A three-day training on “Entrepreneurial Journalism: Planning, Starting and Growing Digital News Startups in Pakistan” was held in Karachi on January 15th, 16th and 17th, 2021, with journalists from Sindh and Balochistan.
A total of 21 participants attended the training, out of which 8 were females and 13 were males.
On the first day of the training, Mr. Ahmer Naqvi (creative consultant and writer) and Mr. Ayaz Khan (founder MOJO Pakistan) led the training segments on fundamentals of entrepreneurial journalism and mobile journalism respectively. Mr. Masood Raza (senior journalist) conducted a guest speaker session on ethical journalism in the digital age.
The focus of the training on the first day were digital content creation, understanding audience and picking the right platform for content.
Mr. Marjan Arbab (Startup Manager, National Incubation Centre, Karachi) and Muhammad Mustafa Ahmedzai (founder JHONUM, web developer and digital media influencer) took the second day of training by storm in their sessions and worked with participants to help them understand digital media marketing, entrepreneurship and building digital news startups.
“In past few years I have realized how important it is for journalists to have their own platforms, and this program is helping us build those platforms. This training is helping in refreshing our brains and changing our mindsets,” said Raja Kamran, a participant.
The session on the second day focused on more hands-on learning about practical tools and tips to engage audience, increase outreach and numbers of subscribers.
The final day of the training included a day-long session by Mr. Badar Khushnood (founder Bramerz Pakistan and a growth-hacker) followed by a panel discussion including Ms. Najia Ashar (founder GNMI), Ms. Marjan Arbab (National Incubation Center Karachi), Mr. Ayaz Khan (founder Mojo Pakistan) and Mr. Badar Khushnood.
The third day of the training was about learning ways to monetize platforms, understanding the current digital media landscape in Pakistan, and Mr. Khushnood also touched upon the policy-related updates that journalists and content creators should know before launching startups.
Participants also created digital content during the training in the form of blogs and vlogs and shared positive feedback for the training.