CJFE training in Thailand: adapts to journalists' needs

CJFE trainers Madelaine Drohan and Bernard Simon (third and fourth from left) helped Thai journalists develop their investigative reporting skills.

by Madelaine Drohan

What should journalism trainers do when they discover that the course they planned does not match the skills of the participants? Proceeding without change will lead to boredom or bewilderment, depending on whether the original course was aimed too high or too low. The only real option is to quickly readjust the sessions to make a more suitable match.

This was the path that Bernard Simon and I chose when we arrived in Thailand last September to conduct workshops jointly sponsored by CJFE and the Thai Journalists' Association (TJA) funded by the Canadian Partnership Branch of the Canadian International Development Agency. Although the Thai group had asked member newspapers to send junior journalists, editors sent some of their most senior writers instead to hone their investigative journalism techniques.

Bernard and I drew on several decades' experience in writing and editing to replace basic sessions with more challenging material. For example, instead of discussing the nuts and bolts of how to organize material during an investigation, we covered that with a handout. This freed time for a vigorous discussion about obstacles individual reporters have encountered during investigations and how to circumvent them.

Media freedom was a central concern in these sessions. The result, according to the evaluation forms filled in by all participants, was a workshop that even experienced journalists found worthwhile.

The Thai journalists see themselves as watchdogs on the government, currently headed by a former businessman who is adept at public relations and sometimes contemptuous of the media. On occasion, the government has punished news organizations critical of its policies by withdrawing advertising by state-controlled businesses. This has whetted the appetite of Thai journalists to dig even deeper for the news; they want better techniques to help uncover the real story.

We quickly discovered that investigative journalism in Thailand was somewhat narrowly focused on uncovering government corruption. We tried to broaden the scope to include business, health and social issues. Guest speakers, arranged by TJA, made an invaluable contribution by giving a local perspective on gender issues, the use of access to information, and local examples of successful investigations.

One surprise for us was how eager the participants were to learn how investigative journalism is done elsewhere. They also wanted to discuss what they saw as one-sided coverage of the Iraq war by the U.S. media.

Translation can make or break a workshop. We were fortunate to have two translators who were also practising journalists. Their comfort with journalistic jargon and the issues made the language barrier disappear.

In feedback following the sessions, participants particularly noted that the workshops were interactive. Few sessions consisted of static lectures; participants could not just sit back and listen, but had to get involved.

For example, over the course of the week, they had to propose and then flesh out a story idea. While a week is too short for a full investigation, it was enough for the journalists to go to the local town to look for sources and other angles on their stories. The field work and subsequent feedback from us and the group rated highly in the evaluations.

The idea from the beginning was to leave the TJA with a curriculum that its members could deliver on their own. Accordingly, we fine-tuned the course following the workshops and left the revamped version with the Thais. A session to train the local trainers is scheduled for this spring.