WATERMELONS SELL POORLY AFTER RECENT EXPLOSIONS. Now that’s a newspaper headline to catch the eye. Especially while you’re enjoying a Beijing hotel breakfast of juicy red watermelon.

According to my morning copy of the China Daily, farmers saw sales of the football-size fruit plummet after reports of exploding watermelons in East China’s Jiangsu province.

It seems the problems started when farmers added growth-accelerating chemicals to their watermelons – a trick they learned from a local ‘technician’ who was quoted as saying: “I never received professional training on agricultural techniques. I only have a primary school diploma.” Oops.

Panic among the watermelon-buying public then spread to other parts of China, prompting many farmers to set up stalls by the roadside in a desperate bid to sell their rotting crops. Passing motorists wound up their windows, just in case.

Watermelons make headlines in the China Daily

It’s a story that sums up news values in modern China. Any mention of food prices makes headlines. And nothing touches the national nerve more than food safety. While I was there in late May, the Supreme People’s Court called for ‘food safety violators’ to face the death penalty in cases where consumers died.

Food prices might seem an odd obsession in the marble and mirror-glass skyscrapers of Beijing’s sprawling financial district. But they are critical to China’s juggernaut economy.

Why? Because China makes stuff for the world, at low prices highly dependent on low wages. And low wages in turn depend on cheap food. Beijing businessmen are are casting a cautious eye on the new minimum wage in Hong Kong (of HK $28, around £2.80, per hour)

In the global economic downturn, China’s manufacturers also suffered. Part of the state response has been to encourage development of Chinese brands, like cars, computers, mobile and banking. As it was explained to me: China needs brands because they command higher margins; a greater return on investment.

To succeed, it’s a strategy that demands a rising global profile and growing influence. Hold that thought …

… while we wrap up the exploding watermelons.

There’s a social media twist in this tale, too.

Faced with ruin, I learned that Du Zhibing, a humble village farmer in Panzhihua province, turned to his microblog (a Chinese take on Twitter). He wrote that that his watermelons were sweet and tasty and promised they contained no growth accelerators because local farmers were “too poor to afford even chemical fertilizers.”

Dan Mason works with Xinhua journalists during the Social Affairs Reporting course

Thanks to his microblog, added the China Daily report, Du quickly sold out of watermelons.

Another story causing a stir while I was there concerned the motorist who halted a lorry carrying over 500 dogs destined for slaughter. The story spread like wildfire on China’s Sina and QQ microblogs, and some 300 angry dog-lovers convered on the scene.

Less than a day later, animal charities had bought the dogs for 115,000 yuan (around £11,500) and were offering them for adoption.

The point is this: Anyone who thinks ordinary Chinese citizens (or netizens) are not aware of the power of the internet should think again. The difference is they are using YouKu instead of YouTube, RenRen instead of Facebook, Sina instead of Twitter, and the mighty Baidu for search. I’d have been happy to join them … if I could speak Chinese.

By contrast, the journalists attending my Social Affairs Reporting course in Beijing – all employed by China’s state news agency Xinhua – spoke excellent English.

Like most young journalists I meet on my travels for the Thomson Foundation, they were hard-working, open-minded, determined to do a good job and mustard keen to learn. This year the course took a multimedia approach, including photography, audio, video, slideshows and online skills, alongside core writing, sourcing, interview, ethics and investigative approaches.

The group used social networks like twenty-somethings everywhere, though journalists are only just beginning to see social media’s potential for listening, promoting, curating and community building. That’s down to the tools available … or not. Boy, did I miss working with Hootsuite and Storify.

One thing made a welcome change. Compared with a good many countries, journalists in China command a relatively decent level of respect and pay.

The Thomson Daily: Xinhua journalists during the Social Affairs Reporting course in Beijing

One of the group told me about a Xinhua journalist who had been refused entry into an international press conference because the organisation was regarded as a government agency rather than a news organisation. Well, it is true that the stated mission of Xinhuanet, the agency’s news website posting 15,000 stories in six languages a day, is ‘to publicise China and report the world.’ But it is absurd to say they are not journalists doing their job.

If some wish to label Xinhua a propoganda machine, all I can say is that there was no shortage of responsible journalistic principles in this group.

