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Daniel Persson, visiting journalist. |
Swedish Journalist Visits The University Of Georgia As Transatlantic Fellow
Swedish journalist Daniel Persson spent five days at the University of Georgia in early November learning about the U.S. media system and about politics and security in the state of Georgia.
Persson is an investigative journalist based in Malmö, Sweden, currently working for the local newspaper Kristianstadsbladet.
His program in Athens, organized by the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research, was part of a 10-week Transatlantic Media Network fellowship, coordinated by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
The Cox International Center is a unit of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and partnered with CSIS for the visit.
“This Fellowship has allowed me to better understand the broad variety of cultures that coexist in this country,” said Persson. “Many times, people in Europe perceive the United States as a homogenous culture, because of the U.S. movies and because media tend to oversimplify, mostly by reporting only the statements and decisions of top political leaders.”
Dr. Scott Jones, director of the Center for International Trade and Security, told Persson that terrorists’ chemical attacks are less likely to happen in Western countries than attacks using conventional weapons. “Chemical materials are difficult to transport,” he said, “and then it is still difficult to spread them, while conventional weapons are easy to find and easy to use on soft targets.”
While at the University of Georgia, Persson met with Dr. Loch Johnson, UGA Regents Professor, Department of International Affairs, and talked about security issues.
In the Grady College, the Swedish guest visited Newsource, the student TV studio, and watched the production of a nightly newscast with Professor David Hazinski.
Persson also had meetings with Dr. Charles Davis, dean of the Grady College, Dr. C. Ann Hollifield, a faculty member in the Department of Journalism, and with Dr. Janice Hume, head of the Journalism Department.
Drs. Lee Becker and Tudor Vlad, director and associate director of the Cox International Center, talked with Persson about the Center's international projects.
Persson has worked for numerous Swedish publications, including the national Aftonbladet, Expressenand TT – the Swedish News Agency.
Over the last years Persson has reported about everything from politics and crime to international sports and economics. He has covered five Grand Slam tennis tournaments in Melbourne, Australia, and reported on court cases in Sweden and abroad.
During his stay in Georgia, Persson visited CNN and the Martin Luther King Memorial, had a meeting with Mr. Manuel Diaz, coach of the UGA tennis team, one of the best teams in collegiate tennis, and watched the UGA-Kentucky American football game on the Sanford Stadium.
After his departure from Athens, the Swedish journalist was to visit South Carolina. The final destinations of his fellowship in the United States was Washington D.C.
