Students from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, will be teaming up with their counterparts from around the world to produce 12 hours of continuous news on March 27.

The Global News Relay will see the students work collaboratively on a rolling news programme. The broadcast will move from country to country with each host organisation transmitting for up to two hours at a time.

The ground-breaking project is co-ordinated by Sarah Jones, journalism lecturer of Salford University, Manchester, UK, along with representatives other institutions, including RMIT, Melbourne, Australia, West Texas A&M University, US, Manipal University, Dubai, and Volda University College, Norway. Outlining the unique experiment in global student collaboration in journalism, Jones said: “The aim of the project is to engage students with the concept of global news and bring them together to work collaboratively on a single journalistic assignment.

“It will develop innovative methods of broadcasting internationally and encourage students to reflect on news around the world, as well as getting an insight into the variations in culture and news techniques.”

Sashi Kumar, chairman of the Media Development Foundation and the ACJ, said: “This initiative will underscore the global potential of journalism at a time when the profession is facing unprecedented challenges in terms of its national base and market.”

Topics covered during the broadcasting marathon will include the Indian general elections, economy, culture, social media, fashion, gay marriage and Salford Music Festival.

The 12-hour Global News Relay will begin at 9 a.m. on March 27, with the ACJ team broadcasting the 3-4 p.m. slot. The transmission with be broadcast online at www.quaysnews.net.