No-one can argue with the fact that Xinhua is one of the world’s fastest-growing news organisations. It’s huge, with over 16,000 staff. What’s more, Xinhua is expanding – it currently has 130 bureaux outside China – and it’s growing at the same time as other global news providers, including the BBC, are cutting back.

Result? Xinhua’s importance in reporting, publishing and syndicating major news around the world can only increase.

That presents Xinhua – and China – with a huge opportunity. If Xinhua has an image problem, then it has the power – and talent – to overcome it with high-quality journalism (think how Al Jazeera transformed its reputation). And a strong, respected media presence is exactly what China needs if it’s serious about building brands and influence in the world’s most competitive markets.

News, in any language, costs a fortune. But viewed in a wider context, Xinhua could quietly become one of China’s most profitable exports.

It wasn’t an option. March 2 is a public holiday in Ethiopia. Everybody celebrates, there are families to visit, there is a parade to watch, nobody works and certainly journalists on a course could not be expected to turn up for a day on the beat.

So, we worked. The minibus tipped us into the crowds to find new stories buried in the annual celebration of the Battle of Adwa.  For one or two of the group this is a diary item they covered in the dim past, but for the majority being confronted by thousands of  people and told to find a story – any story – is terrifying. ‘Think of Adwa’ was hardly a reassuring brief.

For all Africans, but especially for Ethiopians, the Battle of Adwa is significant. It is seen as the battle that stopped the European march into Africa. In 1896, led by King Menelik II and – thanks to a few strategic suggestions by his wife Taitu – his troops defeated the Italian army and so sent the Italians packing.

Decades later they turned up again, but failed again. Ethiopia has never been colonised, a fact which sustains the people here no matter what nature and politics throw their way.

Ethiopia runs on a twelve hour clock twice a day. Public transport is erratic and the city is huge, perhaps that’s why we missed the military band and the official salutes. But there had to be something out there in the crowds.

Being a journalist here is a challenge. The press is tightly controlled. After the last election, anything up to twenty newspapers went out of business, so those who remain mind their Ps and Qs.

There is one national radio and television service; all others are local and, again, are careful in what they cover and how they cover it.  There is no shortage of hard news or issues to cover, but – coupled with self censorship – facts are hard to verify, access to official sources is all but impossible and material which is said to be in the public domain is rarely available.

New industries, handshakes and promises

Add to that a shortage of funds and a somewhat erratic internet supply and you soon understand why succeeding here calls for a determination and a thick skin. Nevertheless, at the time of writing this is a nation in receipt of the largest aid package in the world, so there are endless press conferences, press releases, facility trips and goodwill tours on offer from Embassies, NGOs and agencies to fill the pages. Plus every expansionist from Russia through Turkey to China pops in with new industries, handshakes and promises on an almost daily basis.

All of this largesse has dulled the edge of editorial demands. ‘Go forth and dig’ is not the usual editorial directive.

The plan is to stick with the gang and lend a hand. Not a chance. Within a minute everyone is devoured by the crowds leaving this tutor to be the stand alone tourist, a fact spotted by Joseph.

In normal circumstances the Josephs of this world are best avoided, but this one served as historian, translator, guide and protector. The facts turned out to be a little blurred but it didn’t matter.

Joseph was my passport to the 90-year-old veteran who had not only seen off the last Italian attempt to grab his country but had also done his bit in Congo, Korea, Albania and all points north, south east and west from Addis. Medals to prove it all sparkled on his threadbare uniform. Would anyone in the team find out that this old soldier, like most of his comrades here, live in poverty?  “We are forgotten,” he laments.

Joseph pushes on. St George’s Cathedral next stop.

St George, it turns out, played a significant part in the battle of Adwa. Before the battle the king and his troops prayed to the Saint. People believe that the power of the saint, coupled by the presence of the Ark of the Covent, ensured victory.  So St George leads on here.

But what will the journalists make of it?

The cathedral courtyard sways with the faithful singing his praises. A passing Rastaferian whacks everyone on the back with his prayer beads lest they forget. For a visitor it is all exotic. What will the journalists make of it?

