Training

Thomson Reuters Foundation launches Coronavirus Crisis Reporting Hub

DEADLINE: APRIL 16, 2020 ― The Thomson Reuters Foundation has launched its Coronavirus Crisis Reporting Hub for journalists covering the global pandemic.

The hub is a virtual training, knowledge-sharing and network-building platform which will leverage the Foundation’s unique blend of journalism and legal skills.

The Hub, which will bring together reporters from English-speaking African nations, will focus on facilitating access to accurate and trusted information through a series of online seminars and working sessions, as well as scaling professional journalism expertise through training and mentoring courses.

ALSO READ:Fact-checkers can apply for grants to fight coronavirus misinformation

Journalists will be equipped with the core skills and information they need to report on the global pandemic and connected with key experts and other reporters who have been covering the crisis in the countries where COVID-19 has already hit hard.

The reporting hub will comprise three main components; live training sessions for core skills: crisis reporting, health reporting, economics reporting, fact-checking, data analysis and data visualisation; connecting the cohort with key health experts; and connecting journalists to their counterparts in countries where the crisis is most prevalent to share professional learnings.

The focal point of the hub is to ensure reporters are equipped to understand the magnitude of the challenge COVID-19 poses to the health of citizens, as well as to the economy and society at large.

In collaboration with the World Economic Forum, the Crisis Reporting Hub will also connect with the organisations at the heart of the emergency response, including the World Health Organization, the African Centre for Disease Controls, and other experts. To this end, the World Economic Forum’s COVID Action Platform will set up media briefings and live sessions for the Crisis Reporting Hub and provide the journalists with access to its platform.

Addressing the urgent need to coordinate an approach to accurate information sharing during this crisis, the initiative will scale creditable and informative reporting that keeps pace with the latest policies, guidelines and critical learnings unfolding daily. The aim is to also clamp down on the spread of misinformation during a time of unprecedented global reliance on social media.

The Reporting Hub will focus on facilitating access to trusted information and professional capacity building by offering the following:

Virtual classes on analysing the pandemic through different lenses and its impact on sectors
Online seminars on core journalism skills
Training and mentoring
Live briefings with key health experts
Live briefings with journalists at the frontline of the crisis
Live collaborative working sessions