Jordan Media Institute – Amman
The Jordan Media Institute organized a working session for its master’s students with Caroline Faraj, Chief-Editor of CNN Arabic, during which she shared the experience of CNN in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the challenges faced in news coverage continuity during lockdown.
Faraj emphasized that the network prioritized integrity and audience trust through fact checking every information that was being aired. At a time where the world went into the unknown and longed for any update, maintaining this trust preceded CCN’s slogan of “be the first to know.”
Faraj is considered one of the most significant Jordanian journalists, with more than 30 years of experience in journalism and television. Before joining CNN in 2001, she worked in several jobs in Jordan and is known for her work in new media, empowering Arab Women, youth creativity, and freedom of expression. She was recently named winner of the Media category in the Arab Woman Awards 2021.
During the encounter with Faraj, the class of master’s in journalism and new media turned into a newsroom. Each student presented their ideas and discussed them with the Chief-Editor in a practical exercise that mirrors editorial board meetings. Faraj dissected each proposal and guided the students to specify their research topics and select aspects that are significant to readers. She also discussed angles, sources, duration, and production requirements with the students. Proposed ideas for news stories included environmental, social, economic, and youth related topics.
During the editorial exercise, Faraj spoke about five rules of professional journalism: 1. Keeping away from speculations while maintaining accuracy in topic selection and source reliability; 2. Objectivity, 3. Respecting privacy; 4. Gaining audience trust; and 5. Community service.
The event falls under parallel and extracurricular activities offered by JMI’s master’s program in Journalism and New Media to enhance students’ knowledge and ensures they acquire the practical skills required for the media job market. The new program, which started in 2021, incorporates the latest developments in media, particularly the digitalization of the production and dissemination of media content.