News & Events Fellowship Honors Dean Brown, Encourages Overseas Study Assignment London 2004 Introduces Global Media To J-School Students

Assignment London 2004 Introduces Global Media To J-School Students

Published: November 30, 2004

Students in the J-School's 2004 Assignment London course spent the summer studying in one of the world's busiest media hubs.

But the students did much more than sit in a classroom and read about the world of media bustling around them - they regularly ventured into the city to interview Londoners, report on international issues and visit some of the world's best-known news organizations.

Steve Raymer, the J-School professor who taught the 2004 summer London course, strived to merge a knowledge-based component of journalism with strong practical skills, and so early in the spring semester began planning field trips for the summer course. He arranged outings to CNN's London Bureau, BBC Television Centre, Time Magazine's European edition headquarters, The Guardian newspaper and Al Jazeera Arab Satellite Television.

The trips were a hit with the nine students in his class, six of whom were from the IU J-School. "I enjoyed each field trip in a different way, but I liked the one to CNN the best," said senior Lisa Kates, whose concentration is broadcast news. "We lucked out and happened to be in the studio when they were doing a live broadcast, so we got to see the producers and directors hard at work in the control room, and the anchor on-air."

Raymer said the field trips enhanced his role as a journalist, too. "They were excellent learning experiences. As a journalist, I learned so much on the field trips - I probably enjoyed them more than the students did."

Each field trip coincided with applicable course work and discussions. Before the students visited The Guardian newspaper, for example, they discussed at length the role of the First Amendment in American journalism, so they would be prepared to draw comparisons between press law and practice in Britain and the United States.

Raymer said the Assignment London experience strongly emphasized how effective journalism courses can be when taught in a big city with a vibrant news media culture. "Any fool can teach a good course in London because it's such a great global news media environment," he said.

J-School master's student Erika Biga said the course changed her view of global media. "It was some of the most important information I have gotten while I've been at IU," she said, "and it's much more relevant learning it in a news hub like London than in a small town like Bloomington."

For the past five summers, the J-School has worked with IU's Overseas Study Program and the Institute for the International Education of Students in London to offer the London journalism course. The Overseas Study Program offers more than 25 summer programs and in the summer of 2003 sent 447 students abroad, most of whom were IU students., according to the program's associate director Susan Carty.

The 2005 London summer session will be taught by J-School Dean Trevor Brown. He is the first recipient of the Trevor R. Brown International Teaching and Learning Fellowship/Scholarship, established in the fall of 2004.