#MakingHistory
X ANNIVERSARY EDITION
UN JOURNAL
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COMMITTEE 4 PRESENTATION
HISTORY 6 OF THE COMMITTEE
THE PROBLEMATIC IN 8 CURRENT JOURNALISM
10 PRESS: a. What is a press reporter, b. e ideal press reporter, c. Why news matter,
COMMITTEE 11 PROCEDURE
COMMITTEE 12 OVERVIEW
POSITION 13 PAPER
FINAL 14 REMARKS
15 BIBLIOGRAPHY
COMMITTEE PRESENTATION
Francesca Tiravanti’s letter
Welcome everyone to MUNURX! My name is Francesca Tiravanti and alongside Vale, I will be your director for this edition of MUNUR. I am currently studying Law at Universidad de Lima (Peru) and this is my second time at this conference.
My MUN journey began in school when I joined the debate team, and when I entered University in 2016, I became part of Peruvian Debate Society (PDS). As a delegate, I have traveled to Boston, Panama, Bogota, and Madrid, debating in di erent committees with di erent topics, including the Press Corps (my rst committee ever), so this committee carries great value to me.
What I value most about this committee is how challenging it is to highlight not only the skills you will need to communicate what is happening but also to relate and work along with delegates from other committees. Since this a very divergent committee, we expect you to live up to the challenge of broadcasting the day to day events of the conference with creativity and enthusiasm.
I hope you are as excited as I am for this journey to begin in November, until then if you have any doubts please feel free to contact us with any questions!
See you soon!
Francesca Tiravanti
4 COMMITTEE PRESENTATION
Valeria Mas Amorós’ letter
Hello everyone and welcome to MUNURX! My name is Valeria Mas Amorós and this time, along with Fran, I have the honor of being your director at the UN Journal Committee. Currently, I am a nal year law student at the University of Lima in Peru and I also work at a law rm as a litigation intern, so public speaking is a quality I always look for in delegates.
In this case, this committee is particularly special to me because it is where I started my MUN life. Since then, I have had the opportunity to travel around the world and meet people from di erent cultures, which has been one of the highlights of my life. erefore, that is exactly the characteristic I appreciate most about MUN Conferences: the connections you end up creating. For this reason, in this Committee, I hope to see this characteristic re ected in all of you, by means of the ways in which you integrate the di erent topics that are discussed in each Committee, although at rst glance they seem totally di erent.
However, what I expect most from you is that you have fun and enjoy a Conference as multicultural as MUNURX, believe me, that I will have it. So without further do again, I welcome you to our Committee. Please, in case of doubt, don't hesitate to write me or Fran.
See you in November!
Valeria Mas Amorós
5 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE:
e history of UN Journal dates back to the beginning of the United Nations itself and by relation, to the creation of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA), founded in 1948 at Lake Success on Long Island, USA. In its inception, it counted with approximately 50 members (from USA and Canada agencies) but now is considered a professional organization of over 200 journalists from over 150 countries, which represents scores of publications, news agencies, and broadcasters from all regions of the world.
e UNCA represents the United Nations “press corps”, they have an agreement with the Secretary-General that dates back to 1995, in which the UNCA is recognized as the ocial independent organization in charge of representing and reporting and decisions made at the UN.
is committee is annually recognized in a resolution adopted by the General Assembly, under the mandate of the Committee to Review United Nations Public Information Policies and Activities, that was established under the GA Resolution 33/115 in 1978, this is also known as the “Committee on Information”.
On resolution 34/182 of 1979, the General Assembly de ned what the mandate of this committee would be, establishing it as follows:
“To continue to examine United Nations public information policies and activities, in the light of the evolution of international relations, particularly during the past two decades, and of the imperatives of the establishment of the new international economic order and of a new world information and communication order;
To evaluate and follow up the e orts made and the progress achieved by the United Nations system in the eld of information and communications; and
To promote the establishment of a new, more just and more e ective world information and communication order intended to strengthen peace and international understanding and based on the free circulation and wider and better-balanced dissemination of information and to make recommendations thereon to the General Assembly.” (United Nations, 1979)
6 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE:
Since its creation, the UNCA has worked to bring correspondents from all around the world, diplomats, and departments of public information together, to promote the eciency of journalism and freedom of the press, therefore organizing press conferences, social gatherings, and even an annual awards event.(United Nations Correspondents Association, 2016)
Showing the devotion of the UNCA has for publishing the truth and nothing but the truth, their main objective is to promote interconnectivity, by facilitating the contact between a member of the UN and citizens from di erent civilizations. As part of the press corps, in this conference you would have access to every committee that’s UN related (aka, committees of the general assembly and the economic and social council) meaning that you will count with vast information and liberty, you would also be granted full access to acquire any information you would require, for instance, interviews from the delegates, directors, and sta members.
