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You might travel the world to report foreign affairs. Or you’ll find yourself in a newsroom, editing stories that are coming in from around the globe on the wires. Frequently as a journalist you will need to evaluate news from cultures and societies you don’t know much about.
This module offers contextual information and analytical skills. It will provide you with a critical insight into a range of world views across our planet, and into how they were shaped by recent (post-Cold War) events in history. You will be introduced to global regions and players, and reflect on global themes. You will find out how cross-cultural issues shape the way journalists report news around the globe. You will gain an insight into the everyday lives of foreign correspondents and reflect on ways international news is processed at foreign desks. You will also learn to source and develop foreign affairs content that you can pitch as long-form journalism to commissioning editors and adapt for a range of global media audiences.
Global themes you will critically reflect on include framing the news in a post-Cold War era; representation of developing nations in world media; news about limited global resources, including food, water and energy crises; reporting environmental change; war and conflict; the global war on covering major global economies, multinational corporations and key international institutions, including the UN, IMF or the International Court of Justice.
You will engage with comparative academic studies of news and media practices in a range of regions around the globe and reflect on the role not only of mainstream journalism, but also of citizen-, grassroots- and activist journalism. You will reflect on radical responses to the major forces and factors shaping life in the 21st century, including the anti-globalisation movement, neo-nationalism or the emerging global cyber-culture. This module will introduce you to a range of approaches to reporting different world regions and global themes, and will provide you with the opportunity to compare and analyse the coverage of international affairs in a diverse range of world media.

Upon completion of this module you will be able to:
LO1: Demonstrate a broad knowledge of contemporary world history and global current affairs
LO2: Demonstrate a broad understanding of key events, forces and factors shaping the 21st century global affairs agenda
LO3: Compare and evaluate the coverage of global current affairs in a range of mainstream and alternative media around the globe
LO4: Develop original and relevant global affairs content and pitch it to commissioning editors