The Walter Cronkite School hosted nine foreign journalists from Asia and Australia this week as part of the Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists.
As part of the visit, which was organized by the U.S. State Department and Cronkite Global Initiatives, the journalists learned about the country’s political process and visited election parties hosted by both political parties in downtown Phoenix on Tuesday.
The visiting journalists work for various state-run and private news organizations from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia.
Bill Silcock, director of Cronkite Global Initiatives, said hosting the Murrow program visitors for the fifth consecutive year is beneficial for the Cronkite School because it exposes students to different worldviews.
“The mission of Cronkite Global Initiatives is for students to see the world, to know the world and to report the world,” Silcock said.
The journalists were chosen for the program by their countries’ U.S. Embassies. They spent five days in Washington, D.C., before coming to Phoenix learning about the United States’ political system and how the media covers politics. The journalists will travel to New York for the last part of their three-week trip.
For many of these journalists, the media landscape in the U.S. is significantly different from those in their home countries.
Pengfei Hou, a journalist with the Chinese publication New Express Daily, said China does not have press freedom like the U.S. does.
“You have to be strong (to be a journalist in China),” Hou said.
Chinese journalists have to worry about physical attacks and be mentally prepared for working in an environment that does not guarantee their safety or success, Hou said.
This negative environment is often not directly caused by the Chinese government, he said. Many editors are conditioned to be conservative and prevent journalists from pursuing stories.
“This kind of ideology always has limited the journalist’s drive to pursue some kinds of stories,” Hou said.
Dean Benitez, an Indonesian journalist with Metro TV, said the challenges for journalists in his country involve an often tight-lipped government.
“I think many countries, especially Indonesia, can learn better by loosening up on the laws and regulations (on journalists),” Benitez said.
It is getting better for journalists in Indonesia, but there is still a long way to go, he said.
“In the past five years, I must say, Indonesia has been very open (compared to previous years) in journalistic atmosphere,” Benitez said. “But it is not as frank, as raw, as free as it is in the U.S.”
Hendrick Foh said he does not have much freedom in reporting on certain issues because he is a radio broadcaster for the government-owned Radio Televisyen Malaysia.
“Our official line is that we support the government of the day,” Foh said. “So, there’s not much leeway for us to, let’s say, give you both sides of the story. So, we bring the positive.”
In addition to observing the differences in journalistic practices between their countries and the U.S., Murrow program members were given the opportunity to learn about the election process and observe the midterm elections.
Foh said learning about the political process in the U.S. was rewarding but challenging.
“When I look at elections in the U.S., I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” Foh said.
But Benitez said he found similarities between politics in Indonesia and the United States.
“It comes down to winning, getting the attention and convincing voters to swing your way,” Benitez said.
Contact the reporter at agnel.philip@asu.edu
