An insight into virtual correspondents
AN interesting public lecture on virtual foreign correspondents was held recently at the Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur (IUKL).
Prof Dr Oliver Hahn shared his insights on the subject.
He captivated the audience’s attention with his combination of facts, findings and empirical expertise.
Prof Hahn who is from the University of Passau, Germany, is a familiar face at IUKL thanks to the collaboration between the two institutions.
Speaking on the pilot study conducted by the University of Passau, Prof Hahn discussed the possibility of journalists working at foreign news desks at home using internet sources and content, substituting foreign correspondents based abroad, with the objective of reducing costs.
He spoke of how in most cases, despite the immense potential that virtual foreign correspondents, it could not entirely replace traditional foreign correspondents in terms of regional knowl- edge, background information and contextual insights into the countries involved.
However, he was quick to add that both the virtual and traditional foreign correspondents could work towards complementing each other to optimise potential.
Prof Hahn’s lecture proved to be a hit among the audience who had numerous questions once his lecture was over.
Promising to return with another exciting study in the future, Prof Hahn ended his lecture by thanking all those who had played an important part in making his visit to Malaysia a success.
Organised by the Faculty of Communication, Arts & Education (FACE), the public lecture was held at the university’s Mini Theatre.
The audience included staff and students from IUKL and Astin College, as well as students from Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and officers from the Prime Minister’s Office, Putrajaya.