VCU opens first of its kind International Newsroom

By Malorie Burkett

Virginia Commonwealth University recently celebrated the grand opening of the university's first International Newsroom - a facility that features 12 television monitors with access to over 60 television channels from around the world.

According to Dr. Peter Kirkpatrick, interim executive director of VCU's Office of International Education, VCU's International Newsroom is the first of its kind in the United States.

Kirkpatrick said the newsroom was created for three main reasons: to provide international students with a home away from home, and allow them to stay in touch with the news from their home countries; to offer the School of World Studies and School of Government and Public Affairs the aspect of live programs, languages and cultures of other countries that they normally would not be able to access; and to provide students in the School of Mass Communications with the opportunity to do comparative studies in media. Kirkpatrick also said the newsroom will be used by individuals with interest and language skills in international affairs.

Individuals will be able to access programs from places such as South Korea, Japan, Thailand, mainland China, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, Iran, Jordan Saudi Arabia, United Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Namibia, Russia, Georgia in Russia Croatia and Romania.

The International Newsroom is the creation of the Office of International Education under the leadership of Kirkpatrick. The newsroom is a collaboration of the Office of International Programs, which has provided the funding; the VCU Libraries, which is providing the space, selected furnishings, promotional materials, and Web site design; and Academic Technology Media Support Services, which has designed and installed the cable connections, televisions and other technology to make the newsroom possible.

The International Newsroom will be open during regular building hours. An associated Web site will provide channel information as well as information about how to access news and evaluate news resources. To learn more about the International Newsroom, visit www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/newsroom, or contact Sarah Barbara Watstein, associate university librarian for public services at 804.828.9136 or e-mail swatstei@vcu.edu.