Short Courses of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas
Knight Center Offers Online Course for Mexican Journalists: Covering Drug TraffickingKnight Center Offers Online Course for Mexican Journalists: Covering Drug Trafficking
Knight Center instructor Álvaro Sierra explains in this video the content of the new course on Covering Drug Trafficking.
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas offered for the second time, the online course "Covering Drug Trafficking," from Aug. 3–Aug. 30, 2009 to journalists in Mexico. The course was co-sponsored by the Mexico City-based Center for Journalism and Public Ethics (CEPET).
The online course was offered for the first time by the Knight Center last April in which 50 journalists from 12 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean participated.
The course was free of charge and combines conceptual problems and practical elements that will help journalists understand and provide responsible coverage of the complex topic of drug trafficking.
The course explored the following questions:
Is the business of illegal drugs adequately covered in the media?
Is it possible to report on drug trafficking, despite the threat to journalists?
How is drug trafficking covered in other countries with lower risk?
How does one manage relationships with dangerous sources?
What are the characteristics of illegal drug trafficking?
Why are some drugs prohibited?
The class was conducted entirely online. Each week's course consisted of a video lecture and transcription. Students were expected to participate in weekly online discussion forums and chat sessions. Homework included written and virtual assignments, and group work was assigned.
Participants also analyzed articles, conducted online research, viewed and discussed videos, and visited online sites. The class also explored how new technologies such as blogs help journalists cover drug trafficking and also assist traffickers themselves.
Students interested in digging deeper into the weekly topic had access to both required and suggested lectures. At the end of the course, they were able to access a bibliography and source list and were able to save the materials from the four weeks.
Applications were accepted until July 20, and the course is now closed.
Álvaro Sierra is a renowned journalist and instructor who currently teaches how to cover armed conflicts at the United Nations' University for Peace in San José, Costa Rica. He was formerly the editor of the editorial page of Bogotá's El Tiempo newspaper, and a correspondent in Russia (1990-1997) and China (1998-2000). He has extensive experience covering armed conflicts as a local reporter and a foreign correspondent.
Sierra was assisted by two employees of the Knight Center who are graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin. Robin Schwartz is a student in the dual Masters program in Journalism and Latin American Studies, specializing in the topic of immigration. Rachel Barrera, instructional and technical assistant, is a doctoral student at the School of Education.
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas was created by Professor Rosental Calmon Alves at the University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism in August 2002 thanks to a generous donation from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
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