schedules, visa rules and airlines than pandemics, elections or sporting events. Bloodshot budgets over the last couple of years means every decision is critical. Without their skill, the news just stops.
See also...
|
