* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
It was my first week here as an intern for TrustMedia, and I already feel like I am part of the team! More than just the wonderful staff working here, but all the projects I am already working on! I can already tell my internship experience here will be one of a kind, and I am so excited to re-cap my week with y’all.
From Dallas, TX (yes-I do say y’all) I traveled to London as part of an eight week internship program where I will receive class credit. After receiving my internship placement at Thomson Reuters Foundation, I eagerly started research on Trust.org. I quickly found out on my first day that the website doesn’t even begin to explain all of the projects and people the foundation, and more specifically, the TrustMedia team works with on a daily basis. After arriving on Monday morning, I was given instruction on the assignments I would be responsible for.
When I first arrive everyday, I am responsible for uploading relevant news articles from our content partners. These articles, posted on TrustMedia, provide the latest information and breaking news on the state of journalism. After I post these articles I usually try and post them to Twitter and Facebook to allow followers the most interaction with our site. One of my goals is to increase our Twitter and Facebook followings, and I am THRILLED to report that after a busy week of tweeting and posting, our Twitter followers have increased by 25 and our Facebook fans have increased to 6,529-sounds small but very cool.
I hope he doesn't read this, but I have completely taken over the desk of Will Church, a TrustMedia Project Manager, who is in Rio where we are holding a "Rural Poverty Reporting" course in partnership with IFAD and IPS, in line with the Rio+20 conference on climate change. To go along with the Rio+20 conference, the Foundation's award winning multimedia team have put out a video with World Bank that explains "Natural Capital Accounting", a concept gaining more and more significance in light of climate change. Watch the video at this link: http://www.trust.org/trustmedia/multimedia/video-and-audio/detail.dot?mediaInode=4f4a0ff8-319d-4726-9669-9c95d7ed03b1.
Check back for blogs from these course participants in Rio next week.
On Tuesday, I was invited to the all staff meeting led by CEO, Monique Villa. It was very interesting to hear all of the updates and happenings going on with the Foundation. Monique was very excited to be promoting her newest project TrustWomen, and their team is working hard on planning its conference in December of this year. The friendly atmosphere and enthusiastic team spirit at the staff meeting was to be noticed by all.
In TrustMedia news, it was reported that Aswat Masriya, our Egypt media development project has secured funding for a further two years and will broaden its reach to include training on: women's rights, political reporting, financial and business journalism and media training for Egyptian parliamentarians. The website will continue to host elections news, as well as news and information on governance, regional politics and women's issues. Aswat Masriya has been especially successful during this crucial time in Egypt's transition to democracy, in fact, Aswat Masriya content has been picked up by some of the biggest Egyptian and international media outlets. These include Al Jazeera, The Guardian, CNN, USA Today and Foreign Policy magazine, in addition to its huge online readership. Also, in direct competition with these outlets, The Online Media Awards commended Thomson Reuters Foundation for Best Designed Site AND Best Video Journalism-way to go!
I was also informed that Jo Weir, director of the TrustMedia team, will be back next Monday after an assessment visit to Turks and Caicos for a media development project. I am excited to hear her feedback on my progress. A big big thank you for everyone making me feel so welcome this week, and making my transition into the team very enjoyable! See all the courses we are currently accepting applications for below. Anyways, until next week y’all!
1. Business News and Tracking Down Corruption
Course Duration: 15 Oct 2012 - 19 Oct 2012 | Apply by: 01 Oct 2012
Location: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Topic: Business reporting
In these days of global economic crisis, business and financial news have moved from the back pages to being the lead stories. But that’s not much good if you don’t know the difference between Equities and Futures, and think a Bond is something to do with British spies. Fear not! Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Mediacentar Sarajevo bring you the chance to understand the basics of how money really DOES make the world go around.