The excitement on the bus back to the British Council is bubbling. ‘Women in war’, an almost completely unknown fact, is Selyana’s story.  ‘The power of Adwa today’ is popular. A sound picture of celebration is new for one radio reporter. Hardly hard news but it does have the benefit of being an innovation. The photojournalist has captured every vet and flag and is determined to do an online photo essay. Both agency reporters have picked up on the poverty amongst the young people hanging around the celebrations. Unemployment in Ethiopia is the norm, not a percentage of the population. Asked what angle they were taking, each wanted to use the inspiration of Adwa in fighting the 21st Century battle against being dirt poor. Even the vets are given a profile.

Getting all the ideas on paper, pixels and digits was a learning experience all round. Pulling copy out of the air is not the norm here. It is easier to defeat foreign invaders. Little of what we produced would make the Sun let alone the Indy. Radio 4 would doubtless say there wasn’t a slot, but each and every one gave it their best shot and took their finished work back to their media houses with the hope of having it published.

As we all said goodbye the editors were still pondering … but maybe something made it. And if  it doesn’t, at least each of the eighteen who took part had won a personal battle.

As Joseph said as his parting shot: “if you want to know a country look at its backside.”

By MARTIN MULLIGAN

‘Beijingers’ housing price fury goes viral’ shrieked a headline from the world news pages of the Financial Times late last year. The story concerned sky-high housing prices and a sardonic e-mail spreading in Chinese cyberspace that calculated how long it would take peasants to buy a house.

Consumer inflation in China exceeded 5.1 per cent in November, 2010, and public dismay at price hikes attained its highest level since records began in 1999, a central bank survey found.

The e-mail suggests how long comrades would have to work to afford a 100 sq m flat in central Beijing.

A peasant farmer tilling an average plot would today have just scraped together the funds if he or she somehow had worked since the Tang Dynasty, which ended in 907AD.

The article went on: ‘If a Chinese blue-collar worker had been on the average monthly salary of Rmb1,500 since the Opium Wars in the mid-19th Century and had given up weekends, then he or she might just have been able to afford a place on his or her own [by now].’

The sort of inflation that's easy to handle. Consumer inflation is a tougher challenge for Chinese citizens ... and journalists

The calculations in that story demonstrate why demand for training in business and financial reporting remains very strong in Beijing among Xinhua’s mid-career journalists. Madam Ma, the Xinhua training division’s driving force, has an eye to legacy building after a 20-year partnership with the Thomson Foundation. She will hand over to her successor in the autumn of 2012.

In the meantime, the Tiger Mom phenomenon and the significance of the Jasmine Revolution as well as the Beijing property story are only a few of the internationally alluring topics that Xinhua’s  journalists are being tasked to get to grips with.

Seventeen participants, several of whom had worked as Xinhua correspondents in settings as diverse as Russia, Burma and Germany, as well as throughout China, were volubly appreciative of the three-week grounding in international business reporting.

The trainer’s personal high point of achievement in Beijing was a conversation in Mandarin in a crowded restaurant with Tao Tao, the seven-year old daughter of a training participant. Those flop-sweat-inducing intensive Chinese language lessons in the UK turned out to be time and money very well-invested.

They mean business: Three journalists participating in the three-week Thomson Foundation course

Here's how: Martin Mulligan makes a point during the international business reporting course

As the passenger jet began its long descent into Kathmandu Valley we got our first glimpse of the Himalayas – the jagged snow-capped peaks poking through clouds at 22,000 feet.

Necks straining, all eyes were scanning the horizon to our left for the famous silhouette of Everest.

Arrival in the bustling city was a culture shock. The traffic, the sheer volume of people, and the poverty hit your senses like a hammer.

But within just a few hours, the warmth of Nepali people shone through. At every doorway, the traditional hands together greeting of Namaste beckoned a welcome.

I was there for the Thomson Foundation to deliver a five-day course on campaigning and investigative journalism, hosted by the British Embassy. It was a mixed group of 12 print journalists in the morning, and 10 broadcast in the afternoon. The embassy itself is an oasis of green, with its large lawns, flower beds and white-painted ambassador’s residence.

The reality of journalism in Kathmandu is anything but calm. It is now a fierce battle for audience, with newspapers springing up all the time, a fast growing radio industry , and TV stations expanding – all competing in a nation where poverty is widespread.

Much of the media story mirrors Nepal’s close neighbour, India. There are more than 100 newspapers registered in Kathmandu, spread across the country,  both English speaking and Nepali. Circulations of some grow by more than 20% per year. There are 30 FM stations and 12 TV channels. Radio is seen as the best way to bring news to isolated regions. Internet penetration is low.

