JTP Launches New Band of Citizen Journalists

Trainer Jessica Dheere

Web 2.0, audio and video editing, and on-line media ethics were a few of the topics tackled in a five-day workshop on "Citizen/On-line Journalism" that drew eager bloggers seeking to hone their skills in cyber publishing. The July 21-25 workshop was organized by AUB's Journalism Training Program and sponsored by the German Heinrich Boll Foundation.

"The information was so concentrated and important, I suggested the organization of specialized training in photography and audio and video editing separately," said Hasan Al Mustafa, a news producer at Lebanon's LBC satellite channel. He was particularly pleased with the work during the training that allowed participants from Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq to set up their own blogs (web logs), shoot digital pictures, understand file resolution, integrate feeds into their blogs, and create multimedia packages for the web.

"The basic question is how are we going to adapt? My aim is to help you find ways of adapting that work for you," said trainer Jessica Dheere about the tips and exercises she presented, adding that there was no one way of producing online content and that bloggers could customize it for individual use.

Dheere reviewed the pros and cons of various blogging platforms and discussed case studies illustrating the magnitude of the impact journalism tools like Facebook, YouTube, and other social media were having on the reporting process regionally and globally.

Mohammad Najm briefed the journalists on Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, tagging, and social bookmarking to make their blogs more effective and more widely accessed.

"You'll see the results as soon as I return to Baghdad," promised Haidar Fadhel Jouda, whose work for the Iraqi civil society Al Amal organization was enriched by his learning all the latest citizen journalism techniques.

According to BBC correspondent Tariq Saleh, most major international newspaper websites are providing more tools and multimedia options like video, audio, and photos so that browsers can have access to full reports. "As a BBC reporter you don't just write, you make videos when you report for TV, so you need the tools," Saleh said.

Participants roamed the AUB campus in search of stories, shot footage, took pictures, and put together multimedia reports they produced and uploaded onto their blogs, which were shown and critiqued on the last day of training. They were full of technical details and provided tips on the most effective ways of recording sound, holding cameras while shooting video, and linking to relevant websites. JTP director Magda Abu-Fadil also provided the journalists with a healthy dollop of media ethics in a presentation meant to highlight the pitfalls of speed of on-line news publishing.

"When I shared what I'd learned with my colleagues at work, they thought it was very interesting," said Carole Sabty, an executive producer on LBC's satellite channel. She said journalists in Lebanon, particularly at LBC, lacked adequate knowledge and skills in on-line journalism.