Jordanian, Palestinian Journalists’ Output Evaluated

Posted on December 3, 2013 by magda

Fourteen Jordanian and Palestinian journalists sat through two days of intensive evaluations in Amman, Jordan where experts judged their print, broadcast and online output for various media as a follow-up to earlier training workshops.

Amman trainees present their work for evaluation

The November 2013 workshop aimed to improve participants’ reporting skills in covering topics such as the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, a popular movement to set up tent cities where Israeli settlements are being planned, child labor in the Jordan Valley, and Jordan’s handling of Syrian refugees,.

BBC veteran and lead trainer Russell Peasgood provided solid advice on how best to prepare and present radio and television packages as well as reporting for newspapers.

Peasgood points to Gaelle Sundelin’s (right) Jordan Times article

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil contributed to the assessment sessions by judging print, online and broadcast content.

Reports in Arabic and English also focused on Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, the commemoration of (Ard) Land Day, how the Israeli occupation distresses Palestinian children, restoration of Jordanian relics and historical sites, eco-friendly coal mining in the West Bank town of Jenin, as well as threats to the Zarqa second-hand market in Jordan.

Abu-Fadil assesses online content

The workshop was part of a project funded by the European Union and delivered by a consortium led by BBC Media Action.

Some samples of the participants’ work:

http://al-shorfa.com/ar/articles/meii/features/main/2010/03/26/feature-02

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHfju-MQ1N4

http://jordantimes.com/as-prison-doors-open-into-freedom-inmates-find-helping-hand-to-survive-in-not-so-friendly-environment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fua0n56ZWBM&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1cVHFz5pAk&feature=youtu.be

MU Director at Digital Boot Camp: Media Laws & Ethics Are Key

Posted on September 3, 2013 by magda

Digital skills for journalists and activists are required for success in today’s world, but a key component is knowledge of media laws and ethics to protect oneself and avoid problems.

Amr Eleraqi shows journalists, activists how to use interactive tools

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil provided tips and reviewed legislation from countries represented by journalists and activists who attended the “Building a Digital Gateway to Better Lives” boot camp in Amman, Jordan.

Abu-Fadil provided a tour d’horizon of current and proposed legislation affecting print, broadcast and online media in the participants’ home countries.

Print and online media laws in Jordan explained

She underlined common problems like various forms of censorship, harsh licensing procedures, penalties and legislators’ lack of understanding of what and who journalists are in the 21^st Century.

Another crucial issue in the multimedia world is ethics for bloggers and what defines ethical behavior is an otherwise fluid landscape where platforms and tools converge.

Abu-Fadil showed jarring footage disseminated via social media of what she said was unethical conduct and complemented it with case studies of how traditional media handled, or mishandled, news coverage.

Trainees engaged in animated discussions on what constitutes ethics, how to define privacy, whether doctored or misleading photos and videos should be published, sourcing and attribution ground rules, and, a host of issues plaguing bloggers.

Abu-Fadil explains nuances of sourcing ground rules

Other trainers at the five-day boot camp helped participants with live coverage for events, using interactive tools to enhance websites, creative storytelling with video, advanced safety for journalists, and building an effective presence on social media.

Veteran Egyptian journalist Abeer Saady’s advice on personal safety

The training, held at the Jordan Media Institute, was organized by the Washington-based International Center for Journalists in August 2013 and grouped participants from Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Morocco and Iraq.

Morsi Arrest Video Misleads Viewers

Posted on August 5, 2013 by magda

Misleading content is a never-ending nightmare for journalists, activists and users of social media.

A video clip purportedly showing deposed Egyptian president Mohamad Morsi being arrested when he was toppled from power this year turned out to have been shot with someone’s mobile phone in 2005.

Misleading Video of Morsi’s Arrest

Maharat News asked Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil about the ethics of using unverified online content.

@SocialMediasPACE Empowers Lebanese Netizens

Posted on June 18, 2013 by magda

A standing-room only hall of Lebanon-based netizens sharpened their skills, rubbed shoulders with experts and networked feverishly to expand their professional and online activist horizons.

Dubbed @SocialMediasPACE, a one-day fair in Beirut grouped activists, bloggers, journalists, Net newbies and geeks to “explore ways to leverage the power of digital technologies to foster civic engagement and social change.”

Lebanon-based netizens acquire online skills

“Google showed me how little I knew about marketing and personal branding,” admitted radio and TV talk show host Milad Hadchiti, the event’s MC who doubles as a branding coach, about his early encounters with the search engine and social media.

An introduction by media specialist Nada Hamzeh of The Promoting Active Citizen Engagement (PACE) program funded by the US Agency for International Development USAID), focused on ways to activate NGOs and civil society groups by building strategies for their social media and creating partnerships between different actors.

