Nine journalists from around the world presented their impressions of the United States from their three months of cross-country travel on Oct. 21 in the John B. Davis Lecture Hall.

The journalists are part of the World Press Institute (WPI) program, which offers four-month journalism fellowships to international journalists annually to study politics, business, media and journalistic ethics and culture of the United States.

This year’s journalists hailed from Argentina, Cameroon, China, Finland, Germany, India, Romania, Turkey and Zimbabwe. Several of the journalists are award-winning war correspondents in Iraq.

To start the presentation, the fellows were given five minutes each to present their general impressions, after which the audience asked questions.

The most common assertion made by the panelists was regarding the sensationalism of the American media, specifically the television outlets.

Kaius Niemi from Helsinki, Finland described the “atmosphere of fear” in the United States. Niemi, as a foreign correspondent in the Balkans, Afghanistan and, most recently, Iraq, said he was disappointed to see that the American media did not cover how welcoming the Iraqi people were to journalists.

Another popular topic among the fellows was the disparity between the rich and poor in the United States. Nearly all of the journalists mentioned a time when they encountered this difference, either in their initial speeches or in their responses to specific questions.

Lars von Törne, a journalist and editor from Berlin, used his time to explain how his previous conceptions of the “American way of life” had been dispelled. Nevin Sunger, a reporter from Istanbul, Turkey, echoed Törne’s remarks. Both said they thought the United States is not nearly as homogeneous as many foreign countries view it.

Many questions from the audience focused on how the U.S. media may be failing with regard to international news.

Niemi said that he thought the U.S. media is actually doing a better job of covering the war in Iraq than its European counterparts. He cautioned against the sole use of embedded journalists as a news source, explaining that a general journalist is necessary or else the embedded journalists are simply working for the government as a propaganda tool.

Shujaat Bukhari, a correspondent from Srinagar, India, said that embedded journalists worked to “paint a rosy picture of the forces” and that better information needed to reach the American people. According to Bukhari, the current situation is not helping the American public because its opinions are now based on incomplete and biased information.

Though audience questions were critical of the media, many panelists expressed respect for the many media outlets in the United States. Jinmei Lu, a reporter and news anchor from Shanghai, China, spoke of the nationalization of the media in China. She also made note of the emerging online news sources and the existence of public radio and television.

Through their travels, the nine journalists also formed opinions on American political matters. When asked what they perceived as the power center of the United States, many offered personal insights.

Oliver-Tamas Kiss, a reporter and editor from Romania, said “the power lies with the librarians who can get all the information that the government wants to hide from you. And the judges, I think, the court system and the prosecutors and the police have more power here than in my country.”

“A lot of the power that the [United States] has does not necessarily come from your own people, but from the lack of power in the rest of the world,” Törne said.

Also included on the panel were Patience Rusere, Deputy Business Editor for The Chronicle in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe; Teresa Bausili, a reporter from Buenos Aires, Argentina and Bertrand Tchoumi, Editor-in-Chief for TBC Radio in Yaounde, Cameroon.

The fellows visited a number of major news outlets throughout the United States including Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and Miami. They rode along with the police in Chicago and met Bob Woodward in Washington, D.C. The fellows spend their last few weeks in Minnesota.

Many audience members said they enjoyed the panel.

“[The panelists] see us from the outside,” community member Barb Nelson said. “They can see our strengths and weaknesses that we cannot because we are too close.”

“[The panel was] very fascinating,” Chris Morris ’05 said. “They have a fresh view of America and we can learn from them.”

The nine journalists also had the opportunity to interact with Macalester students in a more informal way.

“Last night we hung out with two of the guys at O’Gara’s,” Chris Soma ’04 said. “It was fun to hear stories from their daytime thoughts and professional views.”