Participants during a session.
Doha, Qatar: The “Independent Media Initiative” was launched on October 13 with two leading US- based institutions in media capacity-building, Al-Monitor and Semafor, at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI). The event was organised in collaboration with the Journalism Master Program at the DI.
Dr. Basim Tweissi, Head of the Journalism Program at the DI, said: “The aim of these workshops is to develop the learning outputs of media and journalism education in Qatari educational institutions. This initiative includes the journalism and mass communication programs at Qatar University, Northwestern University in Qatar, and the Doha Institute.
"It seeks to improve students’ competencies and skills bridging the gap between press and media education centres in Qatar and advanced media industry centres around the world, specifically in leading news institutions.”
The workshop, which was held at the DI, covered many topics, including audience development, digital methods and techniques, coverage of conflict zones and the fundamentals of business and economic reporting.
The program, which will be held three times per year at DI, also discussed key methods and techniques for fact-checking and investigative reporting. The workshop involved significant interaction between students and the workshop instructors on the best practices of independent media.
“This program has been an exceptional opportunity to participate in the education and training of a cohort of leading graduate journalism students, from across the Middle East, in the best practices, cutting-edge methodologies, and technological advances shaping the independent media industry,” said Andrew Parasiliti, president of Al-Monitor. A total of 30 students from journalism and media programs from various educational institutions in Qatar participated in the workshop.
