Next Generation Journalism

February 4th, 2012  |  By Mary Stucky

U.S. Students Encounter Moroccan Protestors

Protests in Rabat, Morocco, February 2011. Photograph: Abdeljalil Bounhar/AP

On Thursday morning twelve student journalists from the U.S greeted me with great enthusiasm — they had witnessed their first news story in Morocco.  The night before, hundreds of young Moroccans, protesting the lack of jobs for university graduates here, surged along the grand avenue in front of the Moroccan Parliament,  eventually chased away by police.  (In Morocco, unemployment is 16 percent for university graduates,  above the national average.)

These protests have escalated since what in Morocco is called the “February 20th Movement”  –the milder Moroccan version of Arab Spring.   Moroccans haven’t overthrown the monarch  —  in addition to their respect for the king, many Moroccans also seem to fear the disruption brought in other Arab Spring countries.  The king has instituted some  reforms such as, for the first time, the judiciary is now supposed to be an independent branch of government. Late last year Morocco held the first elections to Parliament under the new, slightly more progressive Constitution (a moderate Islamic party won but the King still holds ultimate  power here).

I’m proud of our students – they came away from the protest with contact information for student demonstrators and will follow up on this story, seeking to understand these protests that have been going on in one way or another for years.  I’ve heard Moroccans call their young protestors the original “Occupy” movement.  Who better than twelve very determined young American journalism students to understand and explore the motivations and challenges of young Moroccans?

January 28th, 2012  |  By Mary Stucky

Students Arrive Tomorrow

Rabat, Morocco

The students arrive tomorrow.

The newsroom we are creating for our students in the heart of Rabat ‘s medina is as close to a US news bureau as one can find in this country, a country rife with protest and surrounded by Arab Spring revolutions. The US students will be paired with Moroccan journalism students who speak English.   Closely – and rigorously — mentored by me and Dr. Taieb Belghazi, a cultural studies professor at the University of Mohammad V in Rabat,

they will learn from Moroccan academics who study everything from literacy to women’s issues to Islamic movements along with a broad cross-section of Moroccans from rappers and film-makers to civil society groups working on issues such as domestic violence and legal reform.  This in-depth study of the issues will be combined with the mechanics and ethics of journalism along with intensive field reporting and rigorous editing.

I want to show these students first-hand how important, fascinating and rewarding it is to be a journalist in a world that’s more interconnected than ever before.  And what a difference one journalist can make.  I expect some insightful reporting from our newsroom in Morocco

January 22nd, 2012  |  By Mary Stucky

Of Harems and Morocco

“I was born in a harem in 1940 in Fez, Morocco…” thus begins Fatma Mernissi’s stereotype-busting account of her remarkable childhood.  Mernissi is a renowned Moroccan feminist and academic — her book has long been a favorite of mine.  Now I am in Morocco,  six days into what will be a four month stay, leading a journalism program which will pair American college students with Moroccan students at the University of Mohammad V to jointly report on a country where, just this week, three young college graduates set themselves on fire to protest the lack of jobs.

I’ve rented a house in the heart of Rabat’s 14th century Medina, not unlike the one Mernissi grew up in (though, in the case of my house, its former grandeur has faded, as the Medina went from a bourgeois neighborhood to one that’s mostly middle or lower middle class).  That said, the gorgeous tile and plaster are intact along with the house’s prison-like qualities, designed to keep women sequestered from the public sphere.  It is disconcerting to be in a house without windows.  There’s a lovely rooftop but with high walls preventing a view of the street.  From the roof one sees the sky and the occasional satellite dish and mosque minaret.

Still, I am reminded that Mernessi’s book reveals a rich world on the roof, ruled by women, which created a remarkable sisterhood.  Perhaps it was that sisterhood we saw on the streets of Rabat this week, protesting the lack of women in Morocco’s new parliament.

January 11th, 2012  |  By Mary Stucky

Our Base in Morocco

Center for Cross-Cultural Learning in Rabat, Morocco

When I blog next it will be from the Center for Cross-Cultural Learning in the heart of the Medina in Rabat, Morocco.  This famed center, founded and directed by influential Moroccan academics, is the base for our collaboration with SIT Study Abroad.  CCCL is a center for cultural and educational activities on Moroccan society and Arab and Islamic cultures. This is a ground-breaking opportunity for students interested in global journalism, of course, but also a valuable resource for me and Round Earth Media, as we report, for the first time, from North Africa.   Stay tuned!

