Curriculum

This is a tentative schedule as of March 2019.

Saturday, July 6th
Arrivals – check in from 15:00 (Marriott Courtyard Prague Flora hotel, Lucemburská 46, Prague 3, 13000)
Free time

Sunday, July 7th
09:50 – 10:00 Meeting point: hotel lobby and registration of participants
10:05 Departure from the hotel
10:30 – 12:30 Walking Tour – Prague sightseeing
12:30 – 14:30 Welcome lunch and session with Jeremy Druker – A Stable Democracy? The Czech Republic Today (venue: Restaurace U svatého Jana Nepomuckého, Hradčanské nám. 12, Prague 1, 118 00)
Free time in Prague

Monday, July 8th
08:40 Meeting point: hotel lobby
08:45 Departure from the hotel and arrival at the venue: Thomson Reuters (Václavské náměstí 832/19)
09:15 – 09:30 Welcome and Introductions (Jeremy Druker, Transitions)
09:30 – 09:45 Tour and Overview of Reuters (Michael Kahn, Reuters)
09:45 – 12:30 Panel Discussion: “What Is Actually a Foreign Correspondent?” (moderated by Jeremy Druker, Transitions, with participants: Michael Kahn, Reuters; Adam Pemble, The Associated Press, and Kateřina Šantúrová, award-winning freelance journalist).

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 – 16:30 News-Writing Lab (Michael Kahn, Reuters)

16:30 – 18:00 Pitching session for story proposals (Jeremy Druker, Transitions, Michael Kahn, Reuters; Adam Pemble, The Associated Press, and Mark Harmon, University of Tennessee)

All participants will pitch their ideas for their two stories to the panel for feedback. The assignment for the first week will be a print/web story or a photo essay for print or web (first draft due Friday); the assignment for the second week will be a video or audio story (due at the end of the second week).

18:30 – 19:30 Evening drinks at local Czech brewery (optional event)

Tuesday, July 9th
09:30 – 12:30 Writing Lab: Getting Out Into the Field (Michael Kahn, Reuters and Mark Harmon, University of Tennessee)

Participants will be divided in two groups and work intensively with the faculty, focusing on the following subjects:

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 – 17:00 Practical – writing exercise (Michael Kahn, Reuters and Mark Harmon, University of Tennessee)

Participants will have two hours to write their stories with faculty then review the results.

Wednesday, July 10th

All day reporting and interviewing in the field for feature stories.

Thursday, July 11th
All day reporting and interviewing in the field for feature stories, preparing first draft of print stories.
Students finalizing their stories.

17:30 Meeting point: hotel lobby
17:35 Departure from the hotel
18:00 – 19:00 Visit to Economia publishing house (the most modern news complex in the country) and discussion: The Benefits and Challenges to Being a Woman in What Was Once a Man’s Game. (Silvie Lauder, Respekt)

Friday, July 12th
9:30 – 12:30 Photojournalism (Jan Rybar, award-winning photojournalist)

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 – 17:00 Exercises in the field

Jan will accompany participants in downtown Prague as they shoot photos. The group will then congregate back at the venue and review the shots that they have taken.

17:30 – 19:00 Finish first draft of print stories, deadline 19:00
Students finalize their stories and submit.

Saturday, July 13th
11:00 – 14:00 Life as a Foreign Correspondent (Raphael Minder, New York Times)
“Welcome to a dying trade,” or how to become a foreign correspondent

Sunday, July 14th
Free day

19:00 – 21:00 Individual Feedback on First Draft of Stories (Michael Kahn, Reuters and Jeremy Druker, Transitions)

Each participant will have a 15-minute slot to discuss the drafts with Michael or Jeremy during a meeting in the hotel lobby.

Monday, July 15th
9:30 – 12:30 Multimedia Reporting: What is a Video Story and How to Give Every Story a Classic Story Structure (Adam Pemble, The Associated Press)

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 – 17:00 Exercises in the field

Adam will accompany participants in downtown Prague as they shoot video. The group will then congregate back at the venue and review the video that they have taken. Points to be covered:

Tuesday, July 16th
Participants will spend the day working on video/audio stories, i.e. lining up and starting to shoot interviews and other footage.

Wednesday, July 17th
A Day at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (please bring your passport)
09:40 Meeting point: hotel lobby
09:45 Departure from the hotel
10:00 – 10:30 Group security check at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – (Vinohradská 159A, Prague 10)
10:30 – 11:00 Introduction and tour with Jana Hokuvova (RFE/RL – Media and Public Affairs)
11:00 – 12:30 Working Under Conflict (Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL)

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch break

13:30 – 15:00 Digital storytelling (Tolkun Umarali and Wojtek Grojec, RFE/RL)

Thursday, July 18th
09:30 – 12:30 Reporting from Prague (Rob Cameron, BBC)
The BBC’s long-time correspondent talks about how he got his start and how the profession has changed since his arrival in the early 1990s.

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch break
 
14:00 – 17:00 Writing and Reporting for TV  (Mark Harmon, University of Tennessee)

17:00 Deadline for final version of print story and posting it to WordPress site

Friday, July 19th
Shoot and Edit Final Video Stories
17:00 Deadline for video story and posting it to WordPress site
17:00 – 19:00 – Individual Feedback on Final Version of Stories (Michael Kahn, Reuters and Jeremy Druker, Transitions)

Individual story feedback on the final version of print story – each participant will have a 15-minute slot to discuss the final version with Michael or Jeremy during a meeting in the hotel lobby.

Saturday, July 20th
10:00 – 12:00 Reporting-project critique session for video/audio stories (Jeremy Druker, Transitions, Michael Kahn, Reuters, Adam Pemble, The Associated Press and Mark Harmon, University of Tennessee)

Led by Adam Pemble and Mark Harmon, the panel will provide detailed feedback on the video and audio stories.

Free time
17:30 Meeting point: Dvořákovo nábřeží, Na Františku, Prague 1
18:00 – 20:00 Farewell boat cruise with dinner.

Sunday, July 21st
Departures