Are foreign correspondents redundant?

Economic pressures and digital technology are undermining the role of the foreign correspondent, according to a new Oxford University study. Among its recommendations, it says news organisations need to 'rethink their international agenda' in a rapidly evolving new era. The 114-page study 'Are foreign correspondents redundant?' is by Richard Sambrook, a Visiting Fellow at Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ), who stepped down as BBC's Director of Global News earlier this year. It is part of a RISJ series called Challenges, which presents findings, analysis and recommendations on media issues. The study sets out the role that foreign correspondents based abroad have played for more than a 100 years. The central message is that this role has to adapt as foreign news has undergone a transformation and continues to evolve. Richard Sambrook comments in the summary: 'All news organisations are undergoing turbulent change and must ask where the risks and the opportunities are.