In a world that is more interconnected than ever before, there is no substitute for original, informed, unbiased reporting. It’s hard work and requires smart, knowledgeable, courageous journalists immersed in the cultures where they are reporting. Their stories are important to all of us — not just in the “developed world,” but especially to an audience in the countries about which they are reporting.
Many of the best of those journalists were born and raised in the countries where they are working. They’ve received diplomas from the world’s finest academic institutions (ie Columbia University’s famed journalism masters from which graduates increasingly return to work in their home countries) and training through organizations like the International Center for Journalists, which, over 3 decades, has worked with tens of thousands of journalists around the world.
These journalists are our partners. They are not our fixers. They are our equal partners in publishing and broadcasting jointly reported stories in the U.S. and in the countries where we are working. Read the interview with Sarah Ooko on our homepage and you, too, will be optimistic about journalism in 2012.
Elisa Bernick (at left) is one of those people who never had to be convinced about the importance of reliable global journalism. She’s a former radio reporter and video producer and the author of 
Last month, Mexico asked the United Nations to designate Mexican food a “cultural patrimony” that must be protected. Mexican cuisine dates back thousands of years to the Mayas and their diet based on diverse varieties of corn, beans and vegetables. Traditional Mexican cuisine should never be confused with what passes for “Mexican food’ in many U.S. restaurants and fast food joints. This photo shows 2 young women in Oaxaca enjoying a traditional chocolate drink called chocolate atole. Photo: Ginny Grossman