In September, the Moroccan Ecomédias press group will open a new journalism school in Casablanca. Forty students will get to be trained in everything from journalistic writing to how to prepare a radio show and also learn about country’s press laws at the ESJC (Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme et de Communication).
"The idea for a journalism school was self-evident. Whenever we hire journalists for our various media outlets - whether print or radio - we train them. We have developed an internal training programme that runs between three to six months. Given the need to train these young people who enter the workforce, we said to ourselves, why not formalise our training programme through an actual school," explains Nadia Salah, editorial director for the Ecomédias group.
Salah believes the school will fill a void. "The only school with a good reputation is the ISJ (Institut Supérieur de Journalisme) in Rabat but this state-run institution graduates only 30 journalists a year and most of them end up as press secretaries for government ministries," she noted.
Students will be admitted to the school through entry exams, and there is an annual tuition fee of about 35,000 dirhams (3,500 euros). At the end of a three-year programme they will graduate with a degree that will lead them to a career in print, broadcast or web journalism, according to their chosen area of specialisation, which they decide upon at the start of their third year. For those wishing to continue on to the Master’s level, a further two-year programme is available.
In the first year of study, the emphasis will be placed on acquisition of a sound general knowledge base, as well as improvement of French and Arabic language skills. "Since the public education system is so poor, we really need to emphasise these two areas in order to ensure a high standard of public service in journalism," Salah noted.
The courses will be taught by journalism professors and also Moroccan, French and Lebanese journalists. In addition, guest lecturers from other countries will regularly be invited to the school.
The students will also be introduced to constitutional and press laws.
APN is an electronic network for the Arab press. It is operated by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and supported by the leading Danish press group JP/Politiken.