Syria Direct
Syria Direct or Syria:direct, founded in 2013, is a non-governmental organization based in Amman, Jordan, providing news coverage on Syria's war and politics, and giving training to journalists.[1][2] They have been funded by an American organization, the "Global Peace and Development (GPD) Charitable Trust", and by the US State Department.[3][4]
Online news
Syria Direct is published in English and Arabic. The articles are for readers who are already knowledgeable about Syria but want more detailed information.[5] Syria Direct employs about 24 Syrians and Americans who talk to Syrian activists and civilians on both sides of the conflict every day by Skype. Syrian journalists write the stories in Arabic. The stories are translated to English, fact-checked and edited, then translated back to Arabic. Their website receives about 50,000 page views every month. Their Facebook page has 77,000 followers.[2] Thousands of people follow their Twitter account.[6]
Journalism training
Syria Direct also has a training program for journalists from Syria. In the past, the training program has received funding from the US Embassy Amman's Public Affairs Section, the Syria office of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung organization, and the Canadian Embassy in Amman.[7] Every six months they train twelve new Syrian journalists. The trainees' stories have been published in USA Today, CNN.com, Radio Free Europe, and international new organizations like Le Monde and The Toronto Globe and Mail.[6] Syria Direct had by September 2016 trained 70 journalists, some of whom have since started their own news organizations.[1]
Editorial staff
Executive Editor Kristen Demilio is a graduate of Columbia University in the US and of Institut Français des Etudes Arabes (French Institute for Arab Studies) in Damascus, Syria, with over 10 years experience in Middle East journalism.[7]
References
- 1 2 Naar, Ismaeel (23 September 2016). "Jordanian journalist wins Emmy award for CBS Syria documentary". Al Arabiya English.
- 1 2 "Syrian journalists cover civil war at home from Jordan exile".
- ↑ "Syria Direct". gpdcharitabletrust.org.
- ↑ "Syrian journalists cover war at home from Jordan". Gulf News. 4 August 2016.
- ↑ "Conoce Syria Direct, un equipo de periodistas que cubre Siria desde el exilio".
- 1 2 John DeBlasio (19 January 2016). "GPD Charitable Trust Annual Report 2015".
- 1 2 "About Us - Syria Direct". 9 March 2017.
External links
- Syria Direct website
- Parker-Magyar, Katherine (2015). "Remote Control: Journalistic Objectivity from Abroad". www.cpcjmedia2015.com.