KNOXVILLE — As part of a nearly two-week visit to the University of Tennessee to learn about journalism education, three media scholars from the Middle East will discuss how emerging media in their homelands are only beginning to tackle issues such as the promotion of good governance, transparency and accountability.
“Media in the Middle East” will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 10, in Room 224 of the Carolyn P. Brown Memorial University Center on the UT campus. The event is free and open to the public.
“The School of Journalism and Electronic Media is sponsoring the visit and the public presentation. The School is one of three American universities selected to host Middle East journalism educators,” said Sam Swan, interim director of International and Outreach Programs for the College of Communication and Information. The other universities are Emory University and Kent State University.
The three scholars — Dr. Adel Ziadet of Yarmouk University in Jordan; Dr. Abdulmalek Al Danani of Sana’a University in Yemen; and Dr. Rajaa Ahmed Abdul Hadi of Baghdad University in Iraq — will each speak about media practices and emerging media in their respective countries.
The trio is visiting UT as part of the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX) Promoting Transparency through Journalism and Education Partnerships program.
The program helps journalism educators from the Middle East and North Africa develop curricula to train student journalists to practice reporting that encourages good governance.
The School of Journalism and Electronic Media holds a three-year, up to $1.2 million contract with IREX to strengthen and improve journalism education in Jordan.
During their stay at UT, the foreign journalists will observe classroom teaching, student-teacher conferences and departmental meetings in the School of Journalism and Electronic Media.
They also will visit independent student-run media outlets on campus and local media outlets.
This visit is just one of the college’s efforts related to the university’s Ready for the World program, a long-range plan to transform the UT campus into a culture of diversity that prepares students for working and living in the global environment of the 21st century.
UT’s School of Journalism and Electronic Media is one of four schools that make up the College of Communication and Information. The other three schools are the School of Advertising and Public Relations, the School of Communication Studies and the School of Information Sciences. Students in the School of Journalism and Electronic Media can choose one of six tracks — news; visual communication; science communication; sports journalism; and a magazine option which covers both editorial and management functions.
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Contacts:
Amy Blakely, (865) 974-5034, amy.blakely@tennessee.edu
April Moore, (865) 974-0463, amoore9@utk.edu