If It Happened There...

Last week, we read an article by Elfriede Fursich about global journalists and their representation of the “Other.” Fursich analyzes media texts from travel programs to argue that journalists need to adopt new techniques to better represent the complexity of the “Other.” However, the article takes a broad stroke in its applicability to foreign relations journalism. With an eye on this, I couldn’t help but think of an article I read during the American government shutdown in late September. The article, which became the first in the news outlets “If It Happened There” series, somewhat satirically reported on the event using the tone the American media frequently uses to describe events in other countries. I’ve included the link to the article here. The series has also covered the State of the Union, the Super Bowl and the Duck Dynasty controversy, among others.

Despite being quite hilarious, these articles also give me pause as a regular consumer of foreign affairs news stories. Though the articles deliver hyperbole in parts, they read much like some journalists describe situations elsewhere. In an attempt to provide appealing detail, the American global journalist many times represents the “Other” in an unreasonable manner contingent with subjectivity and from a distance. I believe the Slate series compels a sense of self-reflective analysis needed in American journalism.

What is your reaction to this series? What does this say about the impact of highly broadcast American media on the representation of the “Other?”

-Michael