Foreign Correspondent Training Course, July 2011 - overview

Dates: July 24 – August 1, 2011
Location: Prague, Czech Republic

What did the course cover?
This July 2011 course provided participants with an intrduction to the world of international reporting. Each participant researched, wrote and filed their own story from Prague, with one-on-one and group coaching from freelance reporter and trainer Michael Jordan.

Amongst other skills, participants learned how to break into foreign reporting, find their feet in a foreign country, pitch ideas to editors, when (and why) to bypass official sources of information, find the story no one else has, stay safe in dangerous and unpredictable places, avoid common mistakes that even seasoned professionals make, and how to adapt their stories for multiple media.

The welcome dinner at Infinity restaurant

Who were the participants?
TOL journalism courses are always an international affair, but this course stood out for the geographical diversity of the participants. In addition to the European participants (from Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain) young journalists and journalism students came from as far afield as Australia, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Singapore and the United States. Thanks to all of you who attended!

Trainers
Many thanks also to our training team, freelance journalist Michael Jordan, Rob Cameron (BBC), Anton La Guardia (The Economist), Nikolay Pavlov (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) and photojournalist Dean Cox. Together, they gave an excellent insight into international reporting across all contemporary media: print, television, radio and Internet. See the Trainers page for details.

Social and cultural program
Participants enjoyed a full social program, kicking off with the welcome dinner at Infinity bar and restaurant. A midweek riverside concert at Jazz Dock (memorable for a rather loud trumpeter) provided further opportunity for socializing, and the traditional Friday end-of-week drinks at Ultramarin were the perfect start to a free weekend. Finally, the group joined forces with the TOL Photojournalism course for a farewell dinner at the FAMA Grand restaurant.

What did the participants say?
Watch this space for an update on feedback from the participants...

Further information about TOL journalism training courses
Click here for a list of current TOL courses, or email Joann Plockova for details.

FEEDBACK

"The training of TOL is the best means to meet very interesting people from different countries, to learn a lot about new media and social journalism, to get some technical skills and finally, these courses suggest new ways to use professional knowledge and skills better than before."

Eka, Georgia

Digital Journalism, October 2011

"I liked the idea that you really had to do it yourself. Michael was always there for feedback and for solutions, but the article had to come from yourself."

Henk, The Netherlands

Foreign Correspondent course, July 2011

"Loved everything. Great experiences and memories."

Maria, Colombia

Foreign Correspondent course, July 2011

"It was important to go to another country ... because although I can learn about reporting back home it isn't foreign correspondence unless you're somewhere new."

Mary, USA

Foreign Correspondent course, July 2011

"It's perfect when you learn some theory and then put it straight into practice."

Ievgenia, Ukraine

Photojournalism course, August 2011

"This course will greatly improve every photo I take from here on"

Solana, Canada

Photojournalism course, August 2011

"This was the most valuable feature of the training - learning through real-life experience in the field."

Participant

Multimedia Reporting course, January 2011