“The goal of this three-year $8.3 million PACE project, is to strengthen civil society’s ability to create a stronger civic culture and more democratic governance throughout Lebanon,” said Denise O’Toole, director of the Education, Democracy & Governance at USAID/Lebanon. “So far, a number of initiatives have been launched and successfully implemented under PACE to empower local organizations to become catalysts for change on a variety of issues in their respective communities.”

USAID’s Denise O’Toole

A first panel on content, not tools, featured cyber advocacy expert Imad Bazzi (a/k/a Trella), IndyAct communications director Ali Fakhry, Kazamedia founder Ahmad Karout and Online Collaborative digital marketer Darine Sabbagh.

“We can use cyberspace to send out political messages,” said Bazzi, who with cohorts launched a teasing campaign dubbed “Laehat Abeeh Nafsi” (I Sell Myself List) with frivolous content ahead of planned legislative elections in Lebanon.

Screen shot of Imad Bazzi’s (Trella) home page

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil chaired a panel entitled “Alliances that pay off: Convergence between traditional and social media, civil society and marketing professionals.”

“We’ve gone from video cassette tapes to mobiles and with the development of social media it’s good to be in touch with the people,” said Tania Mehanna, senior reporter/correspondent at LBCI TV.

Other panelists were Omar Sadek, managing director at J. Walter Thompson, Patrick Richa, head of web and news services at MTV-Lebanon, and Riad Kobeissi, investigative journalist at Al Jadeed TV.

MU’s Abu-Fadil chairs panel grouping Riad Kobeissi, Patrick Richa and Omar Sadek

According to Sadek, private companies are becoming more involved in corporate social responsibility and trying to mix profits with their role in society.

“Media firms need content to draw in audiences. The alliance between NGOs and media via marketing companies is attracting more attention and can lead to the public good,” he added.

Networking was paramount at the confab. The program included social media roundtables using free and open source software, online safety and privacy, and consultancy booths featuring crowdsourcing and multimedia platform management.

The event was covered extensively by Lebanese media (PDF).

Lebanese Journalists Trained to Cover Corruption Issues

Posted on April 21, 2013 by magda

Media are NGOs’ partners in the fight against corruption, experts told Lebanese journalists at a workshop in Beirut.

Media have played a key role in uncovering Arab leaders’ corruption, according to Dr. Azmi Shuaibi, the Arab Anti-Corruption and Integrity Network’s Non-Governmental Group coordinator.

Dr. Azmi Shuaibi explains partnership between NGOs and media

He addressed 10 journalists from print, broadcast and online media who attended the training as part of a conference organized by the UN Development Program (UNDP), ACIAC and the Lebanese Justice Ministry.

The April workshop also featured academic Khalil Gebara who asked rhetorically if there was a political will in Lebanon to fight corruption.

Journalists at anti-corruption workshop

“Why aren’t corruption issues on the list of government priorities?” he said.

Dr. Khalil Gebara

Lead trainer and Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil walked the journalists through the definitions of corruption and how media can play an increasingly important role as watchdogs in the post-Arab Spring environment.

She also briefed them on international standards of investigative journalism and their application to corruption in the Arab world.

Magda Abu-Fadil shows links between anti-corruption coverage and investigative journalism

Another key component is media ethics and its importance in reporting on corruption, she said.

Abu-Fadil also focused on the vital role played by social media and how best to utilize them.

Participants provided a list of recommendations, which UNDP’s Regional Communications Specialist Rut Gomez Sobrino hopes to translate into an action plan.

Lebanese journalists, Rut Gomez Sobrino and Abu-Fadil at anti-corruption workshop

Abu-Fadil Article As Part of EWIC Public Outreach Project

Posted on April 1, 2013 by magda

An article by Media Unlimited director Abu-Fadil entitled “Arts: Women Journalists and Women’s Press: Central Arab States” [Arts Women Journalists and womens press central arab states Abu Fadil] was selected to be used as part of the Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures’ Public Outreach Project.

The outreach project covers a range of community organizations, including K-12 teachers and the media, with a goal of disseminating knowledge about women and Islamic cultures.

The project is funded by a Henry Luce Foundation grant, and the public outreach is organized by EWIC’s General Editor, Suad Joseph as well as Associate Editors, Bahar Davary, Marilyn Booth, Sarah Gualtieri and Elora Shehabuddin.

As part of the project, the article published in 2007 will be made available on the Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures and General Editor’s website.

It will also be published as a brochure and in brief format to be handed out to local agencies, NGOs, schools, religious institutions, and interfaith organizations.

Dr. Suad Joseph is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Women and Gender Studies at the University of California, Davis.

Accuracy key to good journalism: Abu-Fadil

Posted on April 1, 2013 by magda

Getting it right topped the list of tips Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil offered journalists at Al Arabiya’s English website during an informal chat in Dubai.

Magda Abu-Fadil addresses Al Arabiya’s English website team

Abu-Fadil said elementary rules like spelling people’s names correctly and ensuring their titles were precise should not be overlooked since they were the corner stones of good reporting.