7 THE PROBLEMATIC IN CURRENT JOURNALISM
With the growth of the internet, the world has now entered an unprecedented age of technological change. is new digital era has left very few things in society untouched, one of the most a ected industries being us, media industry and subsequently journalism.
As the media industry has had to adapt to these changing platforms, populations, and behaviors, it has seen the rise of signi cant new types of journalism along with the escalation of considerable challenges. Print journalism has seen a decline with the rise of the internet that has only intensi ed in recent years as it associated with technology. At the same time, forms of digital journalism have grown exponentially and entirely new publications, journals, newspapers, and more have arisen to take advantage of the “Internet Age.” Similarly, older forms of media and print journalism have also adapted and become more digital in nature to address these shifts.
e digital platforms that the media industry now utilizes, such as websites and social media outlets, have revolutionized the exchange of information. ey have allowed for the distribution of millions of stories to ow virtually unchecked and uninhibited. As the world has become more accustomed and overwhelmed by the vast amount of media, journalism, and overall information being showcased to them every day (especially online), an entirely new challenge has developed – fake news.
“Fake news” also known as media or journalism which encompasses hoaxes, deception, and misinformation is in sharp contrast to the objective or accurate media that the world most often consumes, and wish to encounter. Fake news publish untruthful articles not for the sake of humor but instead for the purpose of driving web trac, gaining internet virality, and ultimately generating pro t.
To achieve the highest impact, fake news organizations also employ similar journalistic styles as real news organizations. is includes using techniques like article structure and wording, to make it as dicult as possible for individuals to distinguish between fake and real news. ese imitation techniques are further enhanced by fake news organization’s approach of speci cally gaining the attention of speci c groups or individuals who may think similarly or hold the same biases.
8 THE PROBLEMATIC IN CURRENT JOURNALISM
ough some may argue that fake news is harmless, the e ects that these organizations and articles carry can often be immense. Not only do they spread false information, but they in uence large masses of individuals. is type of in uence can sway national opinions, elections, and can foster disorder or con ict between di erent groups of people. For example, Huzlers and World News Daily Report in 2018 reported an average of 9 fake news each. (Pham, 2018)
e question then relays with the shift towards digital media and the rise of fake news, what can be done and what is the role that traditional and real media play? A question we encourage you to answer during the conference.
One of the reasons that fake news grew so rapidly and became so indistinguishable was that they copied the way that traditional media outlets operated. To, therefore, make the di erence between fake and real news as clear and distinct as possible, any media outlet that considers themselves real news needs to be as objective and truthful as possible in their journalism. Traditional media outlets and real news organizations should publish articles for the sake of honestly informing the population rather than simply just trying to produce revenue. ey should report only events and things they know in certainty and limit biases in their work.
9 PRESS
What is a press reporter: A reporter is a delegate who seeks information and knows how to objectively transmit the most relevant aspects of the decisions and problems that are happening in the various committees during the days of the conference. In that sense, it is deeply important for the press corps not only to gather information, but to understand and know the topics in discussion with focused research.
e ideal press reporter: In relation to what is stated before, we believe that the ideal press corps delegate is someone that can in uence a committee with the work they have been doing, and expose everything that is happening from an objective point of view. It is key for a press corps to examine what is going on, and take a stand on what is happening, questions the decision making and know the point of view they are informing, that is the area you will represent.
e role of media is not to always make one agree with what one already believes, but to inform and challenge individuals to think more critically about the world around them. is can only be done if the media continues to hold objectivity and truth as the foundation of all journalism, for in today's world, journalism carries a profound impact on society.
Why news matter: An academic look at the nature of the press reveals a big role than just providing factual retelling of local, national, and world events. Indeed, the closer one examines the press, the clearer it becomes that by its very nature the objectivity it aspires to is impossible, but that aspiration is only a means to an even loftier ambitions. e role of news in society is to provide space for—and often shape—the public discourse. e world’s citizens have today realized this principle in greater numbers than at any other point in human e Press Corps/UN Journal newsroom likely won’t be quite this busy, but it will have a dozen times more energy.
10 COMMITTEE PROCEDURE
e Press Corps dynamic is totally di erent to any other committees. For instance, the reporters will look ahead spending most of their time visiting other committees instead of staying in the committee’s headquarters, they should be gathering information, conducting interviews, writing articles and creating news ashes.
Being a member of the press is a massive responsibility, that is why each reporter has been assigned a di erent and speci c kind of reporter. How will that work? Well, being that you are correspondents from the United Nations, you have been assigned a speci c topic to write about, the one from where you must submit your ideas. at is what we want to see re ected on the material you will produce.
