Programme Training modules (lectures, case studies, interactive role-plays, screenings and discussions): Module 1: Exploring story genres
by Tom McGuire, RTE, Ireland
Think of your daily work: when you pick up a story you want to cover, is your first reaction always the best? How to fight predictability? How to do the “same old story” differently? How to pick up stories that are close to the audience’s preoccupations (immigration, roads, sports, health care, refuse collection, banks, housing, etc..) and meet the blogs challenge? Several stories genres can be identified. What are their characteristics?
Understand how different story genres can help the journalist tackle a story in an alternative way. Module 2: Do we still need Foreign Correspondents?
by Peter Fritz and Hanno Settele, ORF, Austria
In a globalized news environment, are foreign correspondents still necessary? What is their genuine contribution versus standardized agency input? On paper everything is fine. You are the foreign correspondent of your Broadcast organization and you have to report on the country and /or area you are based in. How do you handle your position as a foreign correspondent according to the different cultures of the country? How do you develop your network and keep yourself informed? Can you work bi-media or tri-media: for radio, TV and the web?
Can you do investigative journalism or just reports? What topics do you cover?
How do you work with the central News desk at home and your Editor-in-chief? Module 3: The VJ – News in a backpack
by Hasse Svens, SVT, Sweden
Are Video Journalists solitary workers as we believe they might be? How do VJ keep their competencies up-to-date? To what extent do VJ benefit from the latest digital equipment?
Hasse Svens will make a live demonstration of his work and of the file transfer of a News item via the network. Module 4: Separating facts from spin
by Eric May, EBU International Training, Germany
Powerful forces are at work every day to “spin” the news. Politicians, businesses, and institutions have always had their own agendas, but their skill in manipulating the media to get their message across is increasingly effective. When powerful interests “have our number”, how do journalists determine what is factual and what is spin? How do journalists respond to pressures to report only part of the story, or suppress the facts altogether? Who do we serve - the interests of institutions, or the public interest? Module 5: National/local politics across every distribution platform
by Siegfried Bracke, VRT, Belgium
How is a political story told differently on Television, Radio, on-line, mobile phone or on the text service? What are the storytelling and production demands of each particular platform? Is there a hierarchy and what does each distribution platform do best in terms of speed, accuracy, reach, emotions, follow-up? How do teams work together to make multi-platforms happen? How does the same story look when seen on different platforms?
What is VRT’s specific experience with these questions? Module 6: Memorable moments and the digital challenge - a unique experience from undercover journalism
by Audrius Lelkaitis, Lithuania
“This May I was talking live on the BBC TV and Radio about the BBC investigation on migrant workers“... | 
