Looking for the spin-cycle in the (English language) international media

We live in an internet age where news knows no borders or boundaries.

Yet most ‘international’ stories still have a strong national focus, such as one country’s sporting prowess, the economic woes of another, or political debates from countries that still dominate the news like the United States.

Recently I moved from Sydney to Brussels. It’s called for a shift in hemispheres and also a re-think of how and from where I get my daily news fix.

Following the news-cycle from Sydney, I would tune in to ABC Radio’s AM program to find out what was running on the national political agenda, followed by a quick scan of the first three pages of the Daily Telegraph newspaper to see what attack stories would be picked up by the talkback radio.

During the day I would adhere to a strict diet of online news updates from Fairfax and ABC online followed by a round-up of the day’s stories on the early TV news reports from 5 – 7 pm.

In the meantime we saw politicians, business and unions react and respond to daily commentary of news and opinion polling, spurring on new stories with action and reaction.

Working from Brussels, with the International Trade Union Movement and other international organisations, I’m following a very different news agenda. The majority is online, with the news-cycle adhering to the European and US time zones.

News outlets use their Twitter feed to promote content, driving people back to their sites. A new study from the Reuters Institute of Journalism shows how important social media is for promoting mainstream media content.

Some 16% of referrals to news sites are now driven by the social media, five per cent for The Guardian and 10% for The Economist.

My daily news monitoring of the mainstream media:

Print: The Guardian, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune and The Wall Street Journal.

These international print editions are delivered daily to my office, and are read in internationally from Washington DC to Johannesburg. Their websites are useful references.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/ The Guardian has US and UK editions online; it has also produced the Guardian Weekly international print edition, a weekly summary of their news.

http://www.ft.com/home/europe The FT has an Asia, Europe, India, Middle East, UK and US edition. Their iPad application is very user-friendly but requires a subscription for full news content.

http://global.nytimes.com/?iht The International Herald Tribune is the global edition of The New York Times.

http://europe.wsj.com/home-page The WSJ has US, Asia (India, China, Japan), Europe and editions for the Americas in Spanish and Portuguese.

TV: CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, (iPad apps)

Sky (iPhone app)

Ten years ago this week, Rupert Murdoch set up Fox News to counter the influence of the CNN. But they’re not on my viewing list.

Sky has prominence in UK, Africa and Australian media markets.

The CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera iPad apps use print, video live-streaming and radio to showcase the news gathering capacity of these international TV news channels.

News wires: Reuters, AP, AFP, (iPad apps)

The EFE are a Spanish news agency, the DPA are a German news agency (websites).

Newswires drive the majority of media coverage picked up by print media around the world, and their bureaux are where news and features stories are pitched.

Radio: BBC World Service, RFI (Streaming online radio)

The BBC world service has the highest listenership in the world, including large parts of regional Africa. RFI is the French international news radio, which reaches large parts of the Francophone world, and remains politically influential.

Online: Huffington Post (website)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

There are US, Canadian and UK editions of the Huffington Post, with an Australian edition under discussion.

Magazines: The Economist (excellent iPad app, with subscription service for each edition)

And unofficially I also read the Daily Mail online, one of the most popular newspaper websites on the planet.

Gemma Swart, Associate Director – EMC International

This is the first in a series of blogs about the international media and its influence on public opinion and political decision making.

Gemma is based in Brussels working with our international clients. She is currently advising the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).