Talking with the journalists quickly revealed their concerns. It is a dangerous profession, and still relatively low paid.

There are hundreds of reported cases of journalists being beaten up, murders of editors and campaigning writers. While I was there one prominent TV presenter was abducted and released across the Indian border, and the Himalayan Times reported an attack on three journalists by a gang armed with sticks.

A street scene in Kathmandu: The media may be booming, but the competition is fierce and journalists face the threat of attack

Issues of self-censorship are rife – where advertisers or political groups exert pressure to suppress some stories. Editors say in their defence that this is now reducing – but admit they have to defer sometimes because of the fierce competition to stay in profit.

One paper lost thousands in advertising revenue when it refused to buckle to external pressure – and is still making a stand.

Most media houses rely heavily on their advertising income because cover price of the  newspapers is so low. Most sell for between 4 and 6 rupees, less than 3p. Yet the print quality and the range of subject matter is high.

Newspaper editorials do attack the political leaders on a daily basis – but many of the journalists I spoke to felt it had little effect because of the corrosive effect of what is seen as widespread corruption. Investigative TV journalism is limited.

Despite that, all spoke of their desire to bring about change by digging beneath the surface and pursuing public interest issues such as misuse of Government vehicles and diplomatic passports, child labour, smuggling of firearms, the culture of the dowry system , migrant workers abroad and police corruption.

Kathmandu sits on a volatile earthquake zone where two tectonic plates meet. After the Japan disaster, many questions were being asked about Nepal’s state of readiness if the worst happens. But the reality is that many of the four million inhabitants would die because most building have been erected without adhering to building regulations.

Power cuts plague the country, many homes are without electricity for over 12 hours each day. In the city itself, hotels, shops and businesses have generators which kick in to restore power. The construction of hydro-electric power stations is under way – but without any firm completion date.

Much of the daily diet of news centres around politics – despite the huge scepticism about the current political leaders in the Communist party who are now drawing up a new constitution with plans for an election later this year. A lot of hopes depend on that.

The value of editorial decision-making often centres around what the political leaders have to say. During my stay, the reported rape of a seven year old girl was reduced to a few paragraphs -  and the tragic story of a woman who was bleeding to death in an isolated airport because her mercy flight to hospital was held up by a local  strike was widely reported, but did not make a lead item. The jailing of a political leader for corruption was hailed as an important breakthrough.

It would be a mistake to make snap judgments about comparing UK news values in Nepal. Theirs is a new and growing media industry with all the challenges that brings in an emerging economy.

As the British ambassador John Tucknott said as the training certificates were presented , journalists have the power to influence Government policies. He spoke of the UK’s about- turn on Government pensions for Ghurkas after the campaign led by the actress Joanna Lumley.

From the evidence I saw Nepal’s journalism is in good hands and despite the editorial hurdles, all those I spoke to have a deep desire to seek out the truth and inform – though the personal cost may be high.

Journalists taking part in the Thomson Foundation course on investigative and campaigning journalism

Thomson Foundation consultant and trainer Paul Horrocks on a visit to The Kathmandu Post

Lord Fowler and Lord Howe with Mohamed Al Ghanim, director general of the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority

Thomson Foundation president Lord Howe and chairman Lord Fowler saw at first hand the success of one of the Middle East’s most dynamic media training initiatives during a special visit to Abu Dhabi,

It is two years since Thomson Foundation trainers delivered the first of many courses with twofour54 tadreeb, the strategic partnership aimed at creating a world-class centre for media innovation in the United Arab Emirates.

The peers and former UK government ministers praised the speed of progress and said they were hugely impressed by the training on offer, covering all aspects of the media.

At a dinner including British Ambassador Dominic Jermey, Lord Fowler reflected on the leading role played by the Thomson Foundation over almost half a century, and how it is gearing up meet the demands of tomorrow’s media world.

Lord Howe and Lord Fowler met with twofour54 CEO Tony Orsten and academy director Phaedon Vass to review the success of Thomson-led TV, multimedia and online programmes, and look forward to future projects.

The growing impact of social media in the Arab world and the wider challenges facing journalism in the Middle East took centre stage at a meeting with media personality Noura Al Kaabi, who is a senior executive at twofour54 and board member of Abu Dhabi’s state media organisation, ADMC.

