INTERNATIONAL

PRESS

Agenda: Journalism | Caricature | Photography

Dear International Press Corps,
It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you all to the International Press
Crops of The Harmonia Model United Nations 2024.
We are sure that it is in your inherent knowledge, that journalism is one of the strongest
and the most impactful tenet of the contemporary world. The establishment of public
opinion as an authoritative critique and its aftermath has created a dimension that has
changed the course of history as we know it.
We as a team called THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS must know more, hear more,
see more and say more. We have to broaden our horizons of creativity and our ability to
think which can only be done when each and every member of the press regardless of
being a journalist or a caricaturist is well-researched and well-aware of the agendas of
the committees.
The vision here is to create a newsletter which echoes the power of the press. Articles,
photographs and caricatures which give the readers food for thought combined with
well-placed satire or humour. An ideal reporter or an interjector during simulations of
international organizations and think tanks requires more research and presence of mind
than an international delegate. The entire image of a press delegation without adequate
research is flawed. The very basic roots that this draft is based on our research and a
strong value of transforming the role of the press. This approach is referred to as an
idealistic approach to journalism.
This will be an experience that you will cherish and it shall be etched in your memory
forever. There will be deadlines, work, tempers flared and a lot of video calls, but there
will also be memories you create and the people you meet, and of course, the
knowledge you gain. Just remember, that it is people who make a team and not a team
who makes the people and here we are more than just a group of people running around
with notepads and cameras, we’re inherently the keepers of memories, the recorders of
history, the warriors of reason and ideas.
May the odds be in your favour!
Regards,
Sarthak Verma
Head of International Press
Code of conduct and personal responsibilities: -

Diplomatic courtesy should be followed at all times. Addressing people with

courtesy will be encouraged. Derogatory remarks to conference staff, secretariat,
delegates or any members of the conference will not be tolerated.

Please make sure you are self-dependent at the time of the conference. Keep
your laptops and cameras charged. Make sure you do not disturb the conference
participants. You will be provided with the kits.

Hope it is a fruitful experience for you in the council.

Research
Before starting your research, all members of the IP should understand that just
as delegates are role-playing as representatives of nations, you as a reporter or
photographer are also representing the international media. Everything a delegate
says is a statement made by a state official in a public forum and has
repercussions in the international community. Therefore, it is your job to process
all these statements and analyse them.

We need a well-researched team to make the International Press at this

conference a success. You cannot be less researched than delegates. You will
then not be able to critically analyse the ongoing debate. This applies to
photographers and cartoonists as well. Knowledge is power, and a better
understanding of the discussion will lead to more intelligent, politically relevant
and thought-provoking photographs and caricatures.
GUIDELINES FOR JOURNALISTS

There are different formats of writing that you must adhere to according to the
assignments you’ve been given on a particular day.

1. A beat-based article differentiates the press from secretaries who take notes.
Read any news article in a reputed daily or a magazine, it focuses on the
outcome rather than the proceedings. This involves listening to the debate very
closely and picking up on one thread of discussion. Once you have decided what
you are writing about, you record a variety of opinions on it and link it up with
facts in the real world. It requires extensive research on the agenda to write on
just one topic. You must exercise your ability to analyse a given situation and
present it succinctly. Roughly, the following can be used as a structure for a
beat-based article.

▪ Para 1: STATING THE BEAT

▪ Para 2: ELABORATING THE BEAT

▪ Para 3: SUPPORT/OPPOSITION FOR THE ORIGINAL STATEMENT ▪ Para

4: INCIDENT/EVENT/OCCURRENCE THAT FORMS CRUX OF THE

ORIGINAL BEAT

▪ Para 5: EXPECTATIONS OR REPERCUSSIONS

2. An opinion editorial is a space for you to give your opinions in your personal
style. You can write on the agenda, or on the happenings in the committee. You
can be humorous, satirical or interrogative. Be yourself. Have an opinion. The
only thing to keep in mind is that you are covering events in the ‘real’ world.
Ignore the fact that is a ‘model’ UN for the purposes of your opinion editorial.
Opinion pieces can also be done in a ‘for and against’ format by two journalists.
3. A feature article is journalistic, researched, descriptive, colourful, thoughtful,
reflective, and thorough writing about original ideas. Feature stories cover topics in
depth, going further than mere hard news coverage by amplifying and explaining the
most interesting and important elements of a situation or occurrence. Some examples
include “10 Sentences That Should Have Been Taken Seriously in Committee”, “Note

from an Experienced MUN-er” etc. Feature articles are a great platform for the
creative side in you so use the opportunity well.

