Learn more about MU Journalism Abroad

 We had such a wonderful experience on our trip, we wanted to remind you about all the wonderful opportunities to study abroad with the Missouri School of Journalism. Hope you can join us at the Study Abroad Fair to learn more.

Busy Wednesday?  Check out our study abroad resources page for more details on the Missouri School of Journalism's International Programs department. You can also follow the department on Twitter or "like" it on Facebook.

Reach Out And Touch Faith

By Liz Hartnett

 As Americans, we become familiar with any and every right that becomes exposed to ridicule -- the right to bear arms, the right to print, the right to vote. But one right that we often dismiss and interpret to our own discretion is probably the most important one; the right to practice our religion.

When it comes to practicing faith, Americans become very sensitive. To make a blatant generalization, it’s “alright” to have the freedom of religion when it comes to more conventional and familiar faiths, but when something new and foreign pops up, our most cherished and fundamental right becomes scrutinized.

With saying that, American journalism attempts to not reflect the biases of the mass. After all, as the bearers of light, we need to know better than those who were not blessed by the patron saint Walter Williams. But when religion and journalism mix, it can get heady.

As American culture becomes more and more secularized, you would think that faith-based journalism would lose its place to Justin Bieber and the other troubles of the world today. We face insurmountable debt, wars, disease, and a national election that might as well tear the country apart.  We have become a people of material possessions -- of iPhones, of Ugg boots, of fast cars. To say it plainly, religion has been replaced by something other in our lives.

At least, that’s what it looks like.

Religion journalism is thriving and well in America. The Revealer, a blog dedicated to discussing religion in the media, has been thriving since 2003. Religionwriters.com calls religious journalism the “most fascinating beat in journalism.” The website also has a long list of blogs dedicated solely to reporting on faith, as well as some guidelines with those who want to get started in the beat. And of course, there are news agencies throughout the world, committed to reporting on the different interpretations of God.

In Europe, though, religious journalism takes a different meaning.

A European Atmosphere

By Emily Brown

After three years of taking classes in the journalism school at the University of Missouri I can tell you one thing I have learned for certain: J-schoolers are a proud and close-knit clan.  We walk in packs to the J-Café for coffee, proudly display Missouri School of Journalism apparel, and can frequently be heard boasting of going to the best school around.  Many critique these behaviors, but I ask why shouldn’t we be like this?  The journalism school at Mizzou, often revered as one of the best in the nation, provides us with a phenomenal education, no matter your emphasis, and offers fantastic opportunities that other majors can only dream of.

One such opportunity is the Europe Tour study abroad program.  Students from each journalistic sequence get to experience the sights and wonders of Europe while getting a taste of daily life and work abroad in their emphasis.  Various visits to media outlets and agencies allow students to not just feel pride in their own major, but also to appreciate all the other sequences that their journalistic comrades are involved in as well.  As a strategic communication major, I was much more enthusiastic about tours and lectures from advertising agencies like McCann-Erickson and public relations firms like Hill+Knowlton, however, upon entering various news outlets and getting the chance to be a fly on the wall for a couple hours gave me more appreciation for my fellow journalists in their respective emphasis areas.

Each agency or news organization was unique with its own characteristics and mannerisms, however, after visiting a handful of places I began to notice a pattern.  Each sequence of work has similarities in the type of people that work there, the speed of duties carried out, and the overall atmosphere.

Privacy Across the Globe

By Alexandria Seay

After studying American journalism for four years, it was quite easy to get wrapped up in the culture of the Missouri School of Journalism and to seemingly forget that media can be different in other parts of the world.  The Europe Tour provided thought-provoking presentations that illustrated the various ways the government plays a role in journalism and advertising overseas.  The presentation I found to be most interesting was that of Peter Gumbel, the Director of Communications for Sciences Po. He showed an intriguing multimedia presentation that highlighted differences between French and American privacy laws and their portrayal in the media.  What I once considered to be social norms were not so normal in France.  

Many of the topics covered in the lecture stemmed from the French Civil Code.  Article 9 of the French Civil Code states “everyone has the right to respect for his or her private life” and goes on to define one’s private life as including “his or her love life, friendships, family circumstances, leisure activities, political opinions, trade union or religious affiliation and state of health.”  These French privacy lawss are enforced regardless of whether a person is a public figure or private individual.  As one can gather from this section of Article 9, French privacy laws have a few substantial differences from American privacy laws.  In many cases, the French privacy laws are stricter than those of Americans.

In America, the notion of newsworthiness is a large factor for journalists.  We believe we have a responsibility to inform the people.  Therefore, with this responsibility we often see the exposing of public figures in American media.  However, based on France’s stance on this matter, it is apparent that the idea of newsworthiness prevailing is not a universal truth. Gumbel spoke of the respect for citizen’s private lives, an idea highlighted in the Civil Code.  He gave an example of a public figure running for governmental office, claiming to be a devout Catholic, but having an affair.  There was knowledge of his infidelity amongst journalists, but no one would report on it because this dealt with his private life.  After learning this information, many of the students on the tour had questions.

Vítejte! Bienvenue! Welkom! Benvenuto!

By Amy Simons and Kevin Wise
Professors, Missouri School of Journalism


Let us be the first to welcome you to our blog!

In early 2012, a group of students from the Missouri School of Journalism will spend two weeks in Europe, touring some of the finest capital cities, media outlets and museums.  It's a short-term study abroad program designed to expose the students to international systems of journalism.

While abroad, the students will make stops in Prague, Paris, Brussels and Rome.  They'll meet with editors, reporters, producers, account executives, educators and religious leaders.  They'll learn, firsthand, how their jobs are the same -- and how they're different -- in different cultures.

They'll visit newspapers, magazines, television stations and advertising agencies and observe the influence of the European perspective on journalism in various cultures.  They'll see how journalism is consumed in those cultures and about the relationships journalists have with their audiences.

And, they'll have a little bit of fun along the way.

They're journalism students, so you can be sure they'll have a lot to say about what they see and do!  Soon enough, this blog will be full of their reflections.  We can't wait for them to share their observations, reflections and predictions about the future of journalism here and abroad.

To give you a taste of what's to come, we invite you to read through the observations and reflections from the 2011 class on its blog, Europe or Bust 2011.