Three day entrepreneurship journalism program kicks off in Karachi

Experts in social media, digital content creation and mobile journalism led a training on entrepreneurship and innovation in news media with journalists, at the three-day Pakistan Entrepreneurship Journalism Program, beginning here on Friday.

The Pakistan Entrepreneurship Journalism Program aims at equipping journalists with skills and information needed to start independent news platforms.

The program is by Global Neighborhood for Media Innovation (GNMI), a media development organization that bridges the gap between media, civil society and diverse communities, and works to empower and enable Pakistani journalists. Broadcast journalist Najia Asher is the founding president of GNMI.

The program’s first phase is a series of training and workshops for journalists, divided in three cohorts; Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

In the second phase, startup ideas from 20 selected participants from across the three cohorts will be incubated and launched with the help of mentors and experts.

On the first day of the training, creative consultant and writer Ahmer Naqvi worked with the participants to help them understand audience and digital platforms, and mobile journalism specialist Ayaz Khan shared various ways of reporting and creating content through a smartphone.

“There is a lot of eagerness in journalists to learn about digital media innovation, and such training can support them in getting ahead in the digital age,” said Ayaz Khan.

60 selected journalists from across Pakistan will receive training in three cities, and 20 will be shortlisted for the second phase of the program.