Heirs to the foreign correspondents?

With the de-funding of many foreign corrrespondents by traditional U.S. media organizations, perhaps the increase in students studying abroad could fill the gaps. We need ways to encourage these folks to tell us more — sometimes they’re the only voices on the ground. More grants? Funding of travels in return for writing and photographs? And with more funding, perhaps the U.S. voices could reflect a broader economic background. Imagine the perspective that a young person from downtown Philly could give and get from studying the struggles in a French suburb.

For a U.S. student’s perspective on the strikes in France, meet young writer Jill McCoy from Cornell:
Here and here and here.

Related: A note from the BBC’s coverage of the strikes, with many comments from readers:
“Perhaps..some education and/or articles in this BBC website would make it easier to comment on this situation in France. I really do not know what to think …yet, because I don’t know answer to the following questions. Are these rioters unemployed, poor? Is racism really a big problem in France? Or is there some cultural divide too big to manage? Please, more information, BBC.
David Stevenson, Kansas City, United States

H/T to Amanda Kelso, who is involved with the study abroad program at Duke and uses Facebook to share news about the program. She did not put me up to this.