US: Sun-Sentinel closes foreign Department

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on October 17, 2007 at 10:47 AM

The Miami Sun-Sentinel killed its National / Foreign department. The few editors and single reporter will be reassigned to other positions, to “"emphasize local, useful, and helpful content across the newsroom," said the paper in an announcement. Will this improve editorial quality though?

Although the Sun-Sentinel’s refocus on local coverage may be sound, this policy is clearly aimed at simply cutting costs, with little concern of the effects on the paper’s content.

The shutting down of foreign bureaus at more and more US newspapers can have dire effects both for newspapers and the public.

ABC News recently announced it was creating one-person foreign bureaus, staffed by a reporter equipped with multimedia, handheld technology. Wouldn’t that have been a possibility?

Source: The Daily Pulp through Poynter