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Monument of the Russian war correspondent. |
Russian Union of Journalists and Cox Center Agree to Hold Three Workshops in Regions
Representatives of the Russian Union of Journalists and the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research agreed during five days of meetings in Moscow in February to collaborate on three workshops during the remainder of the year, with the first set for the Samara Region in late spring.
That first workshop will focus on media management skills and will involve both broadcast and print managers. The workshop will be facilitated by experts from both Russia and the United States.
The U.S. facilitators will include representatives of the Cox Center and of The Newspaper Guild Communications Workers of America. The collaboration between the Russian Union of Journalists, the Guild and the Cox Center is funded in part by a grant to the Russian Union from IREX in Washington.
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Drs. Becker and Vlad with Mr. Yuri Purgin, president of Altapress. |
During the five days of meetings in Moscow, Drs. Lee B. Becker and Tudor Vlad, director and associate director, respectively, of the Cox Center, met with Nadezhda Azhgikhina, executive secretary and director of RUJ, as well as other representatives of the Union.
The visits began with a short meeting on Feb. 10 at a restaurant and conference facility managed by RUJ.
On Feb. 11, Drs. Becker and Vlad gave a presentation about the history and work of the Cox Center at the Faculty of Journalism at Moscow State University. The Faculty of Journalism at Moscow State also will be involved in the future collaborations between Russian and American media experts.
In the presentation on Feb. 11 Drs. Becker and Vlad talked about recent projects, including one at the University of Belgrade focusing on curriculum reform and another in the Philippines looking at techniques for conflict sensitive journalism.
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Drs. Maria Lukina and Anastasia Grusha, deputy deans at Moscow State University. |
The pair also discussed a number of recently completed and ongoing Cox Center research projects, including recent work on the adverse impact of high levels of media competition on journalistic performance in emerging democracies, on U.S. public opinion regarding Iraq and on evaluation of indicators of media freedom.
Following the visit to Moscow State the team met with Michael Mirny, Tatiana Shalimova and Natalia Garina at the IREX Russia offices to discussion the work of the Cox Center and the collaboration with RUJ.
Next the two visited the offices of RUJ and held brief discussions with RUJ President Vsevolod Bogdanov and trainer Vladimir Kasyutin.
Drs. Becker and Vlad joined the All Russia Press Assembly on Feb. 12 where they heard presentations from a number of RUJ leaders and media leaders on the current legal and economic challenges facing Russia media.
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Dr. Becker and Dr. Yassen Zasursky, president of Moscow State University. |
Among the presenters was Yury Purgin, president of Altapress from the Altay Region, who also met with the Cox Center researchers following the formal session to discuss the similarities between the economic challenges facing the media in Russia and the U.S.
On Feb. 13 Drs. Becker and Vlad attended the All Russian Press Ball held at the World Trade Center. The event included celebration of media and journalistic accomplishments in Russia for the previous year and was attended by media experts from around the country.
The discussions ended on Feb. 14 with discussions about the future training projects on which the RUJ and the Cox Center will collaborate.
The Cox Center is the international outreach arm of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia and partners with media organizations and educational institutions around the world.
