Rabat, Morocco

The students arrive tomorrow.

The newsroom we are creating for our students in the heart of Rabat ‘s medina is as close to a US news bureau as one can find in this country, a country rife with protest and surrounded by Arab Spring revolutions. The US students will be paired with Moroccan journalism students who speak English.   Closely – and rigorously — mentored by me and Dr. Taieb Belghazi, a cultural studies professor at the University of Mohammad V in Rabat,

they will learn from Moroccan academics who study everything from literacy to women’s issues to Islamic movements along with a broad cross-section of Moroccans from rappers and film-makers to civil society groups working on issues such as domestic violence and legal reform.  This in-depth study of the issues will be combined with the mechanics and ethics of journalism along with intensive field reporting and rigorous editing.

I want to show these students first-hand how important, fascinating and rewarding it is to be a journalist in a world that’s more interconnected than ever before.  And what a difference one journalist can make.  I expect some insightful reporting from our newsroom in Morocco