Later, they met Mohamed Al Ghanim, director general of the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, and Adrian Wells, launch editor for the new Sky Arabia channel due to launch in 2012. The peers also found time to visit Abu Dhabi’s magnificent Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Said Thomson Foundation head of training Tim Rogers: “The three-day visit was non-stop and gave our president and chairman the opportunity to cement important relationships while exploring new opportunities. The welcome they received in Abu Dhabi could not have been more open or generous.

“The Thomson Foundation continues to be absolutely committed to supporting the development of media, in all its forms, in this diverse region, and visits like these help ensure our training and consultancy services remain fresh, focused and innovative at every level.”

• The Thomson Foundation is a global charity dedicated to raising media standards and skills. For more information on media training and consultancy services in the Middle East and other regions, contact us today.

Click images to enlarge …

The need to make daily television news programmes in 11 different languages makes the South African national broadcaster SABC one of most complex and demanding news organisations in the world.

So it was no surprise that Phil Molefe, SABC’s group executive for news, turned to the Thomson Foundation for training and support.

His brief was: ‘Make better television news’ and 15 news staff including journalists, camera operators and video editors were selected to take part in a three-week workshop run by Thomson Foundation consultant Laurie Upshon.

Said Laurie: “You start to realise the complexities of the organisation when you find out English is not the first language for many taking part in the workshop.

“We worked out a programme that would fully involve the craft people as well as the on-screen journalists, some of whom handled a television camera for the first time. Editors and camera operators wrote their own pieces and, by the end of the course, everyone realised that they had to work as a team to make great television news”.

As well as writing, the course took in use of graphics, interview and presentation skills and the regulatory and compliance issues that face today’s constantly-changing television news.

SABC reporter Christel Raubenheimer: 'You want television to come alive'

The TV news workshop was just one of a series of courses being run by the Thomson Foundation for SABC, building on a relationship that goes back over 20 years.

In the video above, SABC training manager Kieran Maree remembers: “In the early 90s,  when there were so many politcal changes in South Africa, we needed to convert from a state broadcaster to a national public broadcaster. The Thomson Foundation were the first people we reached for.”

But his focus now is on preparing staff to meet the demands of a changing media landscape: “There are enormous challenges facing us as a broadcaster in Africa. We believe we have enormous potential and talent. Working with Thomson, we want to realise that.”

And as the video shows, workshop participants came away determined to meet those challenges.

Explains SABC reporter Christel Raubenheimer: “Sometimes you get stuck in one place doing it the same way you did yesterday. But that’s not the way TV should work. You want people to keep interested; you want television to come alive; you want the pictures to tell the story.

“… and that’s what the Thomson Foundation course did for me. It’s a must for any journalist who wants to become better at TV.”

• The SABC video was filmed and edited by Rob Finighan

Back to basics: Thomson Foundation trainer Laurie Upshon poses the simple but all-important question: 'What's the story?'

Having trouble viewing the YouTube video?
Click the thumbnail below:

But despite their initial reservations, the journalists became so passionate about the need for change, they decided to form the Environmental Journalists’ Association. Here Mary describes their dramatic change of heart.

All eyes were on the condom. It lay on a mountain of compost at the Mbale Municipal Council Compost processing plant.

Waste into compost is a fairly simple process which takes time, heat and a deal of rough treatment … hence the awe. How had this thing survived intact?

The journalists were baffled.

This is a Clean Development Project (CDM) in embryo. Funded by the World Bank it aims to turn the organic waste generated by the citizens of Mbale town into cheap compost and by so doing contribute to cleaning up the world’s atmosphere. Put briefly, well-managed waste means no gas emissions and that means cleaner atmosphere. Should the scheme be ratified in Bonn it will generate Certified Emission Reduction (CER) status and so money will change hands.

Try explaining all that to 33 journalists more interested in the mystery of the condom.

We were on the first of our field trips for the latest climate change course organised by the British Council (Uganda) and the Thomson Foundation, and funded by the Department for International Development (DFID – or UK Aid as it now likes to be called).

Mbale environmental officer Rhodah Nyarib speaks to the journalists about the achievement of the town's compost plant

The 33 were all experienced reporters and editors, carrying with them the cynicism and suspicion of the trade. My job for the Thomson Foundation was to deliver an understanding of climate change and the need for them to spread the word to a nation which is already feeling the stress of  the shifting weather patters.

