Professional networks of U.S. foreign correspondents and the reshaping of journalistic norms and practices

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Foreign correspondence now holds a tenuous position in the journalism industry because in midst of financial struggles, news organizations have been willing to axe the budget for international news. This study explored what the professional networks of foreign correspondents looked like when major U.S. newspapers devoted resources to bureaus abroad. In-depth interviews of fifty-four foreign correspondents from eighteen newspapers informed the history of international reporting from 1960 through 2013. The patterns of relationships were analyzed using the constant comparative method and the components identified in social network theory. The analysis on foreign correspondents' relationships with sources explored how their interactions abroad led to adjustments in journalistic practices and values and how their intrinsic personal identities influenced those relationships. Furthermore, this socio-historical study examined what influenced the foreign correspondents' working arrangements, including theoretical insights into the remote professional interactions with the home office, the typologies of working arrangements with helpers, the insider-outsider relationships with local journalists, and elite professional expat community of foreign correspondents. The research concludes by tying this information to the future of foreign correspondence.