Traditional media may be declining in much of the rich world, but in poor countries it is
booming. The growth in private media in developing countries has spurred much of the demand, as
has new technology. That is stoking journalism training in far-flung places, in many shapes and
sizes. They range from full degree programs to the short-term specialist training offered widely
across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Groups offering such courses include the BBC World
Service Trust, the Reuters and Thomas Foundations, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting
(IWPR) and Internews Network, a media-development charity based in America.
These days the donors are particularly interested in niches, such as investigative reporting and
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science writing. But that approach sometimes flops. The need for basic reporting skills is still
central. Trainers stress the need for flexibility. Participants in the courses praise the results, while
complaining about the lack of focus and coordination among some providers. Shapi Shacinda, the
Reuters correspondent in Zambia and chairman of the press club in the capital. Lusaka, says that
foreign-backed training in business and economic reporting has helped bring more skeptical
coverage. Previously, news stories used to be taken straight from officials’ statements, he says.
But governments are harder to teach. Encouraging students to probe sensitive topics may
threaten their lives or livelihoods. An Iraqi journalist trained by and working with the IWPR was
shot dead earlier this year. Just this week. Zambia’s minister of information asserted that state-run
media should not criticize the government. In Russia, an organization founded by Internews has been
closed by the authorities. who were apparently suspicious of its American backing. Rich-country
governments can be a problem, too. Some try to influence the “messages” that trainers deliver, for
example by insisting that their diplomats talk to classes on a regular basis. The big training groups
insist that they control their own content. Blurring the boundaries can be dangerous both for
journalists and the programs that support them, he notes. But others may be less choosy.
More is not always better. Quality varies wildly. Places like Bangladesh and Rwanda have been
showered with training in recent years. Gratitude is mixed with the wish for better coordination.
David Okwemba of Kenya’s The Nation newspaper, who also helps train journalists, bemoans
overlap between courses and providers’ failure to share information.
Some courses aspire loftily to build democratic societies through a free press. The BCC Trust
says it aims to give a say to the common man by holding institutions—public and private—to
account. Such a range of goals makes measuring results difficult. Teaching how to point a camera or
write a news story may be easy compared to raising awareness of broader issues such as HIV/AIDS.
Many old news hands scoff at the notion of formal journalism education. A well-stocked and
inquiring mind plus sharp penmanship are the main assets, they reckon. But even the most grizzled
veterans of rich-world journalism still seem glad to earn extra money tutoring tyros in poor
countries.
【題組】43. Which one of the following statements is true of the present training in those poor countries?
(A) The courses are mostly extensive rather than intensive.
(B) The training puts emphasis on the flexibility of basic reporting skills.
(C) Some trainees are satisfied with the training courses while some are complaining.
(D) The trainers are paying more attention to skills of investigative reporting and science writing.
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