ANKARA (AA) - The Anadolu Agency has inaugurated its third journalism training program, this time focusing on news writing in English.
The AA News Academy, the agency's division working to cultivate a new generation of journalists as part of AA's centennial vision, hosted on Monday the opening ceremony for the "Agency Journalism Certificate Program."
AA General Director Kemal Ozturk delivered a speech at the opening ceremony, where he shared his experiences as a journalist, as well as his opinion on previous News Academy programs.
Ozturk said AA is unique in Turkey for offering journalism training and that the media sector in Turkey is going through hard times in terms of human resources.
"Organizations do not make any effort to educate human beings and train journalists," he said.
"There are several reasons for this, such as economic restraints. It is a wrong practice to send recent university graduates onto the ground and expect good journalism. This is especially so in war zones."
"We are virtually the only organization that invests in human beings and trains journalists."
Ozturk said the News Academy became stronger with the experience that it gained through the first and second programs.
"We want to preserve this tradition as the longest-established institution in the sector. We are reviving the master-apprentice culture here in the Anadolu Agency," he said.
- Kurdish broadcast "a historical step"
Ozturk stated that broadcasting in Kurdish is a historical step in Turkey where even using the word "Kurdish" was forbidden and censored. Stating "Anadolu Agency is the best news agency in the Middle East with our Arabic broadcasts and the best in the Balkans with our Bosnian broadcasts, in other words we are one of the most significant news agencies in the Ottoman jeoplolitics," Ozturk said that Anadolu Agency would be the best in Kurdish as well.
Expressing that he was in Egypt just a few days before the massacre on August 14 and had three days with the people in Adawiyya, Ozturk also stated that it was Anadolu Agency which informed the world on the massacre in Egypt while the world was playing the three monkeys.
- "News Academy is one of the most significants steps of Anadolu Agency"
Anadolu Agency News Academy Coordinator Ahmet Tek stated that as a part of the centennial vision the News Academy, one of the most significant steps of Anadolu Agency, gave the start to a new term of education with 40 students. "Anadolu Agency is 93 years old while the Academy is not even 2 years old. This is a great oppurtunity for the participants," said Tek.
- The new term of education will take 3 months
Participants of the "Agency Journalism Certificate Program" will have 420 hours of training over twelve weeks, 280 devoted to theory and 140 to practice.
Successful participants will be employed at AA’s English News Desk.
