Poynter and European Journalism Centre Launch New Training Partnership

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., May 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Poynter Institute and the European Journalism Centre (EJC) are partnering to teach journalists the skills and values needed to create journalism for emerging democracies across the world. The latest collaborative program, focused on Indonesian reporters, is part of Poynter's ongoing international effort to equip and inspire journalists to practice the highest standards of the profession.

"We believe strongly that good journalism improves democracies, and Indonesia is no different," said Stephen Buckley, dean of faculty at Poynter. "That's especially true for countries that are either struggling with the democratic process, or have embraced democracy only in the last decade or two."

"EJC looks forward to continuing our cooperation with The Poynter Institute. We see this as an important opportunity to share the highest standards of journalistic professionalism and ethics at a global level," said Wilfried Ruetten, EJC director. "We firmly believe that we can help reinforce the key role journalists play in society as watchdogs and guardians of the public interest."

Poynter and the EJC will develop a 10-week training program for members of the Jakarta-based Indonesian Association for Media Development. "Strengthening Your Journalism With Clarity and Accuracy" will be taught online and on-site for 20 Indonesian journalists. The course will cover, among other topics, Journalism Values in the Digital Age, Accuracy in Sourcing and Data, and Clarity in Writing.

As a pilot, the course will be taught in English through Poynter's e-learning portal, News University, http://www.newsu.org. Students will attend live online lectures and chats, and complete weekly readings and assignments. Video and audio sessions provide opportunities for the group to reflect on major themes, and interactive exercises help underscore important concepts. At the end of the e-learning course, Poynter faculty will travel to Jakarta to lead a two-day workshop. Students who have successfully completed the e-learning course will be invited to participate in this session.

"The combination of Poynter in-person and online training is powerful," said Howard Finberg, Poynter's director of training partnerships and alliances. "What makes this project particularly exciting is the opportunity to work with a partner to increase its training capacity." The second phase of the project, planned for 2014, will create a version of the course in Bahasa Indonesia, the official language of the country.

The project is funded through the MFSII instrument of the Netherlands Foreign Ministry. It is part of a much broader global five-year project called Press Freedom 2.0 that includes Dutch‐based partners Free Press Unlimited, World Press Photo, European Partnership for Democracy and Mensen met een Missie, who are working in 11 countries on five continents.

In 2012, Poynter worked with the EJC on an innovative, three-month e-learning course for journalists and journalism students from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. "Reporting and Writing About Development in the World" helped prepare participants for the challenges of covering the political and economic issues inherent in international development stories. The course was funded by the European Commission's V4Aid project, which promotes awareness of development issues in the European Union's new member states.

About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is an international leader in journalism education, and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and at conferences and organizational sites around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, http://www.newsu.org offers the world's largest online journalism curriculum, with more than 250 interactive courses and 240,000 students. The Institute's website, http://www.poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage of news about media, ethics, technology, the business of news and the trends that currently define and redefine journalism news reporting. The world's top journalists and media innovators come to Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcast producers, and to build public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and protected discourse that serves democracy and the public good.

About the European Journalism Centre
The European Journalism Centre (EJC) http://www.ejc.nl is a non-profit international foundation with the remit to improve, strengthen, and underpin journalism and the news media in the interest of a functioning democratic public sphere.

Building on its extensive international network, the Centre operates as a facilitator and partner in a wide variety of training and research projects. It engages in sectoral analysis and research, professional capacity development, journalism-related funding programmes, and a wide range of support activities. Its target groups and beneficiaries are news- and information-oriented journalists and media organisations irrespective of the technology they use, as well as media stakeholders in government, politics, science, or non-governmental organisations.

CONTACT:
Howard Finberg
[email protected]
727-821-9494

Jessica Blais
[email protected]
727-821-9494

SOURCE The Poynter Institute/News University