The Global Freelancer

Preface

The last two decades have brought seismic shifts in foreign newsgathering and correspondence. At least 18 newspapers and two chains have shuttered all their overseas bureaus since 1998.¹ One of the most recent casualties in foreign newsgathering for newspapers is the shuttering in 2015 of the McClatchy Company’s remaining five foreign bureaus that had produced exceptional reporting for its 30 U.S. newspapers.² The decision to close the celebrated foreign bureaus left just a handful of big U.S. newspapers such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post with a regular independent foreign editorial presence.

American TV networks each maintained about 15 foreign bureaus in the 1980s, while these days they have ...