The reality of a foreign correspondent in the US: introduction

Whether you are working as a foreign correspondent for media outlets of your country in America or wish to become a foreign correspondent, the first question you must ask is “am I happy” or “will being a foreign journalist make me happy.” Apart from any guidance or advice you read on the Internet about becoming a foreign correspondent, nothing is more important than asking yourself if that is what you would really like to do and if it will fulfill your career and educational goals in the long term. If you are a correspondent in a foreign country - especially such a large country as the USA - you may find your work miserable and your life unbearable due to the numerous barriers you will have to overcome. These include cultural, professional, and financial obstacles. 

As a journalist, you come to a foreign country where you are supposed to continue what you did as a journalist in your home country: reporting the news. The first disappointment is when you realize that reporting from a foreign country is much harder than at home. Reporting requires that you've built a network of contacts, have established trust based on your work, and have access to resources. There are none of these three elements when you begin your journey as a foreign correspondent. Instead, you know no one, and nobody can trust you since your affiliation with foreign media is not a guarantee of your work's excellence, and most resources you need are hard to get access to. Furthermore, most of these resources have no interest in becoming accessible to you. Do not take this personally; this is not because of you, but because most stakeholders in politics or the public sector depend more on US media and less on those of foreign countries (even if that foreign media is the largest and most prominent in that country). 

Foreign correspondents face cultural challenges as well. Working in a completely different culture from your home country can make adjusting to the new environment even more challenging. It is difficult for anyone to adjust to a culture and set of rules that are different from how he or she behaves, interacts, socializes, and works in his or her country with people of the same nationality.  At least at the beginning of your journey as a foreign correspondent, you may encounter relationship difficulties, professional hardships, and feelings of social isolation. 

Being a foreign correspondent in the US is also difficult financially. Unless you are associated with a large media organization with a strong international presence, US-based foreign journalists who work for foreign media are usually paid less than their American colleagues. Foreign journalists who are not considered employees but rather freelancers for their countries' media face an even harsher reality. The cost of living in the US is much higher than in most other countries. Most media organizations are unwilling to pay foreign correspondents a salary based on US living standards. In most cases, foreign correspondents who relocate to the US must work for more than one media outlet in their home country to earn enough to cover their rent and living expenses. The result is a financial gap between correspondents for foreign media and their American colleagues who work for national media in the US. Considering that those in US media have easier access to resources who care more about their exposure in a national rather than foreign media, this gap between foreign and American correspondents is also professional. 

These things mentioned above have something to do with the notion of "happiness" in the professional arena. In democracies, being a journalist is synonymous with serving a mission of the utmost importance. But when writing or offering advice to younger generations of professional journalists, one should be cynical, truthful, and realistic.  You might not be discouraged from what you've read above - that means either you enjoy your career as a foreign journalist, or you are strong enough to deal with the challenges. The next chapters will discuss these challenges in more detail and focus on the various advantages of becoming a foreign correspondent, how it changes the way you live, and the tips that lead to success.