EducationCurriculum
This is a tentative schedule as of January 2021. CET time
Monday, July 12th
16:00 – 16:45 Welcome and Introductions (Jeremy Druker, Transitions)
16:45 – 18:00 Panel Discussion: “What Is Actually a Foreign Correspondent?” (moderated by Jeremy Druker, Transitions, with participants: Raphael Minder, The New York Times + Tereza Engelova, Hlidaci Pes and Czech Television).
- The news cycle for foreign correspondents: news agencies vs. other media outlets
- The different kinds of foreign reporters: staff positions vs. stringers vs. freelancers
- The specific challenges of being a female foreign correspondent
- Finding stories in a foreign city: how and where to look
- Interviewing people in foreign lands (some of whom may be suspicious of journalists from other countries)
- Tips for staying safe and the necessity (sometimes) of special security precautions.
break
18:15 – 19:45 News-Writing Lab (Michael Kahn, Reuters)
- Introduction to writing and reporting with a special focus on writing for an international audience
- Writing and developing feature stories for news agencies and general publications
- Tips for writing for an audience that knows very little about the history and culture of the location
- When to file a story
- How to source a story.
break
20:00 – 21:00 Pitching session for story proposals (Jeremy Druker, Transitions)
All participants will pitch their ideas for their two stories 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 an audio story (due at the end of the second week).
Tuesday, July 13th
16:00 – 17:30 Writing Lab: Getting Out Into the (Virtual) Field (Michael Kahn, Reuters)
Participants will work intensively with the faculty, focusing on the following subjects:
- Finding stories and conducting research for stories before hitting the ground
- Finding sources and interview subjects
- Interviewing techniques, especially in a foreign land, including mock interviews for practice
- Integrating quotations from non-native speakers.
break
18:00 – 20:00 Practical–writing exercise (Michael Kahn, Reuters)
Participants will have two hours to write their stories with faculty reviewing the results.
Wednesday, July 14th
16:30 – 18:00 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.
- Successful stringing
- Writing for radio: how to be clear and concise, but not boring
- Use of sound, how to liven up your reports and create a sense of place
- Package techniques, how to get the most out of the story and produce great radio.
break
18:30 – 20:00 The Practicalities of Putting Together a Great Audio Piece (Rob Cameron, BBC)
- Op technical tips on putting together audio
- Interview techniques, what makes a good radio interview
- How to plan, script, record, edit, and mix your pieces, even if you don’t have the latest tech and software at hand.
Thursday, July 15th
Final day for reporting and interviewing for feature stories, preparing the first draft of print stories.
16:30 – 18:00 The Do’s and Don’ts of International Feature Writing (Dinah Richter Spritzer)
- Show me don’t tell me! How to provide atmosphere, character and emotion in your story without adjectives. Get those anecdotes.
- Writing for “Aunt Agatha” back home: How to provide context, comparison, and scope for the international audience.
- If you can’t interview someone in person, how can you make readers feel they are right there in the middle of the action?
- What trends make the best international feature stories for a global audience?
- How experts and local journalists can provide the sweep for your narrative that will hook your reader (and your editor)
break
18:30 – 20:00 The Benefits and Challenges to Being a Woman in What Was Once a Man’s Game. (Jana Ciglerova, Denik N)
- The challenges women reporters face in everyday work
- Sexism in journalism and politics – what to watch out for
- The challenges women reporters face in everyday work
- Being a woman in the mainstream media: many female reporters, only few female editors –why?
- Different careers for male journalists
- How does motherhood affect the career of a female journalist?
Friday, July 16th
16:30 – 18:00 From freelance foreign correspondent to working for an experimental online platform (Irene Caselli)
- How to set up as a freelancer
- The importance of multimedia skills
- How to make contacts in newsrooms
- The challenges of being a woman working solo
- How to find stories – and when to let go
- Finding your passion and finding ways to develop an expertise & land your dream job.
- How to earn money by launching a newsletter
break
18:30 – 22:00 Finish first draft of print stories, deadline 22:00
Students finalize their stories and submit via the online platform.
Saturday, July 17th
Free day
Sunday, July 18th
Free day
Monday, July 19th
During the day: Individual Feedback on First Draft of Stories (Jeremy Druker, Transitions)
Each participant will have a 15-minute slot to discuss the drafts with Jeremy during an online meeting.
18:30 – 20:00 Life as a Foreign Correspondent (Raphael Minder, The New York Times)
- “Welcome to a dying trade,” or how to become a foreign correspondent
- How to find stories (a clue: they are rarely on page one of the local press)
- Dealing with editors at long distance and pitching stories
- Differences between European and American journalism
- Ethics of Journalism, Journalism and the Law, Boundaries of Plagiarism
- Being a Foreign Correspondent for The New York Times.
Tuesday, July 20th
Participants will spend the day working on audio/podcast stories. This is also the day to finish up the final version of the print stories.
Wednesday, July 21st
18:30 – 20:00 Multimedia Reporting: What is a Video Story and How to Give Every Story a Classic Story Structure (Adam Pemble, The Associated Press)
- Breaking into video journalism and work at the AP
- How even the most basic of shoots tells a story
- Classic story writing structures and how they can be incorporated into video sequencing (inverted pyramid, diamond, stories without the classic structure)
- Shot-by-shot case studies
- Shooting video for news stories: framing, sequencing, perspective, lighting
- Questions and Answers.
22:30 Deadline for final version of print story and posting it to online platform.
Thursday, July 22nd
16:30 – 18:00 Covering Africa and the Solutions Journalism Approach (Tomas Linder, Respekt)
- How to deal with and counter the stereotypes of Africa
- Is reporting from Africa really different from reporting elsewhere?
- Taking a solutions-oriented approach in your reporting
break
18:30 – 20:00 – Individual Feedback on Final Version of Print Stories (Jeremy Druker, Transitions)
Individual story feedback on the final version of the print story – each participant will have a 15-minute slot to discuss the final version with Jeremy during an online meeting.
Final reporting and editing of audio/podcast stories.
22:30 Deadline for audio story and posting it to the online platform.
Friday, July 23rd
16:20 – 16:30 RFE/RL introduction (Evgeniya Konovalova, RFE/RL)
16:30 – 17:30 Working Under Conflict (Malali Bashir, RFE/RL)
- Covering conflict as a local
- Staying safe as a journalist in a war zone
- The ethical and moral responsibilities associated with covering conflict.
- How does the journalist’s background (their nationality, ethnicity, etc.) affect the way they do their work.
- Does it interfere somehow?
- How to cope with possible threats from the local authorities or pressure to report differently?
Farewell (Jeremy Druker, Transitions)