Will Grant is a BBC Journalist Correspondent currently located in Havana, Cuba; he has been working with BBC since 2014. Grant has also done work in Mexico, Central America, London, Miami and Venezuela. Last week, Grant visited the University of Oregon to discuss the challenges and dangers of reporting, as well as some of the privileges that come along with it.
Grant was transparent about the conditions of his profession from the get-go. In Mexico, the personal security of journalists has been one of the greatest concerns over the past decade. Along with a vast number of industry members, Grant believes Mexico is one of the most violent countries to report in outside of a war zone. The environment is hostile towards foreign journalists, especially those reporting on drug cartels. Quoting CPJ, the Committee to Protect Journalists, there have been 45 journalists killed since 1992. There have also been a plethora of accusations made against the police and military, claiming deep roots of corruption.
As for Venezuela, an increase of violence in Caracas has drastically reduced the chance for peace. Grant has witnessed numerous public demonstrations turn from protests to riots. Hyper-inflation and a poor infrastructure have lead to a negative public discourse. Grant recognizes how the conditions within these countries can lead to a fear of deviating from official scripts under threat from the cartels and extreme political fraud.
Despite the dangers, Grant made sure to reinforce the importance and privileges of reporting. His profession has allowed him to travel around the world, try new things and meet new people; “Do something you love,” Grant said. Fortunately, what Grant loves to do is also an immense contribution to society.
“This is the coolest job in the world.” – Will Grant
My industry readings come from Columbia Journalism Review and AdWeek. Freelancing abroad in a world obsessed with Trump raises several contributors’ analysis of the foreign news coverage surrounding President Trump. The report quotes a study from Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy that found Trump to be the focus of 41% of American news coverage during his first 100 days of office; the report concludes this is three times the amount of coverage previous presidents had received. The article discusses freelance-journalist Sulome Anderson’s difficulty in breaking through a Trump-dominated news cycle. I can not imagine why the majority of people are so attracted to headlines with his name in them when there is so much more important news to be covered.
AdWeek discusses UNESCO’s recent partnership with NYT-agency Droga5, established to encourage readers to diversify the media they digest. Following World Press Freedom Day, the campaign comes as an important reminder to appreciate and support quality journalism.
https://cpj.org/americas/mexico/
https://www.cjr.org/covering_trump/trump-impact-foreign-reporting.php
http://www.adweek.com/agencies/droga5-and-nyt-issue-a-call-to-arms-on-world-press-freedom-day-support-independent-journalism/