What soon became clear is their lack of faith in the willingness of official agencies to be proactive. This may not be entirely fair on those who strive for change, but it is the perception of most of the group. NATO is the mantra. No Action Talk Only.

No pressure then.

We left the compost plant and headed for a school to plant trees. Tree planting has caught on in Uganda. Over our week together we accounted for at least eight million trees being planted in the region we were working.

Everyone cheered up until we discovered that most of the planting is agro-forestry for firewood and building. Plant close, harvest quickly and then the whole lot goes up in smoke (CO2) again as fuel. You can’t blame anyone – wood is all people can afford to cook on and there is already a shortage that gets worse by the season.

Unlike Rwanda, where re-forestation works with native hardwoods, Uganda is hoping that fast-growing imports like pine and eucalyptus will do the trick.

Stuck on the road to Bududa. The bus carrying the journalists finally arrived at its destination high in the Mt Elgon National Park

We dug on and planted mango, avocado and orange. At least the kids would have fresh fruit. The children sang their delighted thanks while displaying a greater knowledge of climate change than any of  the group.

The discussion about trees carried on as we rocked home on the washed-out road.

Our course was timed to coincide with the launch of a new United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) initiative called Territorial Approach to Climate Change (TACC). Put briefly, with funds from DFID and the National Assembly for Wales (amongst others), it is an attempt to find solutions to offset the effects of climate change on a regional level.

It makes sense. At regional level, people know each other, know the local challenges and stand a chance of finding answers.

The launch took place in the poshest hotel in Mbale. No carbon from us we walked there arriving hot but smug. The 33 journalists set to work. The Welsh Minister, John Griffiths, and DFID’s Kate Wedgwood went down a storm. Lots of media material there.

The next day we headed for the hills to see how important it is to work with local knowledge. Easier said than done. Our bus got stuck. It took 40 minutes, endless advice and shouting from onlookers and the determination of at least ten men to shift it from knee-deep mud. We set off again for the Bududa district, where so far this year at least 350 people have perished in landslides.

After an hour’s struggle up a steep hill through the bananas and eucalyptus the group were questioning the point of our mission. But, as usual with these courses, it was the evidence of the locals that did the trick.

Matia village farmer Mulla Moses speaks of his losing battle to stablise his farmland. A landslide near here killed 350 people just months ago

Farmer Mulla Moses, of Matia village, does his best to stabilise the soil, as do 70 others like him in the neighbourhood. But pressure of people on the land make it almost impossible. The national density of people per square kilometre in Uganda is one hundred and twenty nine. Here it is between six hundred and a thousand. Seventy percent of all natural disasters in Uganda are climate change related.

The message and the need were getting home.

Local environmental officer Charles Wakube laid out the core of the dilemma. The Mt Elgon region is one of the most important in Uganda. It is a watershed and supposed to be forested. It is rich in wetlands and in the not-so-recent past was rich in biodiversity. But survival and economic development are strong competitors.

If the gang of 33 felt something at the beginning of the week, it was resignation. But gradually the mood changed. And in the end something snapped. What they saw and heard shocked them beyond their limits of tolerance. After much discussion and debate, they gathered together and decided there CAN be action beyond talk.

The 33 journalists decided to form the Environmental Journalists Association and left the course pledging to work together to get the message of climate change out in a way the people can understand.

We’ll follow their progress with interest.

12►

Fact-finding visits by the Future Leaders included Google's London HQ, ITN's television newsroom and the House of Lords, where they met Baroness Dean (pictured centre) who is a trustee of the Thomson Foundation. Also pictured (back row, right) is course leader Lyn Hartman

For a month in August, 2010, ten talented young journalists from around the world embarked on an experience they will never forget.

The Thomson Foundation Future Leaders course aims to do exactly as the title suggests: equip media professionals with the skills and confidence to take their careers to the limit.

This year’s course was hailed one of the exciting ever, with the highly-motivated journalists working with some of the most respected and innovative names in the media world.

And, as they explain in this video, they left the course ready to make their own mark on the media.

