Training

The International Journalism and Media Management Training at Western Kentucky University

The International Journalism and Media Management Training at Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a partnership between Internews Network and Western Kentucky University. Since 2002, the program has conducted journalism and media management training for participants from Indonesia, Cambodia and Jordan.

With support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), journalists and managers are brought to the U.S. for an intensive program that emphasizes the highest standards of journalism and media management practice, while exposing the participants to a grassroots view of life in the United States.

In addition to the technical training, the role of media in the development of civil society is a key theme in the training.

As part of the program, graduates receive instructional materials and equipment to take back to their home countries to share with their colleagues. The program also conducts an in-country follow-on training for the participants, their colleagues, and invited guests.

The program was designed to use the talents of some of the most highly regarded journalism instructors in the United States. The award-winning Western Kentucky University faculty and staff, as well as regional and national media professionals, conduct trainings in a wide variety of areas. The trainers also serve as mentors to the participants. This mentor relationship not only provides the participant with individual guidance during the training, but also helps maximize the participant's cultural experience in the United States through exposure to American homes and families.

The training continues long after the participants have returned home. Trainers maintain contact with the participants after the program is over through email list serves and through follow-on training. This ongoing interaction ensures they will receive the greatest possible benefit from the program. Graduates of the program serve as mentors to other media professionals in their home countries and many have conducted trainings of their own based on their WKU training in Bowling Green.

The first journalism training session was conducted in August of 2001 with Indonesian journalists. The final week of their training included a daily newscast on WWHR 91.7, the Western Kentucky University student radio station. The journalists were also exposed to the daily operations of Western's Public Radio. The journalism trainees worked under the supervision of professional staff, getting hands-on experience in a wide variety of broadcast activities, especially the production of daily news and other informational programming.

The first management training was conducted in October of 2001 and focused on news and information programming within the context of the media's role in civil society. The management training was conducted by nearly two dozen trainers from WKU's school of journalism and broadcasting, business school and public radio station and included training in sound business practices, budgeting, and management of station resources.

The program is supported by in-country follow-on trainings by WKU trainers. The first of these follow-on trainings took place in Indonesia over a 10-day period. This session consisted of a one-week seminar for the WKU participants and working journalists from other stations and resident trainings at select radio stations. These residency trainings allow for specialized training specific to the needs of that particular station.

In addition to the benefits of having a media-training program based at Western Kentucky University, trainees gained knowledge from exposure to American culture, political and economic institutions, business and management practices, consumer products and marketing strategies, as well as creating lasting relationships with American media colleagues.