This summer, Hunter College students enrolled in Professor Sissel McCarthy’s News Literacy in a Digital Age made their way through the cloudy, rainy streets of Shoreditch, a well-known artistic neighborhood in London, surrounded by colorful murals and graffiti.
For four weeks, the 11 students lived and studied in the city, learning and applying news literacy concepts and exploring the complexities of the news industry. Along the way, they gained new perspectives on the media on both sides of the Atlantic.
The summer study abroad program, led by McCarthy, brought together students from a range of academic backgrounds who shared an interest in understanding how news is produced and consumed.
McCarthy said the students met the same learning outcomes as they would in the United States while gaining firsthand exposure to British journalism.
“They did a deep dive on the U.K. news industry, and got an inside look at how the U.K. news industry works,” she said.
While abroad, students followed the same hybrid course structure and course requirements, completing lectures asynchronously while meeting in person with McCarthy three days a week.
Much of the learning, however, took place outside the classroom. Students visited seven news organizations — the BBC, The Independent, PA Media, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal Europe, NBC Universal London and Sky News — where they learned about the differences and similarities between the news industries in the United Kingdom and the U.S.
Students were encouraged to actively consume British news from the moment they arrived in London. One of their writing assignments asked them to compare the British and American news markets and speak to at least five U.K. residents about their news consumption habits.
Emely Zavala Obando, the only journalism major among the participants, said the course and experience studying abroad changed her views on both journalism and how people consume news. She shared some of her own views as a news consumer.
“It’s hard to find a reliable news outlet that would give facts instead of opinions that feed into a certain side,” Zavala Obando said. “But it also made me realize how our own personal bias plays a huge part in how we consume news, whether we want it to or not.”
Zavala Obando said she initially expected to see stark differences between how people in the U.K. and the U.S. viewed broadcasting. Instead, she found that people in both countries held similar concerns over trust, bias and politics. Visiting news organizations allowed her to speak directly with journalists about how they navigate these concerns.
“I found out that a lot of them do value writing the full story and how carefully their team works to ensure they’re telling the truth,” Zavala Obando said.
Following the program’s successful first run, McCarthy is already looking ahead to its future.
“I am hoping to run the program again next summer and have some ideas to make it even better than last year,” McCarthy said.
Zavala Obando said the experience of studying abroad ultimately taught her about more than the media industry of another country. She said the program also allowed her to learn more about herself.
During a solo day trip to Oxford, she walked along a trail near the River Cherwell, surrounded by nature. Time away from the city gave her a chance to reflect on her journey to London and the sacrifices her parents had made so she could travel abroad.
She also left London with a clearer idea of the journalist she wants to become.
“As a journalist, I want to be someone readers would trust,” Zavala Obando said.
