Handbooks available for Caucasus journalists, NGOs

International Journalist’s Network
Feb 18 2005

The Media Diversity Institute plans to release several training manuals
for journalists and NGOs in the South Caucasus at a February 22 launch
in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The new releases include a South Caucasus regional edition of the MDI
Reporting Diversity Manual. This collection of tip-sheets, articles and
critical analysis of diversity coverage will be available in Armenian,
Azeri, English, Georgian and Russian. The manual includes sections on
ethnicity, religion, gender, people with disabilities, the elderly,
refugees and sexual minorities.

MDI is also launching three handbooks for journalists and editors
in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, respectively. The handbooks
identify sections of each country’s national laws that could impact
news coverage of diversity. The books will be available in Armenian,
Azeri, English and Georgian.

A Media Relations Handbook for Non-Governmental Organizations is
also set for release on February 22. The guide, published by MDI
and the Independent Journalism Foundation, is intended to help NGOs
communicate with the media. It will also be available in Armenian,
Azeri, English, Georgian and Russian.

The publications are part of MDI’s ongoing project to train the media
and empower minorities in the South Caucasus. The three-year program
involves training journalists, editors, journalism professors and
NGO representatives in diversity reporting and theory.

The books will be made available in both hard copy and on the MDI
Web site at

For more information, contact Lydia El-Khouri at
Lydia.el-kkouri@media-diversity.org or Elena Aladashvili at
Elena.aladashvili@media-diversity.org.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress