OSCE training course in Turkmenistan focuses on online journalism

ASHGABAT, 4 June 2015 – Journalists representing Turkmenistan’s print, broadcast and online media from across the country completed today an OSCE-organized training course on online journalism skills and the use of the internet in journalism.

The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat organized the three-day course to strengthen the capacity of journalists in making use of the internet in their daily work, and to enhance their online journalism skills.

“The internet and new technologies have dramatically impacted the way journalists search for information, gather news, report and create stories,” said Ambassador Ivo Petrov, Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. “This training aims at increasing journalists' ability to deal with online content and to ensure a high standard of professional journalism. We believe Turkmenistan’s journalists will find this training course useful for their professional development, and the event will support the country’s efforts in promoting online journalism.”

Two international experts presented new trends in the information sphere, search engines and principles of information storage and conversion. The course participants discussed the internet as a tool for the global dissemination of information, the verification of information as well as the specifics of writing and illustrating news for the internet.

During exercises, journalists practiced searching for information in different formats on the internet, writing texts for online media, using interactive maps and infographics as well as publishing news on the internet.