By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--June 8, 2015
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The country infamous for its running dog-mainstream media cheering anything Obama in a cacophony of barks, including the “fundamental transformation” of their own country, is now branching out through its State Department to the world.
Bureaucrats of the U.S. State Department, who have already taken it upon themselves to teach “ethics” to the “up and coming journalists” of India, are going to “embed” up-and-coming Russian journalists in American newsrooms. “The U.S. consulate general in Hyderabad, India, is looking for a non-profit to co-develop the course to help Indian journalists gain a “baseline understanding of the international industry standards,” including “accuracy, honesty, transparency, impartiality, and accountability,” and is willing to spend $20,000 - $25,000 on it. “The grant documents note that credibility is a key part of journalists’ jobs to “keep their readership informed, hold us all accountable, filter fact from fiction, and unmask false narratives masquerading as truth.” To that end, the State Department would like a full-time faculty member to propose curriculum content and develop a syllabus tailored to communicate journalistic standards to an Indian university audience. Additionally, the grant calls for a “U.S.-based, university-level journalism professor,” suggested by the non-profit subject to approval by the State Department, to act as consultant in the development of the course. “Once the course preparation is complete, the journalism professor will visit India at least three times: to meet with the coordinating university in India and “observe existing on-the-job training in various media houses,” to conduct a three day seminar for other stakeholders, and to participate in first offering of the newly-designed course. The grant specifies that both the accommodations for the professor and the venue for the seminar must be a four-star hotel.”
“Embed” used to be a word used for journalists ‘embedded’ with troops in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. But since Obama’s been hollowing out the U.S. military, there aren’t too many troops left with whom journalists can embed.
“A recent $150,000 grant offering from the U.S. embassy in Moscow seeks to establish a program to give Russian journalists an "intensive professional exchange experience in American newsrooms," plus "cultural experiences that allow them to learn more about the United States in general." (WeeklyStandard, June 5, 2014) “Although the program is tentatively named the "Russian Journalist Exchange Program," it involves only the placement of Russian journalists in American newsrooms and not vice versa. Although the State Department wishes to focus on relatively new journalists who are "showing promise" in their careers, grant recipients are reminded that "[e]very effort should be made to attract a large and diverse participant pool, including persons with disabilities, minorities, a balanced mix of male and female participants, etc." Grant recipients will carry out recruitment, but the U.S. embassy in Moscow reserves the right of final approval of all participants, as well as approval of the U.S. newsrooms where the visiting journalists will be working. “In addition to being "embedded" for a minimum a two-weeks in "reputable American newsrooms," participants are to be housed with American families to enhance their cultural experiences. While the Russians are expected to "work alongside American reporters" and interact with host families to get "a first-hand view of American family life with all its diversity," the State Department doesn't want the visitors to get too comfortable. Grant recipients are reminded they are not only responsible for arranging an American work, cultural, and family-life experience for the journalists, but also for "ensuring their return to Russia." All participating journalists must "[c]ommit to returning to Russian Federation after completion of the program." “However, the State Department has plans for a continuing relationship with the Russian journalists who participate in the program. One of the elements required of grant recipients is to "plan for post-program participant engagement that includes an outline of any proposed follow-on activities or initiatives and an articulated plan for utilizing Department of State and other alumni tools and social media outlets to provide continued support to program alumni." [emphasis added] A post-program evaluation is also desired using a now-familiar State Department metric: "The more that outcomes are “SMART” (specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and placed in a reasonable timeframe, the easier it will be to conduct the evaluation." “Development of the program, recruitment of participants (both Russian journalists and American news organizations), and selection of host families is expected to take until March 2016. The actual exchange experiences are then to take place from March through August 2016.”In America, “accuracy, honesty, transparency, impartiality, and accountability,” went out the day Obama came in. Meanwhile, the high-handed U.S. State Department should call its venture into the world of journalism what it truly is: The ‘Become-Liars-Like-Us School-of-Journalism’.
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