Topic Summary

Max Weber once characterized journalists as a special category of politicians. Newspapers were once more strongly associated with particular political parties, but as the newspaper industry became more commercialized, journalists gained enough independence to define their roles: not politicians, but informants for the general public.

The central definition of journalism is “the activity of gathering and presenting information and commentary about current events for public distribution.” Within this definition, there are a number of different roles that journalism offers. It is an occupation, a social institution, and a cultural platform. As an occupation, journalism is an independent profession that has its own sets of rules and expectations. As a social institution, it opens and enables relations with other institutions, such as governing bodies or the state.As a cultural platform, journalism provides a medium of discourse for people to analyze and discuss the world around them. Delegates are expected to understand these various roles of journalism and apply them to their experience within the Press Corps committee.

Director Letter

Dear Delegates,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Press Corps at Harvard National Model United Nations 2025.

My name is Emma Pham-Tran, and I will serve as your Director at HNMUN. I am a sophomore at Harvard College studying Government with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. I was born and raised in Sacramento, California before coming to Harvard. While I did not participate in Model UN prior to college as a team was not established until my junior year of high school, I had the wonderful opportunity of staffing both HMUN and HNMUN as an Assistant Director of the Press Corps as a first-year. I was inspired by not only the work of my Directors and peers, but the innovative work of the delegates as well. We look forward to seeing you navigate the challenges the Press Corps poses.

Outside of Model UN, I write for the Crimson, am involved with various programs through the Institute of Politics, and volunteer with the Harvard Undergraduate Legal Committee. In my free time, I loves to grab an iced matcha with a friend or read while lying on a blanket in the Yard.

See you all in February,

Emma

Director, Press Corps