Nine international journalists shared their observations on American culture and media in a public forum held by the World Press Institute (WPI) fellows on Oct. 17. It came at the end of their four-months of traveling around the U.S., speaking on issues ranging from the Demolition Derby to cultural understandings of race.

The forum, entitled "What's News?" was moderated by Minnesota Public Radio host Cathy Wurzer and allowed each of the fellows a five-minute presentation followed by an opportunity for questions from the audience that Wurzer delivered. The panelists spoke about their observations of the U.S. versus their expectations, often drawing unexpected parallels with their native countries.

Macalester founded the WPI in 1961 and has hosted it each year since. The WPI, a nonprofit, private organization, accepts up to ten writers and editors each year from newspapers around the world to travel the country and acquire a wide range of experiences.

This year's program emphasized investigative reporting, diversity and biotechnology and included visits to various types of American media.

A recurring theme throughout the forum, however, was the fragility of international freedoms as dictated by that of American ones. Loy Nebata, an editor from a newspaper in Uganda that was actually shut down by her government days before the forum, expressed surprise at the need for groups that advocate a free press. "I would never have imagined that such organizations have a job here but actually they have been working full time since 9/11," she said.

She also voiced a concern for the Bush administration holding what appears to her to be a "third world presidency" when so many actual third world nations like her own look to the U.S. as an example. "Maybe the American people need to rise up and realize that when they lose [a free press], they may never get it back," she said.

Javed Ansari, an editor at The Hindu in New Dehli, echoed this concern. Speaking of the lack of a visible dissent towards an attack on Iraq, he said, "You are the world's greatest democracy, everybody looks to America. And if you are going to shrug your shoulders and look the other way you are sending a very bad message to the rest of the world."

Dini Djalal, a journalist from Indonesia, described the low voter turnout in the U.S. compared to that in her country, which in its first free election was 90 percent. "The community that America lives in is the world community and the world needs a more aware America," she said.

South African journalist Krissy Bisetty also warned of the global dangers of American disengagement from politics. "If you give up your commitment to democracy, you will destroy democracy," he said.

Djalal also spoke about her amazement at the emptiness of Minneapolis streets upon her arrival, a feeling that recurred throughout the group's travel. "In a country of 250 million people… I felt lonely, which is something I never feel in my country," she said. "People, they live in their cars or they live in the mall, they drive their cars to the malls. And I don't see people on the street."

Several of the fellows talked about their disbelief of the amount of money that is exchanged in the American economy. Bisetty expressed his distaste for the U.S. "throwaway culture" and the amount of money spent on campaigns, saying that the amount being spent on the Senate race in Minnesota equals the entire education budget in his province of six million people.

Olabode Opesitan, an editor from Nigeria, explained his impression of the U.S. as a "country of superlatives," speaking of his experience in Texas where "they don't like to think small—they think big." For Rozane Monteiro, from Brazil, visiting Texas helped her understand Bush policies: "They have a unilateral way of looking at life," she said.

Opesitan also talked about his fascination with the Demolition Derby phenomenon: "I can't imagine what they are trying to achieve," he said, at which the audience laughed.

There were a number of comments on the restaurant culture of the U.S. Dominic Jale was surprised with the numbers of people that go out to eat instead of cooking at home, as is common in his native country of Ghana. Nebata observed that the number of restaurants signified to her that "women must be very emancipated here."

Monteiro spoke about her experience of being seen as a minority in the U.S., whereas in Brazil she is considered white. "I'm white in one country, I'm black in another—just forget about it, it doesn't work," she said. "You are American, I'm Brazilian and that's it."

For Ansari, his travels gave him an unexpected sense of ethnic unity. "One of the most pleasant surprises coming to America has been that I have discovered that Indians and Pakistanis can actually live in peace and live together," he said, describing his observations on the Macalester campus and with New York City cab drivers.

The final question of the evening regarded ownership of the fellows' respective newspapers and pointed out the corporate influence that hinders American journalism. Almost all of the paneslists said that their newspapers were owned by journalists.