January 3rd, 2012  |  By Mary Stucky

Optimism about Journalism in 2012

In a world that is more interconnected than ever before, there is no substitute for original, informed, unbiased reporting.   It’s hard work and requires smart, knowledgeable, courageous journalists immersed in the cultures where they are reporting.  Their stories are important to all of us — not just in the “developed world,” but especially to an audience in the countries about which they are reporting.

Many of the best of those journalists were born and raised in the countries where they are working.  They’ve received diplomas from the world’s finest academic institutions (ie Columbia University’s famed journalism masters from which graduates increasingly return to work in their home countries) and training through organizations like the International Center for Journalists, which, over 3 decades, has worked with tens of thousands of journalists around the world.

These journalists are our partners. They are not our fixers.  They are our equal partners in publishing and broadcasting jointly reported stories in the U.S. and in the countries where we are working.   Read the interview with Sarah Ooko on our homepage and you, too, will be optimistic about journalism in 2012.

November 1st, 2011  |  By Mary Stucky

Hands-on Teaching in Morocco

Starting in January 2012 we will be on the streets and in the classrooms of Rabat, Morocco, working one-on-one with U.S. college students who aspire to be the next generation of foreign correspondents. In this unique collaboration with SIT Study Abroad, we’ll effect the demands of an international news bureau while immersing students in one of the world’s most intriguing cultures. We’re looking forward to some excellent mentoring opportunities and some promising stories. An exciting twist: Because SIT Study Abroad’s longstanding Morocco programs involve intensive language study, students will also have the chance to produce stories in French and Arabic. Go here for more on “Morocco: Field Studies in Journalism and New Media,” a first-of-its-kind program devoted to global journalism.

March 17th, 2011  |  By Mary Stucky

REM Guidelines and Journalism Ethics

The goal of Round Earth Media is to produce objective, fact-based journalism. Our special niche is covering unexpected, surprising yet revealing lives and places that traditional media do not have the resources or inclination to cover, especially in the developing world. The global media outlets that publish Round Earth Media stories — for print, radio, video, web and television — rely on us for unearthing little-told issues and searching out news in overlooked parts of the world. We endeavor to provide independent journalism that is clear, fair and as truthful as we can possibly make it. Whether a blog post or a multimedia investigative piece, we cover stories responsibly. That marks the Round Earth Media brand.

Round Earth Media welcomes your pitches.  For our Pitch Guidelines, click here.

We also want you to know the ethical standards that govern our work. The Round Earth Media Policy on Ethics in Journalism is here.

October 6th, 2010  |  By Mary Stucky

Who Are the Roma and Why Are They Outcasts?

Unidentified Roma woman begs for food or money from patrons at a Bucharest sidewalk cafe

In July, France began deporting Roma back to their homes in Romania and Bulgaria, raising an international outcry (as reported by The New York Times.) Recently, I heard from Nancy Benson, a journalism professor at the University of Illinois. She wanted me to know that ten University of Illinois journalism students were onto this story long before it became news in the traditional media, producing two one-hour programs on life in Romania following European Union integration, reporting on the efforts at economic development and exploring the discrimination toward the minority Roma within the country and the Roma and Romanians who have gone abroad to find work.

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August 7th, 2010  |  By Round Earth Media

Dual Identity and the Liberian-Minnesotan Experience

Tamia Dakinah is Miss Liberia Minnesota. | Photo: Facebook, Miss Liberia MN Beauty Pageant

To make other cultures real through vivid first-hand stories and to explain the connections between “us” and “them” – that’s our goal here at Round Earth Media, and Linda Sjostrom, our web editor, understands it well. Linda has spent time reporting and editing for print and radio both in the United States and abroad. Here, a recent event prompts her to not only reflect on a story she covered in the past, but to also consider identity.

Just last month, a crowd gathered at the Miracle Empowerment Center to witness the crowning of Tamia Dakinah as Miss Liberia Minnesota 2010. In the same way, others across the country have or will name someone the Miss Liberia of their own state this year.

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July 18th, 2010  |  By Mary Stucky

Remember the “Marxist Threat” in Central America in the 1980s?

President Mauricio Funes of the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front took office a year ago in El Salvador. The former TV journalist was elected on the ticket of the FMLN, this after a 12-year civil war and after the former Marxist revolutionary group turned into a mainstream political party. The right wing Arena Party had ruled the country since the end of the civil war. How’s Funes done in his first year in office? Reporter Ambar Espinoza addresses that question as we plan our reporting trip to Central America.

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