Basic Journalism Training Workshop Feb.17-19, 2012 Alipur, District MuzaffarGarh

Alipur.February19 (2012) “The real threat to journalists in Southern Punjab is from govt. agencies, extremists, criminal gangs mafia and non state actors”. This was stated by the participants of 3 day training workshop on Basic Journalism organised by the Rural Media Network Pakistan (RMNP) in collaboration with UNESCO in Alipur, a sub division of MuzaffarGarh District.
Syed Shakir Kazmi, Shamshad Ahmed Qureshi, Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, Mian Bashir Ahmed,Ghyoor Sherwani and Syed Hidayat Ali Rizvi President Tehsil Press Club while addressing the concluding ceremony said that powerful feudal lords intimidate media men and often abuse through different means to violate the freedom of press. They expressed their indignation that a criminal case was lodged against a local reporter in a police station recently and was set free after taking bribe by the law enforcement officials.

Government functionaries are angry over the corruption stories and refuse to help journalists to provide with relevant information on issues of public concern, they said. They asked the media gathering to be vigilant against the disgruntled elements who resist the free press and deny the peoples’ right to know.
Ehsan Ahmed Sehar, President Rural Media Network Pakistan (RMNP) said despite the dominant character of the electronic media, international standard is still in favor of print media, which is playing its due role not only in developed but also in under developed society. Increasing number of regional newspapers is the ample proof of this healthy trend. Expanding market of newspapers readership has increased the number of journalists in far flung areas of Pakistan, he narrated.

Training of journalists is sole responsibility of media houses which take benefits of their skills but show no interest in this regard, he deplored. Sehar said RMNP is doing whatever possible with in its limited resources. Our activities are on small scale, but we will continue this noble cause. We are living in cyber age and should try to understand its dynamics. He said, cross media ownership is not permitted worldwide but we are the only country where media owners have been given free hand to publish newspapers and run news channels parallel, he added.
He criticized the inhuman attitude of media owners who provide insurance cover to their video cams and equipment but not the staffers.
A Press Freedom Monitoring Committee (PFMC) was formed for Alipur and adjoining areas, which will collect the information if a journalist is killed, attacked threatened, harassed or abused in line of duty, or denied his legitimate right to perform his professional responsibilities.
Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui was unanimously elected as president, while Iqbql Mashhadi, Irshad Qureshi, Rana Muhammad Arshed and Hidayat Ali Rizvi were nominated as member of the PFMC Alipur.
Ehsan Ahmed Sehar asked the committee members to report about any violation of the freedom of press to RMNP through email or any other available means of communications. Email IDs postal address and contact numbers of RMNP were also provided to all the participants.
Guest of Honor in certificate distribution ceremony Abdul Ghafoor Malik, principal of a local educational institution and chief editor of a magazine appreciated RMNP for its training activities and expressed hope that local journalists will work in a better way and apply new techniques in their professional duties in future.

“Although I attended the event for a very short time but I think I have learnt a lot” Malik said.
Syed Shakir Kazmi said, we have been taught basic journalism which previously we had no knowledge. There are few people in this country who think about to educate and train journalists. RMNP team came at our door to impart training and we are thankful to them.
Shamshad Ahmed Qureshi said, lectures were in simple manner and impressive. He expressed his hope that training process will continue in future also.
Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, senior most journalist of the area and newspapers distributor said, whatever we were taught was useful from all aspects. Now we have good understanding of the profession and this training will improve our abilities.
Mian Bashir Ahmed said, journalists of small towns need more training and we appreciate RMNP which took the lead in this regard.
Hidayat Ali Rizvi said, “The workshop proved successful as all of us are now better equipped.” He appreciated hard work of the RMNP team and expressed his thanks.
Resource person Khalid Saeed told the participants about ‘Intro of the News’. He underlined the importance of 5 Ws and 1 H and advised them to use simple and short words. He said story should be in small sentences and easy to understand. Important information should go first and less important details at secondary stage but it must be interlinked and gradual according to the facts. He also gave a lecture on Ethics of Journalism and asked them to be careful about their limits.
He also told them how to cover crimes, political developments, social issues, development projects, court’s proceedings, corruption scandals, religious gatherings and conflicts among different segments of society.
Resource person Nazir Khalid in his lectures told the participants about Sources of News, art of interview, how to cover press conference and types of news.
During practical exercise, participants were given a news story to point out the flaws and mistakes. Participants were asked to edit the news and write their comments about the story. This interaction heightened their interest and all the participants took lively part in discussion.
Chief guest Manging Director Rashad Minhas Higher Scondary School Abdul Ghafoor Malik donated net cash of Rs 25 thousand and a new dice to Tehsil Press Club in the ceremony and  distributed certificated among all 23 participants.President RMNP Ehsan Ahmed Sehar presented RMNP training manuals to Abdul Ghafoor Malik for his educational institution.