She also cautioned participants, several of whom she trained in October 2012, not to rush and publish information before verifying it from multiple sources, noting that rumors and other questionable news and visuals filled the Internet, leading to many a journalist’s downfall.

Abu-Fadil recounted some of her adventures as a foreign correspondent and editor and how she had transitioned from being a traditional journalist to a blogger and media trainer.

Abu-Fadil with Al Arabiya English website editor in chief Faisal Abbas

The event dubbed “Accuracy: How it could make us, or break us,” was part of an Al Arabiya English website General Assembly in March 2013.

That’s Entertainment! Training Journalists Covering the Industry

Posted on March 23, 2013 by magda

How can one train journalists in coverage of the entertainment industry?

It’s not just television, radio, the movies and awards shows, but also the performing arts, the lucrative gaming business, health matters, and sometimes sports issues that define entertainment.

Producing entertainment content at MBC’s online Dubai newsroom

Add “infotainment” and “edutainment,” and one has a vast world of news, views, statistics, and countless forms of visual representation to produce and deliver to any number of recipients across multiple mobile platforms.

So juggling news gathering, curation, production and packaging into the right online channels and interacting with one’s audiences via social media to keep the dynamic conversation going requires special talents, skills and a wide base of general knowledge.

Enter Media Unlimited’s Magda Abu-Fadil who worked with a team of very capable and professional entertainment journalists at the MBC Group’s online newsroom in Dubai to sharpen their skills and tweak their copy.

MBC-Al Arabiya building in Dubai

The March 2013 workshop focused on identifying entertainment journalism, tools of the trade, story structure, the art of writing entertainment news, breaking news and features.

The brief course dealt with widening the information base, working with archives, using background data and integrating strong visual elements in all stories.

Not to be overlooked was a dose of media ethics, notably in a field rife with rumors and innuendo.

Magda Abu-Fadil with new MBC friends

The team also learned about interviewing techniques when dealing with celebrities, speeches, news conferences and the use of social media to collect and promote entertainment news.

MU Trains Lebanese Journos to Cover Women’s Economic Empowerment

Posted on March 9, 2013 by magda

A series of countrywide workshops introduced Lebanese journalists to women’s economic empowerment in rural areas in a bid to improve media coverage of the often-neglected topic.

Magda Abu-Fadil with Tripoli journalists

Print, online and broadcast journalists based in various regions of Lebanon learned how to define women’s economic empowerment, how to enter the terminology in their media lexicon and how to cover topics related to promoting gender equality.

Abu-Fadil with Bekaa-based journalists

MU director Magda Abu-Fadil conducted a series of mini-courses in the Bekaa Valley city of Zahle, the northern port city of Tripoli and the southern city of Tyre where reporters, correspondents, cameramen and photographers became better acquainted with agriculture-based cooperatives that help women become financially independent.

The sessions included knowledge about existing impediments to empowerment.

Abu-Fadil also discussed how advocacy through traditional and social media can enhance women’s economic empowerment, and reviewed case studies of successful initiatives.

The three two-day workshops in February and March organized by the Collective for Research and Training on Development – Action (CRTDA) brought together reporters and civil society representatives from various towns and cities in Lebanon.

They followed an initial course aimed at journalists in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Abu-Fadil and CRTDA’s Hayat Mershad with Beirut journalists

A session focused on women in the Lebanese economy, how gender equality translates into smart economics, and, how the CRTDA has helped rural women set up cooperatives and their economic impact.

Trainees in Tyre

Trainees were given examples of cooperatives in the country’s Bekaa, South and Akkar regions aimed at building women’s productive and leadership skills, facilitating their access to local and international markets and supporting participatory governance and leadership.

A session by journalist Saada Allaw featured results of a media audit on coverage of women’s economic empowerment and gender equality issues.

Saada Allaw shares media study results with Tyre journalists

Participants were then tasked with writing a piece for publication in their respective media, which will be reviewed and edited on a third training day weeks after the initial workshop.

The best coverage from workshops across the country will be awarded and will be published on CRTDA’s website.

Abu-Fadil on “Hewar Al Arab”: Twitter is key

Posted on November 27, 2012 by magda

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil urged critics to reconsider their reluctance to use Twitter and better engage audiences through this social medium, given its growing importance in the Arab world.

She argued in favor of young tweeps and journalists, despite misuses of the platform, adding that Twitter had become a source of news and information that should not be ignored.

Magda Abu-Fadil on "Hewar Al Arab"

Abu-Fadil noted Arab journalists’ increased use of Twitter in the last couple of years but said they were still hesitant to capitalize on it as a news resource.

She said international news organizations had initiated codes of conduct for social media uses in addition to their traditional media guidelines for good journalistic practice.

Her views were aired on Al Arabiya satellite channel’s show “Hewar Al Arab” in an episode dedicated to “Twitter Communities.”

The program, hosted by Muntaha Al Ramahi, grouped tweeps Abdallah Shaalan and Moulouk Al Sheikh as well as academic Sadek Al Hamami.