'How to be a Foreign Correspondent' by Alexander Cockburn - Google Groups

'How to be a Foreign Correspondent' by Alexander Cockburn - Google Groups:

By and large avoid the UNDERDEVELOPED or THIRD WORLD or NEWLY
EMERGING WORLD. Reprting of famine and mass starvation holds little
consistent appeal for Western readers, and unrestrained speculation
about probable number of dead (one million, two million, ten million)
merely bewilders and depresses people. Stick to main highways of
Western diplomacy and American policy. Remember that your cliche hoard
is for CONSOLATION and AFFIRMATION, never be PREMATURE in any criticism
of your nation's policy. Remember that the world turns slowly and
that almost without exception what was true about a country ten years
ago is still true today. LIFE GOES ON AS USUAL. Bear in mind Lord
Northcliffe's sage advice to journalists: 'Never lose your sense of
superficial.'