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companies thinking of investing
abroad. We can tell them exactly what
the situation is on the ground, we can
tell them about the media situation in
China, we can tell them about
negotiating etiquette in Russia. As far
as this new intercultural service is
concerned, we do actively promote it
and look for customers in institutions
and organisations. And it is already
becoming clear that every customer
needs a package tailored to his or her
individual needs. So if you want to tap
into our know-how just contact us –
our training will address the specific
requirements of each customer.
DWisoneofthebigplayersininternational
broadcasting – is there cooperation with
others in the field of journalist training,
e.g. with the BBC or RFI?
When we are running a training course
in Afghanistan, Pakistan or elsewhere
in the world, we invariably meet
colleagues from other international
broadcasters who offer similar training.
So far this has not resulted in real
cooperation, perhaps because
objectives and contents differ. DW has
the reputation of adjusting its training
programmes to the wishes and
requirements of its partner stations,
whereas the BBC for example has clearly
defined training programmes which are
less flexible. But everywhere budgets
are shrinking and while Europe keeps
growing ever closer it is perhaps time
to reevaluate this aspect of
cooperation in training.
Recent events in the UK (the Hutton
Report and subsequent BBC
editorial review) and in France
(where there was controversy over
inaccurate reporting on France 2)
have moved the spotlight on to
editorial guidelines and standards.
A training academy is responsible
for passing on the station’s editorial
values – what is important to you
in that respect?
Of course we subscribe to the ethic code
of journalism, and this aspect is dealt with
in virtually all our seminars. On the other
hand, we go with our training
predominantly to the world’s poorest
countries, or to countries – like for
example Afghanistan – where you are glad
to find enough video cassettes to be able
to make a programme. In other words, we
often provide the very basics of training,
the basics of basics really, and looked at
from that angle the current discussion in
Great Britain or France seems rather a
luxury. If it’s not a case of finding the
basic equipment, then our partner stations
are very often concerned with freedom of
press and speech, which simply does not
exist in many countries. That is a real
problem: we talk about ethic codes, about
democratic journalism and objective
reporting, and yet we know that it is
unrealistic to expect that what we teach
can be put into practice in the very real
climate of the country in question.
Being a journalist is a dangerous
profession – a number of journalists
died during the war in Iraq. Do you
provide safety training for hostile
environments at the Academy?
No, we don’t. But it’s something we
ought perhaps to consider for our own
trainers as we often operate in
dangerous environments, in
Afghanistan for example.
Looking to the future, where would
you like DW Academy to be in five
and ten years’ time?
Our five-year goal is to make DW
Academy a leading provider of media
training in Germany. Our ten-year goal
is to establish DW Academy as a leading
provider of media training in Europe.
Gerda Meuer, thank you very much.
Overleaf-readabouttheexperience
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