Strengthening Independent Journalism and Civic Engagement Through Investigative Reporting

As part of the MEPI local grant project "Strengthening Independent Journalism and Civic Engagement Through Investigative Reporting," Emirati journalists and a representative from the National Council for Information participated in an investigative reporting training workshop coordinated by the UAE Journalists Association.  The expert trainer, Mahmoud Zawawi, covered basic concepts of investigative reporting such as news gathering and sources, effective sequences for radio and television newscasts, investigative news reports and structures, and investigative interviewing and reporting ethics and procedures.  Participants discussed professional ethical standards, the most common mistakes committed by journalists, and how to develop good professional habits.  The workshop also discussed investigative reporting in America, including Watergate, and examined the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Freedom of Information Act.  

Certificates were distributed to the participants by the Chairman of the Journalists Association, Mohammed Yousef, who encouraged participants to take advantage of the training and technology - not available when he was a reporter - to put together quality reports.  One of the participants noted, “This workshop was eye opening for us on investigative reporting and media reporting in general, as what we have learned here in these five days is more than what we have learned in four years of college.”