Layalina Productions, Inc. | The Layalina Review: "New Training for Improved Journalism"

The Layalina Review

VOL. V NO. 14, June 19-July 02, 2009

New Training for Improved Journalism

A DRAFT code of ethics for journalists in Bahrain is expected to be the outcome of a two-day workshop, reports the Gulf Daily News. The event is organized by the Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA) and the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) as part of a regional media development project sponsored by the Middle East Partnership Initiative program and managed by IREX.

David McCraw, a former journalist and now Vice-President and Assistant General Counsel of the New York Times Company and leading attorney for the New York Times, will attend the upcoming workshop. He has been active in drafting a code of ethics for the newspaper and will cite codes from the West and Arab world.

Based on the final product, Mr. McCraw will offer recommendations for a Bahrain Journalists Code of Ethics for consideration tomorrow. Following the workshop, he will help draft a final code.

Dubai Press Club has announced the launch of a new training program for young UAE national journalists working in local media organizations with the objective to help develop their professional skills and competence, according to AME Info.

Mona Al-Marri, Chairperson, Dubai Press Club, said the new initiative was part of the Club's efforts to meet the vocational requirements of the new generation of Emirati journalists. She further explained that the Club wants to provide high-standard training programs to foster the growth of Emirati journalism, which she argues, would contribute to the overall development of society.

“It will also help enhance the limits of freedoms as it equips the journalists with a strong grounding in the basics of the profession and its ethical foundations,” she pointed out.

Dubai Press Club has launched several initiatives for the advancement of the profession of journalism and the media sector in the Arab world, such as the Arab Media Forum, the Arab Journalism Award and the Arab Media Outlook; all performed on an annual basis.

In other news, Qatari Culture Minister Hamad ibn Abd Al-'Aziz Al-Kuwari has responded to a request by Syrian Information Minister Muhsen Bilal to have Syrian journalists train at the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV, reports MEMRI, a trend that appears to be emerging in Middle Eastern journalism.

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