Need for training of journos stressed

7 July 2010, 18:00 PM

Bss, Dhaka

Prof Dr Gareth Stanton of London University yesterday underscored the need for rigorous training of journalists to raise the quality of journalism for preservation of the fragile environment. Praising the quality of environment reporting in Bangladesh, he said it could be flourished further with proper training and skill development at Dhaka University Mass Communications and Journalism Department in collaboration with Forum of Environmental Journalists of Bangladesh (FEJB) and Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) and similar media institutions. Prof Dr Gareth, head of department of Media and Communications, made the comments while attending a discussion at FEJB. Dhaka University's head of Mass Communications and Journalism Department Prof Dr Geeti Ara Nasrin, FEJB Chairman Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, General Secretary Hasan Hafiz, Prof Shameem Reza and Prof Shudangshu Shekhar Roy, Rafiqur Rahman of Reuters, Ashish-ur-Rahman Shubho of Daily Prothom Alo, Shawkat Jamil of The Daily Star, Harun Jamil of The Daily Naya Diganta, Qader Gani Chowdhury of The Daily Ittefaq, Shamima Chowdhury, Fawzia Nasrin, Shahidul Islam, Anisur Rahman also spoke at the discussion. Prof Geeti Ara said Dhaka University Journalism and Mass Communications Department was now considering to introduce both under-graduate and post-graduate courses on environment reporting and photography from next year. Quamrul briefed about the evolution of environment journalism in Bangladesh and challenges of both electronic and print media reporting in the face of environmental degradation and adverse impacts of climate change. He handed over sets of FEJB publications to Prof Dr Gareth Stanton and Prof Dr Geeti Ara.