4. An interview or series of interviews can also be conducted, prior to or during

the conference. They’re a great way to dig deeper into whatever story you wish
to write about and can be presented as individual pieces as well. Ensure that
your questions are substantial and not personal in nature.

5. A Press Conference will be held for each committee. For the same purpose, the
media must prepare five questions aimed at particular delegates, as well as one
aimed at the entire committee. The answers to these questions might be included
in a beat like evaluation.

Style Guide

There are certain rules that every IP member must adhere to when writing articles and
these are compiled in the style guide.

Abbreviations: No periods should be used separating letters of an abbreviated

organization or agency. Only standard acronyms and approved abbreviations should
be used. If questions arise, feel free to ask any of the editors. Before using an
acronym, first, the full form should be mentioned once within brackets. Example:
United Nations (UN).
Apostrophes: This punctuation mark will only be used to indicate possessive nouns
or secondary quotations. Apostrophes are never used to indicate plurals. Currency:
Dollar values are displayed with the appropriate currency symbol. Values on orders
at or greater than one million are summarized, for example, $54,000, $135,000 or
$214 million. Indian Rupees shall be written as INR and not Rs.

Capitalization: Nowhere shall anything but abbreviations be capitalized.

Boldface text: There is no situation in which boldface should be used in an article.

Headlines and article titles may be put in bold by the author.

Books and print sources: Names of all books and print sources should be
capitalized and italicized, such as the newsletter, New York Times and The
Economist.

Developing nations: Within the international community, the use of the term “third
world” is actively discouraged. No nation will be referred to as “Third World.”

Diplomatic courtesy: While reporters are encouraged to faithfully report on the

statements of the representatives within the MUN simulation, no quotation should
violate the dictates of diplomatic courtesy. All articles, editorials, letters, press
releases and personals to be included in the newsletter will be carefully edited to
ensure that all content remains courteous to each participant at the MUN. If a
reporter feels that a quotation by a representative is discourteous, the representative
should be encouraged to rephrase the statement in a more courteous fashion or risk
having it omitted from the reporter’s article.
Names: Reporters should never guess the spelling of a person’s name to be reported.
Verbal verification is mandatory on all named sources. Naturally, all proper names
are capitalized.

National references: When referring to any UN Member State or Observer,

standard UN country names should be used. These names match those with which
each nation signed the UN Charter. For example, the People’s Republic of China
can be referred to as “China.” Additionally, some national names are longer than
those commonly used. For example, Libya is recognized by the UN as “Libyan
Arab Jamahiriya.”

Numerals: Any numeral ten or less should be spelt out in English. Numerals over
ten are reported using standard Arabic numerals, such as 2001. Numerals with five
or more digits should include commas, such as 1,345,000. Fractions and decimal
numbers should be reported as decimal numerals or percentages, such as 0.5 or 50%
(rather than “one half” or “1/2”). Roman numerals are used only when referring to a
source which was originally designated using Roman numerals, such as Chapter VII
of the UN Charter (articles of the UN Charter are written as “Article 7”). Ordinal
numerals are spelt out within the text of an article, such as the First Committee of
the General Assembly. In article headings or titles, the author may choose to use
ordinal abbreviations, such as 1st Committee.

Quotation marks: As per Standard English grammar, punctuation at the conclusion

of the quotation must always be included inside the closing quotation mark.
Quotations: All quoted statements within articles should be incorporated
grammatically into the sentence being written. Additional capitalization should be
avoided. If only part of a sentence is being used in a quotation, an ellipsis (i.e.,:)
should be used to indicate the omitted portions of the statement. If the ellipsis
comes at the end of a sentence, it should have a period at the end as well within the
quotation marks (....”) to indicate the conclusion of a sentence. If, within a
quotation, the speaker uses an abbreviation or reference which would be unclear to
the reader, the reporter may interject a clarification within brackets (i.e.: [...]). This
indicates that the bracketed information is not a direct quotation; rather it is a
clarification on the part of the author. As an illustration of these rules, consider the
following example. Amb. Kamal explained that “...while the matters are being
studied by the UN, there is a commitment by the UN, such as the UNV [United
Nations Volunteers], to take part in conflict zones.

