NWICO and Development Journalism

After reading McPhail's analysis of the New World Information and Communication Order and development journalism, I believe that the best way for the Western press (and the Western world) to facilitate the growth of a free press in developing nations is by increasing and expanding foreign coverage in those areas. While not all news about the developing world is "coup and earthquake" news detailing every new disaster, certainly a wider variety and context of news would be useful to aid Western media consumers to better understand the developing world. As a media consumer who examines three newspapers and a variety of online sources on a daily basis, I still do not feel like I can grasp the complexities of developing areas in Africa or the Middle East.

I think that journalists themselves need to gain a better grasp of what is going on in these areas. While some journalists like Robert Fisk become part of the fiber of a foreign community, so often we now see correspondents fly in, report, and fly out. Even Christian Amanpour, perhaps the most revered American war correspondent in recent memory, is guilty of this. When American reporters experience what they are reporting and live it, like Fisk in Beirut, then their readers will gain a better grasp of the situation at hand.

Personally, having read nearly all of Fisk's writing for the last three years, I can honestly say that I understand and comprehend the situation in Beirut and Lebanon, and I am able to formulate my own thoughts and opinions on what is best for the area. Do the Lebanese appreciate Fisk's presence? Do the Israelis likewise? Those are questions I would like to have answered.