And while we’re explaining to you how it all works, we’ll also show you where to look to find those nasty little corruption stories that lurk hidden in the numbers. Join us for Business News and Tracking Down Corruption, 15-19 October in Sarajevo. No financial experience necessary, just a keen interest in learning about this exciting and fast-paced part of journalism
Course Duration: 08 Oct 2012 - 12 Oct 2012 | Apply by: 03 Sep 2012
Location: Dakar, Senegal | Topic: Business reporting
La Fondation Thomson Reuters a commencé en 2010, en collaboration avec l'Agence Norvégienne de Développement et Coopération (NORAD), une série de stages pour les journalistes africains dans le but de consolider leurs connaissances en matière de journalisme financier.
En partenariat avec NORAD, la Fondation Thomson Reuters organise maintenant un cours de reportage économique et financière destiné aux journalistes africains francophones, du 8 au 12 octobre à Dakar.
Apprendre par la pratique est un élément clé du programme, incluant en particulier des exercices pratiques et des reportages dans les conditions du direct. Le cours attache une grande importance à l’amélioration de la couverture financière nationale et internationale par le biais de séances d'information détaillées, de conférences, et, le cas échéant, d’une visite reportage à une institution financière. Des discussions détaillées permettront aux journalistes d’approfondir différents sujets, notamment l'exploitation des ressources naturelles, la gouvernance économique, la fiscalité et la fuite des capitaux des pays en développement.
Course Duration: 27 Aug 2012 - 31 Aug 2012 | Apply by: 22 Jul 2012
Location: Dakar, Senegal | Topic: Business reporting
La Fondation Thomson Reuters a commencé en 2010, en collaboration avec l'Agence Norvégienne de Développement et Coopération (NORAD), une série de stages pour les journalistes africains dans le but de consolider leurs connaissances en matière de journalisme financier.
En partenariat avec NORAD, la Fondation Thomson Reuters organise maintenant un cours de reportage économique et financière destiné aux journalistes africains francophones, du 27 au 31 août à Dakar.
Apprendre par la pratique est un élément clé du programme, incluant en particulier des exercices pratiques et des reportages dans les conditions du direct. Le cours attache une grande importance à l’amélioration de la couverture financière nationale et internationale par le biais de séances d'information détaillées, de conférences, et, le cas échéant, d’une visite reportage à une institution financière. Des discussions détaillées permettront aux journalistes d’approfondir différents sujets, notamment l'exploitation des ressources naturelles, la gouvernance économique, la fiscalité et la fuite des capitaux des pays en développement.
Course Duration: 06 Aug 2012 - 10 Aug 2012 | Apply by: 06 Jul 2012
Location: Maputo, Mozambique | Topic: Business reporting
Após o sucesso dos cursos de 2011, a Fundação Thomson Reuters está a lançar uma segunda série de cursos para repórteres financeiros em toda a África, em parceria com a Agência Norueguesa de Cooperação para o Desenvolvimento (NORAD), como parte de uma inciativa para fortalecer as suas capacidades jornalísticas. Este curso em particular, foi concebido para ajudar os jornalistas nos países africanos de expressão portuguesa a melhorarem o nível de qualidade das suas reportagens sobre temas financeiros e económicos através do desenvolvimento da sua compreensão e competências. "Aprender fazendo" é um lema essencial do programa, que inclui exercícios práticos e reportagens ao vivo. O curso também se concentra na melhoria da cobertura nacional e internacional dos problemas financeiros através de briefings detalhados, apresentações de palestras e, se possível, uma visita de informação a uma instituição financeira. Através de discussões aprofundadas, os jornalistas irão explorar novas formas de abordar temas, tais como a exploração de recursos, governança económica e fuga de capitais dos países em desenvolvimento.
Course Duration: 23 Jul 2012 - 27 Jul 2012 | Apply by: 24 Jun 2012
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa | Topic: Business reporting
This course is designed to help journalists in Africa to strengthen their reporting on financial and economic topics by developing their understanding and skills. “Learning by doing” is a core part of the programme, which includes practical exercises and live reporting. The course also focuses on improving coverage of national and international financial issues through detailed briefings, presentations by guest speakers and, where appropriate, a reporting visit to a financial institution. In-depth discussions will explore ways of tackling subjects such as resource exploitation, economic governance and capital flight from developing countries
