Embracing empathy, respect & objectivity in international journalism
What is international journalism? After months of taking a course on this particular subject, I have concluded three values that are integral to cross-cultural storytelling. When I define international journalism, I come up with this: it is approaching storytelling in a cross-cultural context with respect, empathy and objectivity. Respect enables international journalists to provide accurate information that allows the public to make their own decisions. Empathy ensures that facts are presented in a culturally appropriate way. International journalism gives journalists an opportunity to expand their own worldview and the worldview of others by compassionately sharing stories from a cultural lens appropriate to the context. And objectivity challenges journalists to remove their own cultural lens and preconceived understandings of a particular country before reporting on their stories. These three values, when embraced, allow international journalists to genuinely embrace their responsibility to be a voice for the voiceless.
Challenges of International Journalism
International journalism comes with its own set of obstacles. As journalists attempt to navigate a cross-cultural context, they are met with political challenges, language barriers, even media restrictions. Learning how to apply these three values to any form of international journalism can be extremely beneficial. International journalism requires a journalist to remove their own cultural lens and ethnocentric mindsets. It invites them into a space of possibly challenging views, requiring them to expand their worldview. It gives them the opportunity to learn about another culture, people and community by speaking with locals, researching on media or political challenges and even embracing a new language. International journalism puts journalists in a space where they are challenged to gain an understanding of a specific community and report on that community in a culturally appropriate way. I remember our discussion about the role of empathy in journalism and how it can be used effectively to tell stories that are meaningful and relevant to a specific audience. When journalists approach a community with empathy, they also have a chance to extend empathy to the people they interview or the groups they gather resources from. This enables the journalist to gather information that would be culturally empowering and meaningful for that community because of its relevancy and relatability. Journalists that approach other communities with respect for their culture, for the people they interview, even for the governments and policies they might not agree with can place them in positions of reliability and trustworthiness. I think that this would be most beneficial for times when journalists are faced with challenges of media expression and the dangers of media.
Voice for the voiceless
Journalism is a challenging practice especially when considering the cross-cultural barriers of language, government, religion and culture that so often surround international journalism. However, I believe that when journalists remember that their responsibility and call is to be a voice for the voiceless, embracing these cultural barriers with humility, empathy, respect and objectivity can help journalists balance the challenges of storytelling.
