October 22, 2007
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Dr. Pam Johnson, Director of Western Kentucky University’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting, is traveling to Jordan to facilitate curriculum development at Yarmouk University. The site visit is part of the on-going work of the International, Journalism and Media Management Training program (IJMMT) at WKU.
The five-day session starts Oct. 28 and will help strengthen the capacity of journalists to report on issues of interest and importance.
Dr. Johnson will work with Yarmouk’s Journalism and Mass Communications Department to develop new courses and modify current ones to help prepare the students for a career in media. The specific goal is to create the master plan to reinvigorate the radio curriculum in order to meet the new challenges and opportunities of the Jordanian broadcast industry.
This workshop continues the partnership between WKU and Yarmouk University that has included hands on training and academic exchange undertaken in Jordan and in Bowling Green. It is the culmination of more than 21 months of work.
The IJMMT is a collaboration between WKU and Internews Network, an international non-profit organization that supports open media worldwide. WKU and Internews have previously partnered to train broadcast and print journalists, editors and managers from Indonesia, Cambodia and Egypt. Yarmouk University and the IJMMT built Yarmouk FM, the first-ever student-oriented radio station in Jordan, to give students hands-on experience in journalism.
Since July of 2001, the IJMMT has been a unique international exchange for working journalists and media managers engaging in an intensive program of journalism study and internship. The IJMMT program offers a combination of strong U.S.-based and in-country training components.
WKU’s department of Educational Telecommunications manages the IJMMT. This current program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) recognized the collaborative possibilities of WKU and Internews and was instrumental in bringing the partners together and in the continuing support for this program. For more information, contact Jerry Barnaby, 1-800-599-2424, or email ijmmt@wku.edu.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
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