On Becoming A Foreign Correspondent

Hard work, preparation, a solid contact database, a nose for news, courage and ethics go into shaping foreign correspondents whose tools of the trade may have changed in a multimedia world, but whose mission to inform remains the same.

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil provided 28 journalists and activists with tips on how to function as foreign correspondents and debunked myths about glamour and fame promoted in countless Hollywood movies.

Abu-Fadil on attribution and ground rules in different countries

Abu-Fadil on attribution and ground rules in different countries

The training in Morocco was part of the “Building a Digital Gateway to Better Lives” boot camp organized by the Washington-based International Center for Journalists.

It focused on cross-border and regional issues and involved investigative journalism team projects centered on child marriage, child labor, prostitution, human trafficking, prescription drugs on the black market, organized begging, cyber crimes, and illegal immigration.

Abu-Fadil presented examples of noted Arab and Western foreign correspondents, the beats they cover, working conditions, the costs and budgets required to maintain foreign bureaus and staffs, the transition to digital journalism, competition from citizen journalists, and the need to verify all data disseminated through social media and online sources.

Participants at Rabat boot camp

Participants at Rabat boot camp

She also stressed the importance of being multilingual, of being well versed in the history, geography, politics and social environment of the countries the correspondents cover, of the need to understand the economics and statistics of these countries, and how best to cover news conferences and interviews with foreign officials.

Abu-Fadil shows difference between Anglo and French numerals

Abu-Fadil shows difference between Anglo and French numerals

Abu-Fadil touched on first aid, security and safety measures reporters on foreign assignment should learn, which veteran Egyptian journalist Abeer Saady later tackled in depth.

Abeer Saady's safety tips on taxis

Abeer Saady’s safety tips on taxis

Also on hand was Moroccan IT expert Rachid Jankari to discuss mobile phones and cloud computing for use by journalists.

Rachid Jankari on mobile phones and cloud computing

Rachid Jankari on mobile phones and cloud computing

Senior strategist at National Public Radio, self-described real-time informational DJ and occasional journalist Andy Carvin also guided participants in the uses of social media to cover regional issues.

Rabat boot camp trainers and participants

Rabat boot camp trainers and participants

The September boot camp in the Moroccan capital Rabat grouped participants from Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, Jordan and Algeria.

MU Beefs Up Al Arabiya English Journalists’ Abilities

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil drilled four members of  Al Arabiya’s English website team in journalism basics, components of news stories and tested their general knowledge in politics, geography, history and mathematics.

Exercises included strengthening story leads, avoidance of redundancies, aversion to oxymorons, and common errors journalists make when writing English copy.

Magda Abu-Fadil and Al Arabiya English website team

She conducted the four-day course in intensive journalism for select members of the satellite news channel  at their Dubai headquarters.

The budding journalists learned about setting news priorities by understanding newsworthiness and how to categorize stories in their daily lineups.

Members of Al Arabiya English web team

They also picked up tips on good feature, long story and series writing, as well as efficient ways of digging for information using traditional and online resources.

Abu-Fadil reinforced their ability to find, cultivate and use sources for their stories and how to measure the sources’ credibility.

Profiles, news conferences, speeches, meetings and interviews were part of the October 2012 workshop, as was beat reporting and editorializing.

The journalists were also urged not to overlook media ethics and to engage their audiences more actively through social media.