Foreign journalists visit Hudson as guests of U.S. State Department

• A group of leading foreign journalists visit the Hudson Star-Observer office

A group of leading journalists in their home countries visit the Hudson Star-Observer office on June 20. They are, from left, Gopal Khanal, chief reporter for the Kantipur National Daily in Nepal; Emilia Diaz-Struck, investigative journalism coordinator for the Institute of Press and Society of Venezuela; Mashudul Haque, special correspondent for ATN News in Bangladesh; Ivan Meza, a television reporter from Costa Rica; Constantine Chimakure, editor of the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper; and Anita Petrovska, chief news editor for a television station in Macedonia. Photo by Randy Hanson

Talk about it

Six foreign journalists visited Hudson on Wednesday, June 20, at the end of a three-week stay in the United States sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

The guests, all leading journalists in their home countries, met with Hudson School District officials, city officials and a group of local citizens before ending their day with an hour-long visit to the Star-Observer office.

The purpose of their trip to Hudson was to learn about local government, schools and the media in a smaller community. They had come to the Twin Cities after spending time in Washington, D.C., New York City and Boston.

Part of their overall mission was to learn about media operations and investigative journalism in the United States.

The group had previously visited offices of the Washington Post and Boston Herald newspapers, but nevertheless, was curious about the Star-Observer.

They asked questions about leading issues, circulation, advertising and the Star-Observer’s website.

Anita Petrovska, chief news editor for a television station in Macedonia, asked about corruption in local government. Told that there is little or none, Petrovska said that wasn’t the case in the visitors’ countries.

The other guests were Mashudul Haque, special correspondent for ATN News in Bangladesh; Ivan Meza, a television reporter from Costa Rica; Gopal Khanal, chief reporter for the Kantipur National Daily in Nepal; Emilia Diaz-Struck, investigative journalism coordinator for the Institute of Press and Society of Venezuela; and Constantine Chimakure, editor of the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper.

They were accompanied by guide Philip Brown of World Learning Visitor Exchange Program, the organization that arranged the tour.

Tags: news, travel, government