By Our Reporter
Shillong: The four-day training workshop on Journalistic and General Writing for local journalists, students of mass communication and budding writers began here on Tuesday at the Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU). Inaugurating the workshop, AT Mondal, Minister for information and Public Relations exhorted journalist to verify the accuracy of their news story. The Minister’s speech was replete with examples of mis- reporting, some of them laced with humour, as he recounted his experiences with the media during his political career.
Mondal emphasized on ‘accuracy’ as the compass guiding all journalists. “A little mistake can cause the reader to lose respect so you must always be certain that your facts are correct, especially names,” Mondal told the gathering.
The IPR Minister also urged journalists to give priority to issues that that concern the welfare of the people and refrain from petty sensationalism. Narrating a news report of a gala fashion show to showcase cotton wear which was covered by over 500 journalists, the IPR minister said, “Barely a kilometer away from the venue, cotton farmers were on strike because the harvest was very poor but no one covered them.”
The four-day training workshop initiated by the Shillong Society for Performing Arts and the Shillong Press Club is being conducted by the Journalism Mentor Foundation for Excellence in Journalism, Mumbai and sponsored by the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (D IPR). It is an attempt to provide a wider scope for understanding the cut and thrust of journalism as it ought to be practiced.
Commissioner and Secretary, IPR Dr Shakil Ahammed, spoke on the necessary, if uneasy, relationship
between the government and the media, and highlighted the need for capacity building for a stronger press corps. He emphasized the role of the media in social change and provided some examples from around the country of how media intervention has created benefits for the common man.
The workshop will include a range of topics such as process of crafting a news story, getting a news story, types of stories, covering conflict, ethics of journalism, writing a feature story, process of writing, tools of the craft, arguments, opinions and evidence, structuring a piece, research for writing, writing for social media and writing an advocacy piece.
The workshop has attracted a host of resource persons from the region as well apart from the JM Foundation that has successfully groomed several noted journalists in the country.
Dr Aloke Thakore the lead resource person representing the JM Foundation, has worked in print and television and taught at university and colleges. A Media Leadership Fellow of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, he has a PhD in Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an MS in Journalism from the University of Kansas.
He and his colleagues started Journalism Mentor in Mumbai, a rigorous on-the-beat apprentice program for aspiring journalists from all over the country. They have also started India’s first Citizen Journalism training program.
Dr Glenn Kharkongor, vice chancellor, MLCU welcomed the gathering and David Laitphlang, president, Shillong Press Club spoke on behalf of the journalist fraternity.
