Arab Journalists Sharpen Reporting Skills

    Photo: Four journalists (2 women, 2 men) sit together
Karim Alrawi
   
At an Internews seminar, Egyptian journalists strengthen their news reporting skills.

The first training seminar, in Amman, Jordan, took place last March just as war was erupting next door in Iraq.

The second seminar, held outside Cairo in April, began during the biggest demonstrations Egypt had seen in 35 years.

Subsequent training seminars in Oman, Yemen and Egypt were held against the backdrop of increasing terrorist attacks and the strongest anti-American sentiment ever recorded in the region.

But as Internews launched “Reporting for Humanity,” an ambitious eleven-country initiative to train a new generation of journalists in the Middle East, these seemingly impossible obstacles provided the perfect real-life examples for the trainings. Internews’ project focuses on training young Arab reporters in how to report on conflict in a way that reduces the potential for violence.

Through its “Reporting for Humanity” project, Internews has so far trained over 250 Arab journalists, both men and women, in the principles and practices of professional news reporting.

“This [training] opportunity allowed this place to be an oasis that sheltered us from the usual pressures, whether political or social, that we face in our work and that constrain our professional development,” commented Rafi’a al-Talei, a journalist from a daily newspaper in Oman. “Sessions like this remind us that we [women journalists] serve as a candle lighting the darkness for future generations of professional women.”

 

Photo: 3 women journalists sit at a table
Karim Alrawi
   
Participants at an Internews training in Amman, Jordan analyze local media from the region, with an eye to basic reporting and interviewing skills.    

One of the main goals of the project is to shift reporting from that driven by politics and emotion to reporting based on rational argument, objective sources and balanced debate. Participants are encouraged to develop a professional code of ethics that will guide them in reporting responsibly on a range of issues.

“The work on developing our own professional code of ethics was a very important step for me,” said Mahmoud Ali Muhammad, Deputy Political Editor for Egypt’s Al-Wafd newspaper. “It made me realize my responsibilities as a journalist to tell the truth and to be as honest and objective as possible,” he said.

To support the journalists after they have completed their training, an Arabic language website is being developed where trainees will be able to post their articles so local publications can access and publish them.

As an outcome of the training, many of the journalists were able to get more of their articles published than before. After Internews training, participants have placed over 370 new articles in newspapers and magazines on topics such as civil society and human rights.

“Reporting for Humanity” is funded by the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL). Local partner organizations include the Arab Women’s Media Center of Jordan and the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights.

Also, in November the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) awarded Internews a grant for media capacity-building and support activities in seven Arab countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. This project will include media law assessments.