Over four days, a group of BIRN journalists and editors were trained on “Writing with Insight” and mobile journalism at the mountain resort of Kolasin in Montenegro, with the aim of developing and honing advanced skills on longer form reporting and mobile journalism.
The editor of BIRN’s Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence, Timothy Large, who was formerly a Reuters correspondent and worked as editor-in-chief of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, led the course on advanced journalistic writing techniques.
The goal of his sessions was to equip journalists with a ‘survival guide’ for writing with insight, to examine interview techniques and to demystify the art of writing features and news analysis.
Lamija Aleckovic, media expert and a former journalist and editor at Croatian public broadcaster HRT and at Al Jazeera Balkans, led the section of the training on mobile journalism.
This included insights into how an integrated newsroom functions and how mobile journalism can best be utilised.
The participants were trained on how to construct a narrative in visual form, which included how to plan shots to suit the story and what interviewees or additional elements may be required. It also covered the basics of camera angles, framing, lighting and sound control, finishing with a hands on task to film and edit a video package using advanced mobile editing apps.
Two members of Balkan Insight’s web team, Ljubisa Banovic and Branko Karapandza, concluded the training with a session that introduced participants to the new content management system for the outlet’s new website, which will be launched soon.