For many of us, the first description of the world came from the song "It's a small world after all." In between that moment and today, you've probably heard no shortage of claims that the world we live in is indeed getting smaller.
The world also happens to be complex, interconnected, evolving, and, of course, flat. But it's worth remembering that the world still is, at least in one important way, big.
We don't mean big in the physical sense.
From the age of empire, through colonialism, to the end of the Cold War, the countries and regions that could produce an event with the potential to shake or change the world were relatively few. But today, an incident that produces an immediate, substantial, and lasting impact on all of us can occur anywhere: the Tunisian street vender who catalyzes the Arab Spring, the relatively small Greek economy that threatens the entire global economy, a new strain of avian flu that threatens to become the next global pandemic.
The next chapter of history can be written from basically anywhere on the globe. That's why the world is, in a way that it never has been, big.
International affairs journalism has always played a critical role in helping policymakers and world leaders understand the intricacies and implications of foreign policy. But in a world this "big," there is no way the average citizen can understand the world they live in without foreign news journalism.
But between the prohibitive cost of covering foreign stories and the tough economics of modern news, that type of journalism is not growing in step with the increasing size of the world. Newspapers are shutting down foreign bureaus while relying more on wire services and stringers. TV news outlets are decreasing their foreign news coverage. According to the Pew Research Center's annual State of the News Media report, foreign datelines from network news plummeted between 2011 and 2012 -- by an astounding 29%.
With shrinking resources to cover an expanding world, it's no coincidence that U.S. interest in foreign news is also declining. A separate study by Pew showed that the top foreign story at the halfway point of 2012 was the Costa Concordia cruise ship accident (30% of those polled said they followed the story "very closely"). In contrast, few Americans said they followed very closely the European debt crisis (17%) and the war in Syria (12%), both of which have a direct impact on our country's future.
So, during this week's White House Correspondents' Dinner, when media outlets from around the country descend on Washington, DC to celebrate this vital profession by donning tuxedos and gowns at balls and galas and late-night parties, we at Devex and Foreign Affairs magazine thought it was important that international affairs journalism be put in the spotlight. We are proud to host our own event aimed at celebrating international affairs journalism and its significance during this unprecedented time in world history.
We also hope that this event will show how we and our colleagues from across the media covering international affairs play a role in helping people understand their world. Three distinguished journalists -- NBC Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell, PBS Senior Correspondent Margaret Warner, and White House Deputy National Security Advisor (and himself a former foreign affairs reporter) Tony Blinken -- will join us as honored guests to share their insights on the importance of global news coverage.
Remember that Marc Andreessen -- the internet entrepreneur -- labeled Facebook an "enabling engine" because it was a tool that, by connecting the world, allowed a variety of people to achieve their goals: individuals, companies, political movements. At our best, we hope that Devex, Foreign Affairs magazine, and our colleagues in the international affairs media also represent this type of "enabling engine."
Because the goal of the magazine is to connect its readership with the best minds in the world, Foreign Affairs enables a variety of people to achieve their goals by providing the best analysis possible, whether it's a world leader hoping to enact optimal public policy, a CEO looking to make sound decisions on behalf of his or her shareholders, or someone at home just hoping to understand the world a little better. And with media conference calls and speaker events, Foreign Affairs connects other media outlets with the world's most important minds and most powerful actors in on-the-record contexts.
And at a time when even the poorest corners of the world increasingly matter to the entire planet, Devex works to connect and inform the thousands of professionals who are working to make the world a better place. More than 500,000 aid workers, development professionals, and the organizations they work with are Devex members, and they turn to this online media platform to understand what's really happening from Darfur to Haiti to Burma. The 100 reporters, analysts, and professionals at Devex who follow the aid money and cover the latest innovations in global development do it knowing that even the most local information has global implications.
This weekend's festivities are widely known as Oscars East or the nerd prom. Wonderfully lavish parties will be held and people will be wearing their best. We hope that with our event, Devex and Foreign Affairs will be doing its part to make sure international affairs journalism wasn't left off the table. Journalists have always had an obligation to help citizens of the world understand the planet they live in. After all, it is a big world.