NU-Q students recording their interview with Larry Ingrassia at the NYT.
Students at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) recently returned from the university’s first Global Media Experience (GME), in which they visited centres of media activity such as the New York Times, Dubai’s Media City and the United Nations briefing room to gain first-hand look at top tier international media operations.
Twelve students explored the media hubs of Dubai and New York, visiting traditional media powerhouses such as NBC, the live-event and content producers Madison Square Garden Company, and new media organisations like the bilingual Arabic/English womensenews.org.
“The Global Media Experience gives our students the opportunity to visit vibrant media hubs like New York and Dubai, where they gain a deeper understanding of the global media system in its diverse forms, meet key active players in that system, and reflect on how they might best approach a career in 21st century media,” said Everette E Dennis, Dean and CEO of NU-Q.
Alanna Alexander, a journalism junior, said: “My question before the trip was how journalism has been affected by technological change, but attending the NYT editorial meeting showed me that journalism is advancing now more than ever, as opposed to dying, which is something we discuss a lot in class. So this trip has really encouraged me to keep doing what I’m doing.”
The visits resulted in short collaborative films that aimed to capture key moments and lessons learnt during the trip.
In contrast to the relative chaos of New York, the students met key figures in Dubai Media City to discuss benefits of a centrally-planned and subsidized media “free zone,” and considered career prospects at one of the region’s largest media hubs. During a visit to Dubai Studio City, they observed another unique operation to the region: An organisation that censors and edits content for a Saudi Arabian outlet.The Peninsula