Spacing: One space is used to separate words, as well as following commas,

semicolons, colons and periods. Do not put a space before punctuation marks.
Spelling: Reporters should be sure to spell-check all articles before the editorial
deadline. This will greatly assist the editor.

Titles: The categories of titles to be used include: Standard professional titles:

Periods will be used on abbreviated titles, such as Mr., Ms., Amb., Dr., and Pres.

UN titles: These titles will not be abbreviated. UN and MUN official titles include
Secretary-General, Under-Secretary-General, Director-General, Assistant Secretary
General, and Deputy Secretary-General. Secretary-General shall never be
abbreviated as Sec Gen.

Tenses: Stick to one tense throughout your article and ideally, your article should be
in the past tense
Rules for Submission

Deadlines: Following deadlines is one of the most important parts of this press.
Understand that not following deadlines will impact a chain of events causing much
trouble. Not adhering to deadlines is unacceptable and frowned upon, as well as affects
the deduction of marks. You will be made aware of the deadlines in your briefing.

Format: Your articles, opinion pieces, and features will be named in the following
manner. Your name, then committee followed by the type of article (Op-Ed/Beat
Based/Feature/Interview, and the day, all separated by an underscore.

E.g. - Suppose your article is a beat reporting of the GA proceedings from Day1, and
then it shall be named “XYZ_GA_Beat_Day1”

All journalists must ensure that their article has a title and a byline.

For photographers, submit your photographs in a folder titled in the manner-

“XYZ_HRC_day1”. You may edit your photographs before submitting them.

Photographs: No article should be submitted without a photograph. Each and every

piece you submit should have a suitable photograph to go along with it. The photograph
should be named the same as your article that it has to go with.

You will not be allowed to edit your articles after your submission and you will be
evaluated on what you submit.

Reporters and Photographers can always mail their articles to their respective heads but
submission through pen drive will be appreciated.
GUIDELINES FOR CARICATURISTS
Cartoonists/Caricaturists play a large and vital role in forming public opinions, they
frame people’s perceptions and they are made to believe whatever is made. Their work
has the power they can either promote peace and understanding leading to Harmony or
can promote intolerance and frustration, leading to a detrimental effect.

Caricatures: These are simple representations of a wide and serious subject in an

exaggerated and humorous manner.

Caricatures may include:

1) Symbolism/ Objectification: In these simpler objects are chosen to represent or

depict larger concepts.
2) Exaggeration: A specific issue or subject is emphasized by using different
elements and changes in the physical characteristics of the caricature.
3) Labelling: Caricatures can have catchy headlines or bylines, they can have labels,
speech bubbles or catchy captions.
4) Irony: It is a situation where exactly the opposite of what to happen, happens.
Irony helps in adding humour. This element can be shown using symbols,
objects etc. and exaggeration.
5) Analogy: Creating comparisons between people, objects, subject matter, and
ideologies results in a more appealing caricature/cartoon. Comparisons can also
be made based on the difference between Idealism and Pragmatism.
6) Sketch and Contrast: caricaturists have the liberty to show the contrast using
different shades of colours or shading techniques.
7) Individual Assassination: Representation of an individual ideology, remarks etc.
8) Open Ended: These tasks can depict anything and everything that is going on in
the committee.
9) Miscellaneous: These represent the caricaturist’s take on the agenda. 10) Comic
Strip: This is self-explanatory, it should be humorous, and witty and should be
drawn in the form of a comic.
11) Fillers: These would be appreciated. Submitting these would help in gaining the
marks whereas there would not be any deduction if not submitted.

Guidelines:

1) Caricaturists have the liberty to create whatever happens in the committee and
then combine it with their artistic freedom to create a visual representation of
the heavy political debates.
2) There is no restriction on what you make, what medium you choose or what you
represent – everything is up to you. The only restriction is that you have to stick
to the agenda and revolve around it. Something drawn irrelevant to the agenda
will result in a negative marking.
3) Caricatures should be drawn on A4 size paper.
4) Caricaturists should carry all the stationery they need, the Secretariat Board
and/or the Executive Board will not be responsible to arrange anything for the
caricaturists. 5) Adherence to the theme is mandatory.
6) No digital caricatures would be accepted.
7) Deadlines must be strictly followed.
8) Caricatures should be scanned and should be submitted in pdf form, no .jpg
format would be accepted.
9) Submissions would be in hardcopy or through email and no submissions would
be entertained through WHATSAPP message.