International Journalism in the Digital Age

Technological and journalistic innovation is currently changing the ways in which the millennial generation is obtaining international news. News outlets originating online, or digitally native news organizations, have begun competing for the global news interest of younger audiences. These new digital publications are filling a void left by cutbacks of global coverage by legacy media, or the traditional news outlets of years past. Digital publications like Vice News and Buzzfeed are capitalizing on these changes, and effectively doing it in ways that appeal to younger audiences. This research project will analyze how digital publications are approaching international news coverage, and how they draw in younger, college-aged audiences. As a team, we are currently compiling a comprehensive list of news platforms that originated online and have a focus on international news. We will categorize those outlets by distribution channel, target audience, content focus, and signature storytelling formats. Using the information gained on those organizations, we will produce in-depth profiles of select digital news outlets, and conduct a survey looking into the international news consumption habits of University of Montana students. Our profiles will apply journalistic techniques, such as Internet research and phone interviews with editors of the selected digital publications. Our online survey aims to quantify how and to what extent those digitally native news outlets are being used by their audiences. Based on the results of our research, we will evaluate how effective these digital platforms are at captivating the attention of college students, and determine how they are filling the targeted international news niche. Finally, we will compare the results of our study with similar research conducted at Freie Universitaet Berlin, which is partnering with our International Reporting course (JRNL 473)