News Media Field Trip to Washington

COMM418 and POSC340

"Crisis News" and "Media & Politics"

Professor Ralph J. Begleiter

History and current operations of some of the world's most respected news organizations were the focus of a field trip to Washington by students in two Communication and Political Science classes. The visit to three destinations - the Newseum, Reuters Washington and CNN Washington - was designed to help students experience how media and politics interact, and how journalists (then and now) make decisions on tough ethical issues including the manipulation of photographs. The field trip was part of the students' overall study of the role the news media play in shaping American and global culture and politics.

First Stop: The Newseum

UD students learn about the ethics of photo manipulation from career journalist Peggy Bresler at the Newseum in Arlington, Virginia.

"Crisis News" senior Corrie Robinson explores the history of print and broadcast photography.

"Crisis News" junior Seena Faqiri studies a "crisis" story of the past.

UD students get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the Newseum broadcast studio, where (among other things), Professor Begleiter's "CNN Cold War Postscript" program was recorded in 1998.

...while Media & Politics sophomores Evan O'Neill and Julie Velasquez make decisions in a virtual newsroom.

Sean Hildebrand, Media & Politics junior, gloats over fallen Soviet communist founder Vladimir Lenin. At the Newseum, students also recalled how the Berlin Wall formed an "iron curtain" dividing a continent during the Cold War. They saw the largest section of the Berlin Wall outside Germany. 

Next Stop: Reuters Washington

a world leader in "wholesale" journalism

At Reuters, students observed the flow of news over the internet and other distribution methods from National Security Editor David Storey…

…and followed up their lessons on photo ethics with Reuters Pictures Desk Editor Timothy Aubry.

Last Stop: CNN Washington

CNN principal Washington anchors Judy Woodruff and Bernard Shaw answer questions from UD students in the Washington Bureau's main studio after their live, back-to-back newscasts "Inside Politics" and "World View."

Students also met CNN Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief Frank Sesno and Executive Producer Nancy Lane, who discussed their roles and answered questions about news programming and news judgment.

Students observed controlled chaos in the CNN control room during the two live broadcasts, and discussed the program's content with producer Owen Renfro after the program.

 

UD's students had left campus for Washington at 7:30am. They returned about 11:00pm, exhausted, but filled with experiences some said would ensure they'd never read or watch the news again in the same way.