An award-winning journalist for satellite news network Al Jazeera English urged attendees of UW-Eau Claire’s Forum series to pay attention to global affairs and reminded them that they have the power to change U.S. news Wednesday night in Zorn Arena.
Josh Rushing, co-host of the network’s current affairs television program about the Americas, Fault Lines, rose to fame through his appearance in Control Room, a 2004 documentary about Al Jazeera, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In the film, Rushing is featured as Lt. Josh Rushing, who was the Central Command press officer. Rushing is a former U.S. Marine Captain who served 14 years. In 2004, he resigned from the military and a year later, joined Al Jazeera English.
Spectator News editor Debora Biasutti had the following five questions for Rushing.
Débora Biasutti: What do you think will be the future of the coverage of international news in the United States?
Josh Rushing: I believe, and I could be wrong, Al Jazeera will gain broader distribution as time goes on. I also believe it will become more mainstream as time goes on. And when it does and people realize what they are missing, I think it will have more coverage (of international news) in the U.S. But I have to say it’s an optimistic view in that regard because there are now recent trend that shows that.
DB: What can be done to change Americans’ behavior towards international news?
JR: I think exposure is the most important thing. I also think that the more they realize that they are connected to the rest of the world the more they will want to know about the rest of the world. So, particularly the global economic crisis right now is the way it’s bringing home to every one’s pocketbooks that we’re all interconnected. I hope that is part of a curiosity about the rest of the world.
DB: Why should Americans care about international news?
JR: Because we are so interconnected. It’s a smaller world than ever. We are so interconnected that the whole idea of international is wrong. We are all global citizens, right? The borders are disappearing economically and they will eventually fade geographically. There is no such thing as domestic and international news because you can see all the news all over the world on the Internet, right? So, the interconnectiveness of us all is, I think, at the heart of exactly what we are talking about.
DB: What is the biggest international news right now that Americans are not paying attention to?
JR: All the protests that are happening around the world — there is a sign to them that people are recognizing the unsustainability of the economic system that has evolved in the last 20 to 40 years, and everyone should be wondering what does that mean what what is next.
DB: Why do you enjoy interacting with students when visiting universities?
JR: Because they are the most curious. They are at this stage in their lives where their minds are opening up and their whole world is opening up and they are realizing, ‘Wow, there is so much out there.’ And that’s internal awakening and it’s something that is really exciting.
