Conference sessions on video
Covering the topic of Islam is becoming an increasingly challenging assignment for journalists, especially in the South. To help those who report on issues involving Muslim communities, the MTSU School of Journalism hosted a conference and workshop, featuring veteran journalists and experts in Islamic history and culture, at the First Amendment Center in Nashville in August 2011.
Butch Ward, managing director of the Poynter Institute, opened the conference with a presentation entitled ‘Acknowledge Your Bias and Improve Your Coverage.’
This site provides the opportunity to observe the conference as it unfolded over its three-day span. The Sessions page has video of the majority of the sessions as well as other information that was presented, and links to relevant material is on the Resources page, including links to articles subsequently published by some of the conference participants.
This conference was one of six funded by the McCormick Foundation in 2011. Called SRI’s, or Specialized Reporting Institutes, their purpose is to train journalists in specific topics. The funding covers not only conference facilities and speakers but also all participants’ travel, lodging, meals and tuition. There were 22 attendees in this SRI, mostly from newsrooms across the South.
