Intajour Bids Farewell To Its First Fellows

Change is afoot at the International Academy of Journalism founded to mark Bertelsmann’s 175th anniversary . While the first year of Fellows said their farewells last Friday in Berlin, the second year is already waiting in the wings. Out of 560 applicants from 90 countries, the Intajour Journalism Advisory Board members, who include the editors-in-chief Peter Kloeppel (RTL), Thomas Osterkorn ("Stern") and Georg Mascolo ("Spiegel"), selected twelve new Fellows, who will begin their training program in Hamburg in September. Significantly more journalists applied for the second year than for the first.

But on Friday in Berlin, it was the first-year Fellows who were the focus of Intajour’s work one last time. Random House Publisher Klaus Eck, who is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the International Academy of Journalism, joined Intajour Director Werner Eggert in presenting the twelve Fellows from Egypt, Nepal, Ghana, Syria, Moldova, Thailand, China, Liberia, Nicaragua, Zimbabwe, Armenia and Ukraine with their graduation certificates.

The first year got to work in August last year – as did Intajour itself, which was founded the year before. Until June this year, the Fellows received training in journalism in the digital world – initially, during the first attendance phase in Hamburg, hosted by G+J; then in February in Cologne at RTL; and finally in Berlin. In the three attendance phases, which lasted a total of six weeks, as well as in the online phases in between, the Fellows were given the necessary tools for journalistic work in the digital world. Online research, journalistic forms of presentation, photos, web videos and media ethics were the main topics of the curriculum.

During the e-learning phases, which the Intajour team itself developed in a pioneering achievement, the Fellows received instruction for an average seven hours a week – all while still carrying on their professional activities in their respective home countries. In this way, they could transfer what they learned into their personal and working lives, and put it into practice directly. Additional webinars (web seminars) were held with guest speakers from around the world, including South Africa, Egypt, Dubai, Taiwan, the U.S., Costa Rica, China and Ghana. The Fellows also had to complete a wide range of tasks, such as producing web videos or doing online research on a particular topic. Once a week, the Fellows also participated – enthusiastically – in a quiz with questions about professional journalism and the digital world.

Over the course of this tremendous learning experience, the Fellows have also formed close contacts with each other – another stated Intajour goal. To ensure that these contacts can be maintained, the Academy is establishing an alumni program at the end of the first year, before the new Fellows begin work in Hamburg in September.