The Un Correspondent
| Published date | 01 December 1964 |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296401700403 |
| Date | 01 December 1964 |
| Author | Ronald Rubin |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
615
THE
UN
CORRESPONDENT
RONALD
RUBIN
New
York
University
HE
UNITED
NATIONS
ranks
among
the
richest
and,
at
times,
liveliest
sources
of
information
for
the
world’s
press.
While
the
headline-catching
stories
have
usually
reported
its
war
and
peace
activities
rather
than
its
eco-
nomic,
cultural,
and
social
ones,
the
UN
has,
nevertheless,
served
as
a
consistent
source
of
stories
for
much
of
the
international
press.
However,
the
UN
correspond-
ent
remains
one
of
the
most
neglected
members
of
the
UN
&dquo;team.&dquo;
With
the
possible
exception
of
UN
field
activities,
the
UN
correspondent
serves
as
the
most
direct
medium
between
the
organization
and
the
people
represented
therein.
In
a
sense,
the
correspondent
is
the
link
between
the
&dquo;man
on
the
street&dquo;
and
the
diplomatic
conference
table.
For
without
press
reports,
the
nationals
represented
at
the
UN
hardly
know
of
its
work;
with
these
reports
they
at
least
have
a
basis
for
informed
judgment.
Thus
far,
there
have
appeared
no
scholarly
studies
of
UN
correspondents
and
the
ways
in
which
they
serve
as
an
instrument
for
public
understanding
of
the
UN.1
In
view
of
the
unique
nature
of
this
journalistic
assignment,
the
extensive
facilities
provided
by
the
UN
to
enable
correspondents
to
report
its
activities,
and
the
possi-
bilities
for
correspondents
to
participate
in
its
diplomacy,
it
is
worthwhile
to
explore
the
relationship
between
the
UN
and
its
press.
This
study
attempts
to
determine
how
UN
correspondents
gather
news
and
what
they
consider
newsworthy;
their
sources
of
information;
the
conditions
of
their
assignment;
the
techniques
of
their
profession;
their
opinions
of
the
UN;
the
impact
of
their
presence
on
UN
diplomacy.
The
two
broad
purposes
of
this
study
are
to
demonstrate
the
importance
of
the
correspondents
to
the
political
process
of
the
UN,
and
to
suggest
means
by
which
political
scientists
might
further
explore
their
role.
This
study
is
by
no
means
a
definitive
estimate
of that
role,
but
rather
an
introduc-
tion
to
this
vital
arm
of
the
UN.
Interviewed
in
this
study
were
twenty-one
journalists
accredited
by
the
United
Nations
Correspondents
Association,
two
Secretariat
officials,
and
two
members
of
the
United
States
mission
to
the
UN
associated
with
press
relations.
The
corre-
spondents
were
promised
anonymity.
They
were
chosen
from
the
1962
Directory
of
1
Richard
M.
Swift,
"The
United
Nations
and
Its
Public,"
International
Organization,
Vol.
14
(Winter
1960),
discusses
the
difficulties
faced
by
OPI
in
obtaining
appropriations.
There
have
been
no
recent
studies
published
on
the
political
roles
of
American
local
or
national
correspondents.
An
illuminating
study
of
American
journalists
serving
abroad
is
Theodore
E.
Kruglak,
The
Foreign
Correspondents
(Geneva,
1955).
Especially
worthwhile
are
chapters
iii
(The
Professional
Composition
of
the
Correspondents
Corps),
and
viii
(The
Performance
of
the
Correspondents
Corps).
Kruglak’s
study
is
mainly
concerned
with
the
sociological
background
of
these
correspondents
inasmuch
as
this
affects
their
assign-
ments.
A
speech
by
Dr.
Hernane
Tavares de
Sa,
UN
Under-Secretary
for
Public
Informa-
tion,
before
the
UN
Students
Association
of
London
University,
"The
United
Nations
Before
World
Public
Opinion,"
appealing
to
news
media
to
cover
UN
economic
and
social
activities,
indicates the
high
value
the
UN
places
on
publicity
in
the
popular
press
(UN
Press
Release
M 1409,
May
15,
1962).
