A group of 15 Mass Communication students attended a 5-day workshop on news production at the headquarters of Reuters in London. The objective was to get hands- on training at the world’s leading news agency. MIU is the first and only university to offer this opportunity to its students since Reuters training center trains only mid-career journalists from all over the world.
“The trip added to my personal and practical skills and would definitely add to my CV”, said Mohamed Fathi, Mass Communication senior student.
The training was given by Mr. Royston Martin, Reporter at Reuters and Head of Media department, Wales University. Mr. Brad Cramer, assistant to the trainer and a cameraman at Reuters, provided MIU students with many useful tips on handling the camera and shooting news pieces.
The topics of the training program revolved mainly around improving reporting skills and documentary production and critique. While doing the practical assignments, students had the opportunity to go beyond the conventional classroom and deal with people in the street. Shooting critique in class was helpful in giving the students a feedback on their camera shooting skills.
Reuters also arranged a tour of the 13-floor office building of the agency. Students got to see the news rooms, the news manager rooms and the studios. They also had a tour around the history rooms that contain the different machines that been used along the years for news gathering.
On the sidelines, the group was invited to visit BBC Arabic at Egton Road. At BBC, the tour leader was Ms. Sara Khairat an MIU graduate currently working at BBC, London. Students listened to an explanation about how the news bulletin is arranged on daily basis. They also toured the studios and control room.
The group had a stimulating discussion with Mr. Hossam El Sokkary – CEO of BBC Arabic who explained the nature and history of BBC as well as its development. Students also asked him about his personal career as a reporter and how he reached his post.
At the end of the course students concluded that it is a big, but not impossible, challenge to work in this field and be part of the multinational environment of news production. Students were given a certificate of successful completion of the course.
“We are on the right track in teaching our students the techniques of news production. Our students are well-informed about most of the topics discussed and they can easily adapt and succeed in working in such a multinational environment as Reuters or BBC”, confirmed Walaa Yassin – Teaching Assistant at MIU’s Mass Communication Department.
Dr. Nagwa El Gazzar, Head of Mass Communication department added that MIU will continue organizing training workshops in the future at Reuters.