Here we list some following material you will to produce during your time in MUNURX:
Articles: producing articles will be a key factor for your performance in the conference. ese should not be confused with news ashes, as articles have a medium to large length and go much more in depth than the short news ashes. Articles are expected to have the position of the topic you have been assigned as well as argumentation of the topic.
Interviews: each reporter should look upon conducting interviews with other delegates, chairs or sta members. ese interviews should be used for articles, news ashes or even as evidence to support your information.
Videos: video footage can be used to cover any aspect of the conference. For instance to report any current negotiation, to release a massive news ash or conduct an interview with other delegates.
Photography: all the tools needed for photography should be delivered and managed by the delegate. You are encouraged to take photos during the committees and outside them, the usage of the photo may vary, be it as a support tool to their articles or the principal media to present with a short description of what they are trying to highlight with the photo. Every photo should have a short description and a purpose of what it wants to be represented.
Bear in mind that this is just a guideline for the committee, you are encouraged to be creative and disruptive, with the usage of other graphs to generate as much content as you can. 11 COMMITTEE OVERVIEW
In that sense, for deeper understanding of the committee, you must know that the United Nations Journal committee is a body dependant from the UN, therefore it does not have speci c news agencies, but reporters that cover speci c topics. at is why, from the reporter you have been assigned, you are available to enter any committee from the conference (with previous acceptance from the directors), and produce content about the topic being discussed, while at the same time, expressing and following the lines of the “topic” your reporter has been assigned.
For example, the military reporter can enter the SOCHUM committee, write about the topic that is being discussed while giving a military point of view.
We know this must come as a challenge, since most press committees do not work that way, but we must remember that this a UN Journal committee, that works di erently from others.
From the stated before, we do expect you to bring you A game and most creative ideas to the conference, so that the procedure of the committee ows the right way.
It must also be taken into account, and it is extremely important to note, that even though this academic guide is written in english, the committee does not have ocial languages, therefore it is bilingual. With that being said, delegates can and should write and produce material in both spanish and english, due to the fact that there are going to be committees along the conference in both languages, and delegates should aim to cover what is going on inside the di erent committees.
124 POSITION PAPER
Even though the UN Journal committee has a di erent procedure than the other ones, it does have in common that delegates must submit a position paper. is position paper must not be longer than one page, in Times New Roman font, size 11, simple spaced.
What you should aim to cover in your position paper is kind of di erent from the regular procedure, what we want is for you to choose three (3) committees on your personal interest and give them the point of view of the reporter you have been assigned.
For example: the military reporter chooses the DISEC, LEGAL and SOCHUM committee, research their topic and writes about it from a military perspective.
In that sense, the rst paragraph of your position paper must aim, should describe the most pressing and pertinent aspects of the issue supported by facts and data and it should introduce your reporter’s stance on the topics.
e second paragraph should include the main topics of discussion and at the same time national or international (UN/Regional bodies) attempts for resolving the issue, this means past actions the UN has done regarding the 3 topics you have chosen.
Lastly, the third and last paragraph should present and describe your ideas on how the issues are relevant and important for news. In that sense, this paragraph should aim to cover a plan of action you will have to cover the di erent updates and turns the conference could have, and what you would aim to produce during your time in MUNUR.
134 FINAL REMARKS
With everything being said, we are extremely excited for MUNURX and so delighted to meet you all! is committee means a lot for the both of us, and we hope this guide represents how much we want it to run smoothly and perfect! At the same time, we want you to have the experi- ence of a lifetime, because the most important part of MUN is not about awards, but about enjoying the experience and having fun.
If you have any questions or doubts about the committee or this guide, please feel free to write us about it, we will be more than glad to respond! Our emails are: [email protected] and [email protected]
144 BIBLIOGRAPHY:
United Nations. (1979). General Assembly Resolution Nro. 34/182 of 1979. New York
Vaidhyanathan, Siva. e Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry). Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011.
Isaac, M. (February de 2017). "Facebook, Nodding to Its Role in Media, Starts a Journalism Project.". e New York Times.
King, E. (2010). "Free for all: the Internet’s Transformation of Journalism.".
Pham, S. (28 de December de 2018). Buzzfeed. Obtenido de Buzzfeed: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/facebook-fake-news-hits-2018
Starr, P. (2004). e Creation of the Media: Political Origins of Modern Communications. New York: Basic Books.
Taub, A. (11 de January de 2017). “ e Real Story About Fake News Is Partisanship.”. e New York Times.
United Nations Correspondents Association. (2016). United Nations Correspondents Association.
University of Oregon. (2017). “Research Guides: Fake News and Information Literacy: Introduction.” Introduction - Fake News and Information Literacy. Oregon.
Wing eld, N. I. (14 de November de 2016). “Google and Facebook Take Aim at Fake News Sites.” . e New York Times.
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