Activity Details (ID# 7594)

Activity Synopsis

This project involves a network of young journalists set up at the beginning of 2003 and spread out across much of the region of former Yugoslavia. Almost all of them are former AIM trainees and come from provinces outside the capital cities. Together they run an Internet-based information service providing articles on topical issues. A large number of local media publish these articles. The project involves a high level of training which helps the participants to gain experience of cross-border cooperation and contributes to the building up of an editorial team. The main objective was to create a practical form of continued cooperation between young journalists who had previously undergone training by AIM. This cooperation involves aims to ensure that the participants receive further training, improve their profes-sional skills and take their first steps in their career. 

Six regional centres were created in Banja Luka and Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Vukovar and Osijek (Croatia), Podgorica (Montenegro), Kragujevac, Vranje, Mladenovac and Novi Sad (Serbia) and Skopje (“the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”). In each centre a journalist coordinates the work of a local network of young journalists who write reports and articles for the specially created New Generation website. Their publication on the site helps the authors to become known in the local media sector. From July to October, journalists wrote more then 280 articles while 247 articles appeared on a web page, in the different local languages (Bosnian, Montenegrin, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian and Albanian).

Effects of the produced articles may be best observed by the fact that they are being further issued in local, regional or, even, national media in South-east European countries. During the period concerned, other media from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia and “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” published more than a hundred AIM-NG articles. Special attention should be paid to the fact that several dailies publish AIM-NG texts regularly on the pages focused on South-east European events. Aside from the press, information provided by AIM-NG texts has been used by local and regional radio and TV stations. Some regional TV stations introduced live appearances of AIM-NG journalists during news programmes. On-line media also increasingly used AIM-NG texts attributing its source correctly. Additionally, many web sites now provide a link to the AIM-NG web page.

According to regular statistic reports in 2004, the number of visits to the AIM-NG web page has increased significantly. The average number of daily visits in January was 711; in July it was 1891, while the October data show that it reached 2652 readers. Consequently, monthly statistics show the following: in January 2004 there were 22 066 visits; in July 58 640; while in October there was a total of 82 238 visits to the AIM-NG web page.

Two editorial meetings were held in this period in Belgrade (3-4 July and 9-10 October). These were not only occasions for a critical assessment of the project and for planning for the future. They also helped establish regular cross-border links and cooperation between young journalists.

 

The project is now in a far stronger position to continue its work in the coming years. 

Young journalists from the region of former Yugoslavia