A new murrow

Christiane Amanpour is a linear descendant of the first great broadcast foreign correspondent, Edward R. Murrow. During World War II, he ...

Christiane Amanpour is a linear descendant of the first great broadcast foreign correspondent, Edward R. Murrow. During World War II, he invented the on-the-spot radio report from the middle of the most important news event of the day. His courageous reports from Britain during the Blitz-with his trademark opening This is Londondrove home to Americans the drama unfolding across the Atlantic.

The globe-trotting Amanpour grew up Iraq before emigrating. But is was in her coverage of the war in Bosnia that CNN8217;s chief international correspondent made her reputation and dramatically shaped American public opinion. Her vivid descriptions aided by the modern advantage of immediate video images helped Americans grasp the horrors of the former Yugoslavia. That perception pushed the American government to take a more active role in trying to end the bloody ethnic conflict there.

But ironically, just when technology has made foreign coverage more immediate, Murrow8217;s heirs have become a dwindling breed. The Big three American television networks have been slashing foreign coverage for more than a decade. Following the end of the Cold War, most news programming, including CNN8217;s, emphasizes events within America8217;s borders. And the foreign coverage that does appear relies heavily on images provided by video news services, with commentary from 8220;correspondents8221; sitting in studios hundreds or even thousands of miles from the events they cover.

It is assumed that Americans are not as interested in foreign news as they once were. But perhaps that lack of attention is a function of the investment made in coverageand not just in terms of money. Back when the United States fought Nazi Germany and then waged the Cold War over the fate of the globe, it was easy to sell foreign news. All it took were resourceful and intelligent reporters to send the story home.

Perhaps the future of foreign television coverage can be glimpsed in the growing field of international business journalism. NBC may have reduced its international presence, but its sister network, CNBC, has launched major news-gathering operations in Europe and Asia. What links the average American to world events today is not the threat of military armageddon but the impact of global economics on jobs and investments.

What is needed now is not a descendant of Edward R. Murrow, but rather someone who, like him, can invent a new journalistic idiom to exploit the technological advances available to bring home to America in a compelling way the important international stories of the day.