National Survey for Ethnic Media Workshops

OTTAWA, May 20, 2015 /CNW/ - New Canadian Media, a pioneering Non-Profit media enterprise representing the "Pulse of Immigrant Canada", is pleased to announce the launch of its national training program exclusively designed for journalists who work with "ethnic" or "multicultural" news organizations.

"This has never been tried before on a national scale and we are delighted that we have the resources in place to make this happen," said founder and publisher, George Abraham. "Rather than presume to know what training needs may be out there, we have launched a survey to actually find out what workshops might be most in demand."

The questionnaire, which takes only a couple of minutes to complete from start to finish, tries to answer two basic questions: what are likely to be the most popular courses; and, which locations have the highest demand? "We will go where the evidence takes us," the publisher said.

According to April Lindgren, journalism professor at Ryerson University and lead researcher on the Local News Research Project, "Journalists working for ethnic news outlets have repeatedly expressed interest in training that deals with everything from legal matters to news writing.

"These workshops are a great opportunity for committed reporters and editors to identify what they want most and hone their skills." Lindgren is also a member of NCM's editorial advisory board.

New Canadian Media's in-person training sessions build on a successful mentoring program, launched in February, as part of its mission to seek out "new voices": voices that have rarely – if ever – been heard on a national media platform. The program has already enrolled 25 mentees who are all in various stages of producing content to Canadian standards of journalism.

Here are some highlights of the planned training:

• This training program will be offered free-of-cost and is funded through a federal government grant.
• NCM will offer up to three individual workshops (two hours each) in each location. Course outlines and training guides will be provided to participants in advance. Topics for the workshops will be chosen based on responses to the questionnaire.
• Workshop leaders will be drawn from journalism school faculty, experts in media practice (eg., social media, access to information) and NCM's own newsroom.
• Workshops will most likely be hosted at the nearest journalism school, subject to space availability.
• A light lunch and refreshments will be provided to all participants.

Interested media organizations and individuals can seek more information on this training program by writing to [email protected].

For more information about New Canadian Media and its mission please visit the site at newcanadianmedia.ca.

SOURCE New Canadian Media

Image with caption: "New Canadian Media (CNW Group/New Canadian Media)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150520_C4103_PHOTO_EN_16815.jpg

Media Contact: Daniel Nieman, Executive Assistant, [phone] / [email protected], @NewCdnMedia