The first offline meeting of the Competing Narratives project, led by n-ost in cooperation with the Media Initiatives Center, was successfully concluded in Yerevan.
In early July, editors and journalists from Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine engaged in meaningful discussions on the importance of high-quality opinion pieces on foreign policy.
We delved into the relevance of neighboring countries to our audience, strategies to enhance foreign reporting in newsrooms, and the unique aspects of op-eds focused on regional politics.
Media Initiatives Center hosts the first workshop for journalists from 5 countries in Yerevan
Aka Zarkua, editor at Realpolitika: "People in Georgia think Armenia is just a coutry next door and do not bother to find out more. It must be changed"
"Journalism is becoming even more self-concerned. People in Turkey do not have an orientation to learn about Caucasus, if something is done, it is a basic show-off war reporting.", says Can Ertuna
"Journalists in Armenia are not used to writing commentaries, the media I work for usually invites experts to express their opinion. Writing op-eds by myself is a challenge", said Tatevik Harutyunyan
Participants from Moldova explain how their newsrooms cover foreign affairs
The questions raised during the workshop inspired both debate and reflection