616
UNCA.
Twelve
correspondents
represent
American
newspapers
or
wire
services.
Nine
are
non-Americans.
They
represent
newspapers
and
news
agencies
in
the
fol-
lowing
countries:
United
Kingdom,
two;
Poland,
two;
and
one
each
for
the
Nether-
lands,
Egypt,
China,
Ghana,
and
Yugoslavia.
The
twenty-five
correspondents
were
interviewed
at
the
United
Nations
head-
quarters
in
New
York.
Appointments
were
arranged
in
advance
by
either
a
letter
or
a
phone
call.
The
interviews
were
held
in
either
the
correspondents’
offices
or a
UN
lounge.
The
length
of
the
interviews
ranged
from
half
an
hour
to
one
hour.
They
were
asked
to
reply
to
the
following
eight
questions:
1.
Would
you
please
briefly
outline
how
you
cover
the
&dquo;UN
beat&dquo;
on an
average
day?
Separate
covering
the
General
Assembly
and
the
rest
of
the
year
if
you
wish.
How
do
you
define
an
average
day?
2.
In
doing
this
who
would
you
normally
use
for
sources?
Why?
3.
How
does
your
work
here
compare
with
similar
work
done
covering
foreign
affairs
in
a
national
capital?
To
what
capital
do
you
make
your
comparison?
4.
There
seems
to
be
a
great
deal
of
newsworthy
activity
going
on
here;
how
do
you
decide
what
to
cover?
5.
What
can
or
do
you
do
about
those
activities
you
cannot
cover?
6.
How
does
this
compare
with
the
methods
you
would
employ
in
a
national
capital?
7.
What
kind
of
impact
does
the
reporter’s
role
have
on
the
operation
of
the
organization?
8.
Would
you
make
a
comparison
to
events
in
a
national
capital?
_
In
evaluating
the
role
of
the
UN
correspondent
as
an
instrument
of
public
understanding
of
the
organization,
this
author
chose
to
forego
the
categories
of
judg-
ment
as
set
out
in
the
questionnaire.
As
will
be
noted
from
the
content
of
this
study,
the
comments
many
correspondents
expressed
about
their
work
could
not
strictly
conform
to
the
headings
of
the
questionnaire.
Similarly,
a
considerable
number
of
correspondents
did
not
have
previous
experience
in
foreign
capitals
and
thus
ruled
themselves
out
in
regard
to at
least
two
of
the
questions.
THE
UNITED
NATIONS
AND
THE
PRESS
The
earliest
oflicial
pronouncements
about
the
press
at
the
UN
took
cognizance
of
its
importance
as
a
means
for
increasing
understanding
of
the
purposes
of
that
body.
In
his
first
annual
Report,
the
Secretary
General
expressed
recognition
of
the
vital
role
the
correspondents
could
play
in
securing
support
for
the
United
Nations
from
a
world
recovering
from
the
holocaust
of
war.
He
observed:
The
success
of
the
UN
depends
ultimately
on
the
continued
support
of
the
peoples
of
the
world.
This
support,
in
turn,
must
be
based
upon
enlightened
public
opinion
and
the
widest
possible
knowledge
of
the
problems
concerning
the
United
Nations
and
the
procedure
used
for
their solution.
This
is
true
at
all
times;
it is
particularly
true
at
times
of
crises.
Recognition
is
given
to
this
fact
in
almost
every
chapter
of
the
Charter
and
great
stress
is
laid
upon
public
meetings
and
the
necessity
of
keeping
the
people
fully
informed
on
all
developments.’
In
order
to
publicize
UN
news,
the
following
year
the
world
body
created
the
Department
of
Public
Information.
The
operation
of
this
information
unit,
with
respect
to
UN
correspondents,
is
concerned
chiefly
with
the
distribution
of
press
’ United
Nations,
Report
of
the
Secretary
General
to
the
World
Organization
(A/65,
June
30,
1946,
Lake
Success,
1946),
p.
45.
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