This Week at TrustMedia 16/7-20/7 2012

* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

It’s been a busy week here at TrustMedia.  We’re all sad to see Lauren go home, and without her this is my first week as the sole intern for the TrustMedia team.  Everyone has been so fantastic about helping me learn how to do things and providing me with interesting projects.

As TrustMedia’s new intern, I feel like I should introduce myself.  I’m Hannah, originally from Baltimore, so significantly more northern than Lauren.  I’m in London for the summer with Boston University, where I study international relations and journalism.  My new home at TrustMedia has been the desk of Tracy Hart, who has been on holiday this week. (Don’t worry Tracy, I’ve been keeping it tidy)  And it is the perfect seat to watch all the goings on in the office.  When I first come in the office, my first job is to check for new stories from our content partners and update Facebook and Twitter.  Now I have always been an avid Facebooker, but have never really used Twitter before.  But I am quickly becoming adept at hash tagging.  We have about twenty new followers and likes from this past week and that’s something I’m a little proud of!  But my favorite thing to do in the office is just ask who needs help because everyone is working on something really interesting and I wind up learning a lot about both journalism and different countries. 

TrustMedia is planning a lot of big things. We have scheduled 5 internal training courses in London and Eagan (US) on effective writing and communications for Thomson Reuters staff. We also plan to run a course in effective writing in New York in October. The courses are open only to Thomson Reuters staff. The profits we make from these courses is ploughed back into the Foundation and used to fund our free courses for developing world journalists. 

Our site Aswat Masriya has just opened four new job positions for Egyptians based in Cairo.  We are looking for a journalist to specialize in our Women’s Rights and Issues section of the site, as well as a financial editor, a marketing and communications manager, and lastly a multimedia journalist.  For complete job listings and descriptions you can check our staff blog on TrustMedia.  We are really excited to be expanding Aswat Masriya so be sure to spread the word about the positions!!!!

This week we ran a course for 13 Bangladeshi journalists just outside Dhaka.  They attended one of our Writing and Reporting News courses, and it was a big success!  Be sure to check Facebook next week to see pictures and read the alumni and trainer blogs to hear all about it!

Current Course Offerings:

1. Business News and Tracking Down Corruption??Course Duration: 15 Oct 2012 - 19 Oct 2012 |  Apply by: 01 Oct 2012
2. 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.?
3. Making Television News??Course Duration: 15 Oct 2012 - 19 Oct 2012 |  Apply by: 01 Oct 2012
4. Location: St. Petersburg, Russia  |  Topic: Television news reporting ?This five day training course teaches creative approaches to producing TV news stories. Subjects include research, writing for TV, camera work and editing. Lectures are supported by practical exercises and video examples. The class is run by senior Reuters television journalists.?
5. Reporting on Women's Issues??Course Duration: 11 Nov 2012 - 16 Nov 2012 |  Apply by: 30 Sep 2012
6. Location: Barcelona, Spain  |  Topic: ?There is now a broad understanding that strengthening women’s voices and participation in public life as well as in decision-making is crucial to development worldwide. This is a timely opportunity for journalists to convey the voices of a population that has largely been ignored thus far:  women.?This 6-day intensive course is a lively and practical workshop designedto help journalists fine-tune their skills and enhance their coverage of women’s issues, opinions and empowerment.  Participants will attend four days of classes and then have two days of the News Xchange conference. Themes covered will include: a critical assessment of women’s rights coverage in the global media; choosing the best angle for your story; presentation skills and writing for greater impact;bringing narrative quality to the news organization (story-telling); ethics and fact-checking; conveying local (or national) stories for a global audience; and safety for female journalists. We will also explore what female perspectives can specifically bring to media coverage of any eventor situation. ?
7. Photojournalism??Course Duration: 27 Sep 2012 - 29 Sep 2012 |  Apply by: 09 Sep 2012
8. Location: Yerevan, Armenia  |  Topic: Photo journalism (news photography) ?This workshop, led by senior Reuters news photographers, shows how to go about capturing the image that graphically illustrates the story, without compromising integrity. Sessions combine discussions and dissection of examples with practical photo-shoots and editing exercises.?
9. Reportage économique et financier??Course Duration: 08 Oct 2012 - 12 Oct 2012 |  Apply by: 03 Sep 2012
10. 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.?
11. Jornalismo Financeiro e Económico??Course Duration: 24 Sep 2012 - 28 Sep 2012 |  Apply by: 20 Aug 2012
12. 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.?
13. Writing and Reporting News??Course Duration: 05 Nov 2012 - 09 Nov 2012 |  Apply by: 17 Aug 2012
14. Location: London, United Kingdom  |  Topic: General news reporting ?The core activity concerns the actual writing and reporting of news, as practiced by Reuters and other global agencies. Practical exercises form the core of the programme, with an emphasis on improving basic reporting and writing skills including accuracy, impartiality, speed, clarity and structure. The course will help journalists recognise their good habits and provide them the time and space to work on their weak points, within a mentored framework. ?The course combines face-to-face teaching with online study. It starts with five days in London followed by online modules made up of ten units of study.  It is anticipated each online unit will take about two weeks to complete and the modules can be completed in six months.?
15. Making TV News??Course Duration: 20 Aug 2012 - 24 Aug 2012 |  Apply by: 10 Aug 2012
16. Location: Lima, Peru  |  Topic: Television news reporting ?This five day training course teaches creative approaches to producing TV news stories. Subjects include research, writing for TV, camera work and editing. Lectures are supported by practical exercises and video examples. The class is run by senior Reuters television journalists.?
17. Making Television News??Course Duration: 03 Sep 2012 - 07 Sep 2012 |  Apply by: 06 Aug 2012
18. Location: Hanoi, Vietnam  |  Topic: Television news reporting ?This five day training course teaches creative approaches to producing TV news stories. Subjects include research, writing for TV, camera work and editing. Lectures are supported by practical exercises and video examples. The class is run by senior Reuters television journalists.?
19. Reportage économique et financier??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.