Ten Kuwaiti financial reporters delved into complex issues to beef up writing and editing skills required for coverage of economic crises, in a further bid by the Journalism Training Program to make inroads into the Gulf region.

“It’s crucial to organize such workshops on a regular basis to benefit from new information and freshen up previously acquired knowledge,” said Mohamad Kamal Aziz, a business editor at the Kuwait News Agency of a three-day workshop in March 2010 conducted at KUNA headquarters.

He and several colleagues from KUNA, as well as participants from the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development, were immersed in the intricacies of the recent economic crisis; the dangers of financial crises and their impact on national economies; key economic crises worldwide and how to deal with them; covering the broad economy; companies and commodities; turning economic jargon into lay terms; and how to obtain access to documents.

“We need more practical training,” admitted KUNA editor Mariam Boushehri.

Trainer Rouba Kabbara, a seasoned veteran with Agence France-Presse, provided a rich and packed program for the short course.

The trainees also dealt with statistics and figures in financial reports, digging for information while focusing on accuracy, balance and fairness, cultivating business contacts, and several ethics issues in business/economic coverage, such as planted stories, staged events, and conflicts of interest.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, JTP Director Magda Abu-Fadil attended a board meeting of the Arab Journalism Awards administered by the Dubai Press Club to select finalists for the two top prize categories, ahead of the Arab Media Forum in May during which all winners are honored.

This is Abu-Fadil’s second year on the board of directors of the Arab Journalism Awards, which groups prominent journalism experts from across the Arab World. The awards are sponsored by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohamad bin Rashid Al Makroum.