Guwahati, July 26 (MExN): A 2-day online capacity building training on investigative journalism for journalists and journalism students was organised on July 25 and July 26.
The training was a collaborative effort of Department of Mass Communication, Assam Don Bosco University (ADBU); Guwahati Press Club; Centre for Investigative Journalism (India) and DataLEADS, a press release informed.
The key objectives of the training programme, among others, were to increase the understanding of investigative journalism, improve the knowledge and capacity of journalists to effectively report investigative stories, and build on the professional skills of journalists, it said.
Enhancing the knowledge of quality journalism standards in the field of investigative reporting and imparting skills on the tools and techniques of investigative reporting, were also other objectives, it added.
The resource persons for the first day were David E Kaplan, Executive Director, Global Investigative Journalism Network and Sonia Bhaskar, Head, TV-Web Synergy, NDTV.
Kaplan delivered his lecture on the topic ‘Art and Craft of Investigative Journalism’ while Bhaskar dealt with “Online tools for Verification of Content” and demonstrated the free online tools that journalists can utilise to fact-check information.
On the second day, Nisha Bhambhani, Lawyer, Supreme Court of India spoke on ‘Legal and Ethical Concerns of Investigative Journalism’ orienting the participants on the various legal concerns of investigative reporting in India including Defamation Act, Sedition, Privacy issues, Disclosure/Confidentiality of Sources, RTI Act, IT Act, and Official Secrets Act.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief, DataLEADS, Syed Nazakat, meanwhile, looked at the ‘Emerging Trends in Investigative Journalism’ and highlighted major developments in investigative journalism globally, importance of collaboration among media enterprises, the wide-ranging and profound influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on the production and consumption of news, and the successful adoption of AI in newsrooms.
The two-day capacity building training program was moderated by Kaushik Bhuyan and Arup Baruah, Assistant Professors, Assam Don Bosco University, the release added.
