MEPI: UAE MEDIA TRAINING WORKSHOP ON NEWS,

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 002734

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/PPD (WMOONEY, JDAVIES, DMACINNES,
ACASPER); NEA/PI (CBOURGEOIS); NEA/RA; NEA/ARP
(LMALENAS, DJONES); NEA/FO; PA; IIP/T/GIC (JBOCHNER,
WPETERS)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KPAO TC
SUBJECT: MEPI: UAE MEDIA TRAINING WORKSHOP ON NEWS,
FEATURES, AND ANALYTICAL WRITING



1. SUMMARY: UNDER THE MEPI GOAL OF PROMOTING A MORE
PROFESSIONAL AND INDEPENDENT MEDIA, VETERAN JOURNALIST
PAUL MILLER CONDUCTED TWO, WEEK-LONG "NEWS, FEATURES AND
ANALYTICAL WRITING" WORKSHOPS FOR THE STAFF OF THE
EMIRATES NEW AGENCY. MR. MILLER COMPARED WESTERN AND
ARAB MEDIA SOURCES AND FOCUSED ON IMPROVING BASIC AND
INTERMEDIATE MEDIA SKILLS, SUCH AS DEVELOPING ANALYTICAL
SKILLS AND USING MULTIPLE SOURCES AND PERSPECTIVES. AS
PAS ABU DHABI WORKS HARD TO PLACE USG POLICIES IN THE
UAE PRESS, THIS MEPI WORKSHOP OPENED MINDS AND DOORS IN
THE UAE GOVERNMENT'S OFFICIAL WIRE SERVICE AND BEYOND.
THE RESULTS AUGUR WELL FOR THE SUCCESS OF FUTURE MEDIA
TRAINING IN THE UAE. END SUMMARY.


2. FURTHER TO POST'S PROPOSAL TO IBRAHIM AL ABED, HEAD
OF THE EMIRATES NEWS AGENCY (WAM) AND CLOSE ADVISOR TO
MINISTER OF INFORMATION SHEIKH ABDULLAH BIN ZAYED AL
NAHYAN, PAS ABU DHABI ORGANIZED A MEDIA TRAINING
WORKSHOP FOR WAM JOURNALISTS AND EDITORS. MR. AL ABED
DESCRIBED WAM'S PRIMARY GOAL FOR THE WORSHOP AS TRAINING
THEIR UAE NATIONAL JOURNALISTS AND EDITORS, WHO OFTEN
LACK THE SKILLS OF THEIR ARAB EXPATRIATE COUNTERPARTS.
HE ENCOURAGED MR. MILLER TO EXPRESS HIMSELF FREELY, TO
COMPARE WESTERN AND ARAB MEDIA METHODS, AND TO WORK ON
DEVELOPING THE ANALYTICAL AND PRACTICAL SKILLS NECESSARY
TO CRAFT A PROFESSIONAL WIRE SERVICE STORY.


3. FROM MAY 17 TO 28, VETERAN US JOURNALIST PAUL MILLER
CONDUCTED TWO WEEK-LONG MEDIA TRAINING SESSIONS FOR THE
WAM ABU DHABI AND DUBAI STAFFS. APPROXIMATELY FORTY
JUNIOR AND MID-LEVEL UAE NATIONAL AND ARAB EXPATRIATE
JOURNALISTS PARTICIPATED. MR. MILLER DESCRIBED THE
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HARD NEWS REPORTING, OPINION
WRITING, AND FEATURE ANALYSIS, BUT GAVE SPECIAL
ATTENTION TO PROMOTING ANALYTICAL AND CRITICAL THINKING
SKILLS IN DEVELOPING NEWS STORIES. DURING THE TRAINING,
MR. MILLER REGULARLY URGED THE JOURNALISTS AND EDITORS
PRESENT TO DRAW UPON BOTH ARAB AND WESTERN MEDIA TO
PRODUCE OBJECTIVE, FACTUAL REPORTS. DAILY TOPICS
INCLUDED "HOW TO WRITE A HARD NEWS STORY", "HOW TO WRITE
A NEWS LEAD," AND "ELIMINATING BIAS IN REPORTING."


4. RESULT/IMPACT: OUTSTANDING. MR. AL-ABED AND WAM
PARTICIPANTS PRAISED THE WORKSHOP AND PLEDGED TO
IMPLEMENT MR. MILLER'S TRAINING IMMEDIATELY. WHILE THE
IMPACT OF THIS WORKSHOP ON WAM WILL BE JUDGED OVER TIME,
ITS BENEFIT AS A PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE IS ALREADY
SPREADING TO THE UAE'S OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS. AT THEIR
REQUEST, PAS ABU DHABI INTRODUCED MR. MILLER TO THE
SENIOR MANAGEMENT OF ABU DHABI TV, DUBAI TV (DTV),AND
AL-ARABIYAH SATELLITE TV. ALL WERE IMPRESSED, MOST
NOTABLY DTV ADMINISTRATORS, WHO PROGRAMMED MR. MILLER ON-
THE-SPOT FOR A WEEKEND WORKSHOP WITH NEWS AND BUSINESS
EDITORS. MILLER IS ALREADY SCHEDULED TO RETURN TO DUBAI
LATER THIS MONTH TO ADVISE ON OVERHAULING THEIR ENTIRE
OPERATION AND TO PROVIDE FURTHER TRAINING. COUPLED WITH
OTHER TRAINING REQUESTS FROM ABU DHABI TV AND AL-
ARABIYAH, THE IMPACT OF THIS WORKSHOP WILL BE FAR-
REACHING.

WAHBA