February 22, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - The International Journalism and Media Management Training (IJMMT) program at Western Kentucky University will host a team of four radio professionals from Jordan for a 10-day training session in March.
The IJMMT interconnects WKU’s Public Broadcasting, the School of Journalism & Broadcasting, and Internews Network, an international non-profit organization that supports open media worldwide. WKU and Internews have previously trained broadcast and print journalists, editors and managers from Indonesia, Cambodia and Egypt.
The IJMMT and the Jordanian Fund for Human Development are collaborating to build a community radio station in Amman, Jordan. The intensive radio training will be conducted by WKU faculty and staff. Along with the training, the Jordanians will also visit classes to share their experiences with a wider audience.
The community radio station is tentatively called Radio Farah and will sign on in the spring of 2008.
This phase follows the creation of AutoStrad, an Amman-based youth radio production unit, and Yarmouk FM in northern Jordan. WKU also provided Yarmouk University guidance in curriculum development to integrate the campus radio station into a new set of radio courses.
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.
Follow-up work in the partner country fosters effective advocacy and continuing education for the larger media communities.
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. 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.
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.
For more information, contact Jerry Barnaby, 1-800-599-2424, or email ijmmt@wku.edu.
-WKU-
"A leading American university with international reach"
Office of Media Relations
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, Ky. 42101-3576
Phone: (270)745-4295 - Fax: (270)7455387 - E-Mail: western@wku.edu