Here are the links to blog posts that appeared during the course:

• The media world united: Thomson Foundation Future Leaders step up to receive awards
• IT’S A RAP: MC Amitabh on the future of news
• Deepika Bhardwaj: Just a month of training … but the lessons I learned will last a lifetime
• Mona Farah: Meeting so many leaders is the best thing that can happen to a journalist
• Manqoba Mchunu: It’s up to us all to nurture our potential as Future Leaders
• Misha Hussain: Can I take my skills to the next level – to be the front man of front men?
• How the media leaders of today are inspiring the media leaders of tomorrow

For more information about Thomson Foundation training, check out the About our Courses page. To inquire about the Thomson Foundation’s consulting and training services, please contact us.

• Future Leaders course video shot and edited by ROBERT FINIGHAN

Amitabh Revi is a senior correspondent and anchor with NDTV in New Delhi, India.

During the 2010 Thomson Foundation Future Leaders course, participants were set the unusual task of predicting the future of the news industry – as a rap song. Here Amitabh describes how he and fellow journalist Misha Hussein rose to the challenge …

To get us thinking about the future of the news industry from a different perspective, we were introduced to Jon Webster, CEO of Music Managers Forum. He illustrated the revolution taking place in the music industry and the decline of the big record labels by telling the story behind MC Lars’ video Download the Song.

So when Future Leaders course leader Lyn Hartman set us the task of presenting our thoughts on the future of news as a rap song, Misha and I decided to follow MC Lars’s lead. He had, after all, borrowed a sample from Iggy Pop’s The Passenger on the track.

Jon checked with his legal team and told us that it was OK if we rapped to his music, since we were just ‘adapting’ Lars. So, we embarked on our new career in the rap world. You can buy the CD in any Wales music store. (Just kidding!)

Here’s a video of the MC Lars’ original (and a link to his Download this Song lyrics), followed by the words in our version …

… It’s called Download the News.

Download the News

It’s 2010, what’s on the consumer’s news list?
Get the latest from the net or pay cable for the gist
There already is a paradigm shift
The news revolution cannot be dismissed
£140 for the BBC,
or get on the web and get it for free

News Online or is News On the Line
Lalalalalalala
News Online or is News On the Line
Lalalalalalala

If you can google it why pay for it all?
Is the news industry going to fall?
Or will it hit Rupert Murdoch’s pay-wall

Hey Mr Newspaper Man
Is the joke on you
Running your headlines
Like it was 2002
Hey Mr Newspaper man,
Can your system compete?
Or is downloading going to be complete?

News Online or is News On the Line ?
Lalalalalalala
News Online or is News On the Line?
Lalalalalalala

Broadcasters where is all your content?
All the old rules will be bent
All visuals will be on an Avid cloud
Don’t cover your heads in a shroud
The future’s here and thumping real loud

News Online or is News On the Line ?
Lalalalalalala
News Online or is News On the Line?
Lalalalalalala

Multi-skills are here to stay
Old school journalists will have pay
TV news. What do viewers demand?
Will it mean content on command?

Hey Mr. Newspaper Man
Is the joke on you
Running your headlines
Like it was 2002
Hey Mr. Newspaper man,
Can your system compete?
Or is downloading going to be complete?

News Online or is News On the Line ?
Lalalalalalala
News Online or is News On the Line ?
Lalalalalalala

Coming up the weather in 5
But get it – now – online and live
How will news be sent?
However, whatever, it has to have compelling content

News Online or is News On the Line?
Lalalalalalala
(Repeat and fade out)

• The mention of an ‘Avid cloud’ is a reference to our invaluable discussion with John Curzon, newsroom specialist with Avid. He outlined some possible future scenarios for the news industry, in particular TV news, including the potential for reporters to edit stories in low definition while in the field, using minimal equipment, with the high-definition footage stored in the ‘cloud’.

This is the future. And we have to move with it. To paraphrase a song from the Irish band U2. All journalists will have to keep Running to Stand Still.

Rap partners: Amitabh Revi and Misha Hussein

Deepika Bhardwaj in London for a Future Leaders' visit to the House of Lords

DEEPIKA BHARDWAJ, a production manager with Jain Studios in New Delhi, India, reflects on her participation in the Thomson Foundation’s Future Leaders course, 2010

I was really excited by the prospect of becoming part of the Thomson Foundation fraternity and felt lucky to have been selected for the Future Leaders course.

