The US Consulate General Lahore’s Public Affairs Section hosted two days of journalism training in from May 22 to 23 for media professionals and journalism students from across the Punjab.
Indiana University Professor Dr Sherry Ricchiardi, an expert media trainer, journalist, and author, led more than 60 participants during the two days of workshops. The first day of training was for print and broadcast journalists and focused on media ethics and investigative journalism. The second day of training was for journalism students from a wide range of universities in the Punjab and focused on the fundamentals of journalism.
The US Consulate hosted the training as part of its regular support for strengthening media freedom and journalism capacity building in the Pakistan. The participants were very enthusiastic about the Dr Ricchiardi’s course and said the training was “informative” and a “great initiative.” One participant commented, “It has been a really great experience for me.
I have learned about investigative journalism and media ethics. Both topics are of great importance and practically lack much attention in the Pakistani media.” Another stated that the workshop will go a long way in improving his skills in journalism.
The training highlighted a broad variety of topics, including ethics, interviewing skills, evaluating sources, accuracy and balance in reporting, and investigation methods. The workshops involved case studies, practical exercises, and active participation.
This was Dr Ricchiardi’s second visit to Pakistan and to Lahore. During the visit she also met with university faculty from various media and mass communication departments. Prior to coming to Lahore, Dr Ricchiardi conducted similar workshops in Islamabad.
US Consulate trains journalists on media ethics
