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Laxmi Parthasarathy, COO of Global Press, on Countering Parachute Journalism

May 12, 2023

Global Press (GP) is a non-profit news organisation with 37 offices in 12 countries. It has recently set up bureaus in countries like Haiti and Nepal, that often hit the international news agenda when disaster strikes.

Traditionally, foreign correspondents are sent to these countries to cover the unfolding events, and then our attention quickly turns to the next crisis.

The problem is, this often does the reader or viewer a disservice. What GP is starting to see are international news audiences demanding deeper and better coverage on the ground.

Its own research has seen that three quarters of US news audiences prefer coverage done by local community reporters. And that is why GP is continually expanding and launching bureaus internationally.

In this week's episode, chief operating officer Laxmi Parthasarathy talks about the practicalities of launching a foreign news bureau and turning to community reporters to get the full story.