At first, I was curious about meeting people from different parts of the world and had high expectations for the course itself. Ahead lay a month of leadership lessons, a chance to work on my own strengths and weaknesses and, hopefully, make friends for life.

Now it is over, I have taken back a lot more than I could ever have imagined.

Apartment number 239 at Century Wharf in Cardiff was my amazingly-comfortable abode for the month and I quickly realised that the Thomson Foundation had left no stone unturned to make this the best experience of our lives.

Our journey brought us into personal contact with some of the most respected media leaders in the UK. From them we learned how to prepare ourselves to lead and avoid the pitfalls they faced. Lyn Hartman and Clive Jones from the Thomson Foundation led the course throughout and helped us get the most from our experiences.

Lyn’s helpful advice was that I should learn from everyone we met. “Imagine you are plugging a USB into their brains,” she said. A famous quote by Woodrow Wilson says: “I not only use all the brains I have but all I can borrow.” Well, we had the chance to borrow the best brains in the world … for the the rest of our lives!

Menna Richards, Director of BBC Wales, was the first leader we met. She inspired me. Menna taught me not to put limits on your ambitions. She seemed always to be striving to do more. And I feel that’s the way to go about in life. Keep going. Never stop.

Meeting David Mannion, Editor-in-Chief of ITN, was a great experience. He discussed in a very candid manner his responsibilities and the tough decisions he has faced. A major lesson I learnt from David is the fact that you grow the most when you surround yourself with people more talented than you.

He advised us not to feel daunted, but to learn from these people. I now realise that working with more talented people actually makes you raise the bar for yourself. David also stressed the importance of moving forward: “Don’t dwell too much on bad decisions you make in life. Move on. Remember you have other people to lead and decisions to make. Don’t beat yourself over those decisions. Just move on.”

From influential people, to a globally-influential organisation: Google. Their office may look more like a party space than offices, but what the media really needs to learn from Google is the art of employing the best people. Their rigorous selection procedures ensure they hire only the best.

Another great thing about the course was the way our intensive learning was interspersed by breaks to relax with friends. Our picnic trip to Monmouth was like that. Just loved the countryside!

After the visit to ITN, Press Association and Google we returned to Wales to meet one of the most creative media personalities of British television, Peter Bazelgette. He provided us with a lot of insights into the success stories of people who changed the face of television, such as John De Mol, Paul Smith and Charlie Parsons, creating formats like Big Brother, Who wants to be a Millionaire and Survivor.

He told us that all these people had brilliant ideas initially, but no one to back them. Peter explained “If you believe in your ideas and constantly work on it, you will definitely get the results. You have to be persistent and wait for the right time. And you should never, ever give up.”

Another leader I loved meeting was Vikki Keywood, Executive Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

What inspired me most about her was that, after reaching a high position, she decided to go right back to basics in management and start from scratch. Now she is transforming the Royal Shakespeare company. Vikki is a perfect example of a leader who follows their heart and doesn’t let anything get in the way – even if it means starting all over again! One important tip I remember from Vikki is that if you want people to follow you, you have to lead by example.

Last but not the least came Greg Dyke, former Director General of the BBC, who brought lessons not just in leadership but humanity. I will remember forever him saying: “As a leader, you have to be good to everyone in your organization. People from the bottom to the top. It’s not about the speech you delivered or the suit you wore, its all about the way you make people feel.”

Apart from the speakers, the team activities were a great experience too. The tasks we were set opened our minds to the importance of teamwork. From a personal perspective, time management was one of the things I really wanted to work on. While peer pressure helped me improve, Mona (another course participant) gave me an insight I won’t forget.

She said we should think of ourselves as an image. Whatever we do has an impact on that image. If we do good things, we love to look at our image in the mirror, and when we do things we do not like, we don’t like our own image. So the lesson: Identify the things that make you feel satisfied and prioritise them. If you stick to this, time manages itself.

Between all the lessons, workshops and visits, I loved shopping in Cardiff and meeting some amazing people. I am really going to miss the whole Thomson family I became a part of.

The Future Leaders course was an unforgettable experience for me. As the title says, it lasted just one month … but the lessons will last a lifetime.

• Thanks Tim, Lyn, Tracey, Miranda, Clive for all your support and thanks to Siko, Noli, Ghassan, Mona, Misha, ManQ, Abdul, Amitabh and Lucy for being such great friends and such great time together.