Thirteen young journalists participated in a three-day course from November 22 to 24 in Veles, North Macedonia.
BIRN journalists guided the participants on where and how to find story ideas, shared how big stories can be uncovered from simple checks of publicly available records, how to develop the idea into a reporting plan, where to look for data, as well as how to identify sources.
In a newsroom editorial meeting simulation, the participants divided into teams were given the opportunity to pitch stories. BIRN journalists, together with the participants, discussed the proposed topics, assessed their viability and gave advice about how the stories could be produced. As a result, five stories were selected that will be produced in the upcoming months. BIRN’s senior journalists will provide mentoring support.
During the training, the participants were shown how to look for and obtain data in a dozen open-source databases that BIRN’s journalists regularly use to research and write their stories. With the mentors’ guidance, the participants applied these database searches to their chosen topics. The participants were also given an interview simulation with various sources relevant to their stories.
The young journalists will work on their stories under senior journalists’ mentorship until February 2025, when the next training will be organized.