THE VIRTUAL NEWSROOM: AN INTERNATIONAL ONLINE COLLABORATION BETWEEN BROADCAST JOURNALISM STUDENTS

The same story, whether it is about the earthquake in Haiti, the seal hunt in northern Canada, the effects of global warming or, who won Best Actor in the Academy Awards, is shot produced, written and 'consumed' differently depending on the country and the culture producing that story.
How do 'they' see 'us' and how do 'we' see 'them'? The online collaborative newsroom is a place to find out. Students from Ryerson University in Toronto worked with students from partner universities in the UK, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand in an online newsroom, producing stories that were relevant to all countries but differed vastly in their focus and perspective.
This paper outlines the collaborative process, the development of a collaborative online space, evaluates learning outcomes based on student feedback, and discusses the issues and constraints that come from collaborating online in several time zones. It will also describe how to fit an international module into existing curricula and will look at how future iterations can be developed.