Dubai: The need for a reliable reference that can teach Arab media students the best skills in media writing in Arabic has been addressed by the Dubai Press Club and the Mohammad Bin Rashid School for Communication (MBRSC) at the American University in Dubai (AUD), who decided to launch a book combining all the works that won the Arab Journalism Award (AJA)
The book, which will be a collection of winning works by successful journalists in the Arab world from the past four editions of the award, will be exclusively available for media students at the MBRSC and will be integrated as part of their curriculum.
Ali Jaber, Dean of the MBRSC and member of the AJA, raised the issue yesterday during a press conference about media schools in the Arab world using old references when teaching students journalism in Arabic, and how it’s not enough for those who want to learn the best techniques in media writing.
“This project has been a result of major brainstorming sessions and will serve as the main reference for students studying media in Arabic at MBRSC. The idea was to extend the award into something that lingers for a long time,” said Jaber. “There’s a noble side to the award, it’s not only an award given to a great writer.”
Jaber said that the only way to good writing is to expose students to good writing. “We needed something that was similar to the Pulitzer Prize book, which has served as a major reference for students in the [United] States.”
The book, to be launched this year, he said, will be substantial and will include more editions in the future to be used as a reference in writing classes. “We hope that all media schools teaching media in Arabic to use this reference that provides samples of innovative and successful journalism works.”
He also highlighted the vision of MBRSC, following a discussion with His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to have students graduate from their Arabic media courses and get hired in the Arab media industry.
Mona Ganem Al Merri, Director-General of the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO) and AJA Secretary-General, said that the launch of this reference book will raise the standards of the award and involve it in academia.
“The Arab Journalism award honours distinguished works of journalism and this book will be documenting these successes. What journalists contribute to the media will now be taught and used as a reference for researchers, scholars and media students as part of their research.”
She also said that the works included in the book have previously gone through a strict arbitration and evaluation process by a highly qualified and experienced jury, which is what makes them so important.
The Arab Journalism Award was launched in 1999 and has honoured over 231 journalists in various categories.
