International journalists from State Department’s Murrow Journalism Program on SU campus through April 13

International journalists from State Department’s Murrow Journalism Program on SU campus through April 13April 06, 2006Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

In February, Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs were selected, along with six other leading U.S. universities, to host a delegation of international journalists from the U.S. Department of State’s inaugural Edward R. Murrow Journalism Program.

The schools, working in cooperation with the International Center of Syracuse, officially welcomed 16 journalists from independent media outlets in the Middle East and Europe during a private reception Wednesday, April 5. The journalists will be on campus through April 13. A formal opening program took place April 6 at the Newhouse School.

As part of the State Department’s goals for the Murrow Program’s inaugural class of more than 100 international journalists, the seven delegations are being sent to leading academic institutions for exposure to the rights and responsibilities of a free press in a democracy; to gain insight into social, economic and political structures of the United States; and to interact with faculty and students. SU has designed specialized curriculum–intensive academic seminars and field activities with faculty, students and distinguished guest speakers–to highlight journalistic standards in the United States.

While here, journalists will participate in already-scheduled classes at the Newhouse and Maxwell schools, tour the campus and academic facilities, shadow local print and broadcast media for a day, interact with campus and community residents, and participate in social outings–including an evening of dinner and conversation at the homes of Newhouse and Maxwell faculty, attending an SU lacrosse game, bowling and lunch at the Carrier Dome.

Among the visiting international journalists are:

• Algiers: Amel Blidi, journalist with the French language newspaper El Watan
• Bahrain: Abdulla Isa Almannai, journalist with the newspaper Akhbar Al-Khalij and translator
• Denmark: Fikre El-Gourfti, journalist with the newspaper Politiken
• Egypt: Ehab Abdel Hamid, senior editor and writer for the newspaper Al-Doustour
• Gaza: Mo’min M.M. Alshrafi, news editor for the Palestinian Independent Center for Media Services
• Israel: Furat Nassar, political and social correspondent for the Arabic newspaper Al Senara
• Italy: Zouhir Louassini, special correspondent for Rainews24 news channel
• Kuwait: Eman Mohammad Al-Awadhi, assistant English desk editor for the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)
• Lebanon: Abbas Sabbagh, reporter for the Arabic newspaper An-Nahar
• Morocco: Yasmine Khayat, television journalist and anchor at 2M
• Oman: Mohamed Ali Al Balushi, head of local and economy news department at the Arabic newspaper Al Shabiba
• Poland: Marek Kubicki, editor-in-chief of Web Portal Arabia, a website on Arab issues in Poland
• Saudi Arabia: Nourah Khalid A. Al Hajri, editor for the Arabic newspaper Al Watan, Eastern Province
• Tunisia: Ezzeddine Ben Mohamed Faouzi, editor secretary for the bilingual weekly magazine L’Observateur
• Yemen: Morad Hashim Abed, general manager for Al-Jazeera Television’s Sanaa office

In addition to SU, the six other institutions that are hosting delegations are the University of Southern California, the University of Oklahoma, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Minnesota, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Kentucky.

Prior to coming to Syracuse, journalists had an orientation period in Washington, D.C., where they were introduced to U.S. government and foreign policy. They will next visit Salt Lake City, Utah, for exposure to the role and responsibilities of state government and media coverage of state politics.