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| U.S Speaker Eduardo Cue leads the course. He takes questions from participants. |
The Public Affairs Section of U.S. Embassy Conakry presented “Journalism 101” for 15 senior journalism students from at l'Institut Suprieur de l'Information et de la Communication (ISIC) and five junior reporters from new private radio stations and held a general session with entire fourth year class. Africa Regional Services (ARS Paris) Speaker Eduardo Cue, an accomplished media professional who has worked as the U.S. News and World Report Paris correspondent for ten years, energetically conducted lectures and led practical exercises.
The students’ hands-on pursuit of a story during the workshop and the subsequent evaluation by this veteran reporter are exactly the sort of trainings that prepares them to professionally and ethically face the daily challenges of their chosen vocation. The participants responded with great enthusiasm to the high quality of the lectures.
In March 2007 ARS Paris offered a new program, "Journalism 101", which would provide basic elements of journalism to journalism students and junior-level journalists. PAS Conakry leaped at the opportunity. Guinea has a small but vibrant independent media establishment. Many of the journalists are young and without formal training. However they are eager to learn. ISIC, the school of journalism, opened its doors in November 2006 and PAS began building a relationship with the new institution from the outset. Journalism 101 was the perfect opportunity to strengthen links with the school and help train the next generation of Guinean journalists.
Having conducted training seminars for journalists in many African countries including Guinea, Cue is especially well suited to address questions from journalists working in Guinea. He developed a program that included topics such as: the role of the media in a democracy, the rudiments of journalism (who, what, when, where, why and how), investigative reporting, and challenges of news gathering. It was an intense program that also included a "training the trainers" portion with ISIC staff. The program incorporated practical field training and writing exercises.
The students also learned how important the media can be in combating corruption and in promoting democracy and good governance. One of the private radio stations, Radio Familia FM, who had a reporter attend the training, interviewed Cue at the conclusion of the program. The Journalism 101 program went a long way in boosting the skill level of the next generation of journalists.
