Foreign Correspondents and International Newsgathering ― The Role of Fixers

This book reveals that "fixers"—local experts on whom foreign correspondents rely—play a much more significant role in international television newsgathering than has been documented or understood. Murrell explores the frames though which international reporting has traditionally been analyzed and then shows that fixers, who have largely been dismissed by scholars as "logistical aids," are in fact central to the day-to-day decision making that takes place on the road abroad. Murrell looks at why and how fixers are selected and what their significance is to foreign correspondence. She analyzes data concerning freelancers’ use of social media to access information on fixers and contrasts this use with data gathered from interviews with television foreign correspondents. Also included are in depth case studies of correspondents in Iraq and Indonesia.

Colleen Murrell is a senior lecturer in broadcast journalism at Deakin University in Melbourne. She has written a number of academic journal articles which explore the evolution of international newsgathering. In her previous career Colleen worked as a producer, reporter and news editor for organisations including the BBC, ITN, APTN, ABC and CBC.