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TheFutureofthe ThreeModels
We think it is likely, moreover, that the content of journalism education
stresses exactly the conception of the media’s role emphasized by WAN. 2
Splichal and Sparks (1994) seem to share this opinion, concluding their
research on journalism education in twenty-two countries by stressing
that, with some qualifications, journalism is moving from craft to pro-
fession thanks to the diffusion of common educational practices. Weaver
(1998), in another work based on surveys of journalists, also stresses the
importance of formal education in creating a global journalistic culture.
The example of WAN – which was heavily influenced by American
newspaper publishers in its early years, but became very much an in-
ternational institution – also illustrates another significant force in the
development of a global media culture, one that by now has become
much broader than “Americanization,” namely the intensity of inter-
action among journalists worldwide. This takes place in many contexts.
WAN, which is based in Paris, organizes international gatherings of jour-
nalists and other media personnel, and many other organizations play
a similar role, including the European Journalism Training Association
establishedbymanyEuropeanschoolsandinstitutesofjournalism.Jour-
nalists also interact intensively in covering world events or international
institutions (Hallin and Mancini 1994). This kind of interaction does not
producehomogenizationautomatically;researchonjournalistscovering
EU institutions in Brussels has stressed the extent to which their report-
3
ing remains dominated by national political agendas. Butitdoeslead
to diffusion of techniques, practices, and values, in the same way that
national journalistic cultures began to develop as journalists assembled
to cover emerging national political institutions. This interaction also
takes place in a more mediated way through the global flow of infor-
mation. Journalists are heavy consumers of global media, many of them
based in the United States and Britain, both because these represent large
powerfulmediaorganizationsandbecausetheyareinEnglish–theinter-
4
national Herald-Tribune, the Financial Times and other representatives
2 When we presented an early version of our research at the journalism school at the
University of Dortmund, our host, Professor Gerd Kopper, stressed that the liberal
conception of neutral professionalism was exactly what the students there were taught.
3 Much of this research is summarized in Schlesinger (1999). Schlesinger notes that
Europeanized news coverage is produced mainly for a highly elite audience, while the
media that address the mass public follow national political agendas.
4
Rieffel (1984: 114) notes the influence of the Herald-Tribune on French journalists.
An interesting recent example of U.S. influence is the fact the Le Monde has begun
providing its readers a version of The New York Times as a supplement.
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