FAMOUS JOURNALIST CHERYL REED VISITED YSU FACULTY OF JOURNALISM

Cheryl Reed is an American investigative journalist and has worked for Washington Post, Dayton Daily News, Florida Today, Newport New Daily Press, and Columbia Journalism Review magazine. In 1996 she was awarded the Harvard Goldsmith Award in investigative journalism. She has spent 10 months in Kyiv within the framework of Fulbright grant program teaching students journalism.

Dean of the Faculty of Journalism Naghash Martirosyan noted in his welcoming speech that he is happy for cooperation: “We are united in dedication, love for journalism, and awareness of the role and place of journalism. We in Armenia and you in the USA solve one common problem - preparation of journalists who will form a competitive and civilized media field.”

Speaking about the different approaches to journalism in the world, Naghash Martirosyan highlighted the effective distribution of the range and practice during the organization of journalism education. He noted that it is important to include the experience of foreign partners in textbooks and manuals: “There is a need to create an Armenian school of journalism,” - Naghash Martirosyan commented.

During the meeting the lecturers of the Faculty of Journalism discussed with the American partners the similarities and differences of educational systems, the peculiarities of the subjects taught and a range of organizational issues.

Speaking about Syracuse University, Cheryl Reed mentioned that there is an emphasis on the practical part: student papers, radio, and broadcast programs are the main field for students. Touching upon the issues of the field, she pointed out the fall of interest towards investigative journalism, which is conditioned by other aspects of the youth’s preferences.

Former Chicago Tribune editor Gregory Stricharchuk expressed concern that nowadays students possess excellent technical knowledge of digital media, but they are weak in communication skills: “I had a practitioner who had to prepare material, and he was shocked that the meeting should be physically done and not by electronic correspondence.”

Speaking about professional literature, Cheryl Reed spoke about the experience of their university: “The textbooks are another philosophy at the university. Journalism should be taught through the experience and skills.”

At the end of the discussion, Dean of YSU Faculty of Journalism Naghash Martirosyan said that such cooperation will be of a continuous nature.