Professional training for Arab editors-in-chief: today and tomorrow in Cairo

Posted by Elena Perotti on January 24, 2007 at 12:09 AM

The World Editors Forum holds on 24 and 25 January its very first Master Class specially designed for Arab editors in chief. Twenty Editors-in-Chief and senior news executives from leading newspapers of the Middle East will discuss with outstanding speakers of “How to successfully reshape Arab newspapers”. Editorsweblog will regularly report from the Master Class, held in both Arabic and English. In the meantime, find the program below.

Speakers and Organizers:
- M. Khalid Belyazid, Editor, L’Economiste, Morocco
- M. Craig Duff, Consultant Editor, The New York Times, USA
- M. Werner Eggert, Senior Project Manager, International Institute for Journalism, Germany
- Mrs. Bachi Karkaria, Consultant Editor, The Times of IndiaT, India
- M. Douglas Okasaki, Regional director for Middle East, Society of News Design, UAE
- M. Bertrand Pecquerie, Director, World Editors Forum, France

The Master Class is organized in four three hour sessions.
Each session includes:
- one and a half hours of general presentation of the topic and theory (45 minutes PWP presentation + 45 minutes discussion)
- one and a half hours of practical explanation using case studies (45 minutes PWP presentation + 45 minutes discussion)

Wednesday 24 January

9h – 10h30
Introduction by Werner Eggert, Senior Project Manager, International Institute for Journalism (InWent), Germany.

- Major Press Trends 2002 – 2006 that could have an impact on Arab newspapers:
Organization of the newsroom, Relationship publisher / editor-in-chief, Citizen journalism and social editing, Ethics and definition of journalism, Multiplatform newspaper, New role of supplements, Free newspapers. Format changes.
By Bertrand Pecquerie, World Editors Forum Director, France

11h – 12h30
- Latest design Trends for Arab Newspapers.
By Douglas Okasaki, Regional director for Middle East, Society of News Design, UAE

14h30 – 16h
As Sabah, a real Arab success story: how it became the first Moroccan newspaper
By Khalid Belyazid, Editor, L’Economiste, Morocco

16h30 – 18h
- Case study: within the newsroom of As Sabah. Four years of re-engineering
By Khalid Belyazid, Editor, L’Economiste, Morocco

- Case study: Gulf News and how design impacts on content and newsroom management
By Douglas Okasaki, Regional director for Middle East, Society of News Design, UAE

Thursday 25 January

9h – 10h30
Reorganising the newsroom for a more Reader-Oriented Newspaper
By Bachi Karkaria, Consultant Editor, The Times of India, India

11h – 12h30
Case study : Changing your paper as your city changes. The Times of India and its local editions
By Bachi Karkaria, Consultant Editor, The Times of India, India

14h – 16h30
- Towards paper-online convergence : what it means and how it can work in small organisations
By Craig Duff, Consultant Editor, The New York Times, USA

Case studies:
- the Voralberger Nachrichten in Austria
By Bertrand Pecquerie, World Editors Forum Director, France
- the new newsroom of The New York Times
By Craig Duff, Consultant Editor, The New York Times, USA