Global Neighborhood for Media Innovation (GNMI) has launched a virtual Media Incubation Center and Accelerator Platform (MICAP) to conduct activities under the second phase of the Pakistan Entrepreneurial Journalism Program.
The courses offered by MICAP are designed to support independent journalism by helping journalists understand digital media, content creation, laws and policies governing cyberspace and accounting. The aim is to provide tips and information on setting up and sustaining independent digital news outlets, in light of the growing pressures on the media industry especially after the covid-19 pandemic.
MICAP offers 30 hours of online training on:
- Digital Content Creation
- Monetization Tools & Strategies
- Digital Marketing Strategy
- E-commerce in Digital News Media
- Startup Accounting & Finance
- Digital Security & Safety
- Cyber Laws – Policies & Regulations
The courses will contain syllabus, case studies, assignments, worksheets, presentations and videos as well as live sessions where journalists will be connected to experts and industry leaders of each course. These experts will serve as trainers and mentors for the selected journalists.
In the first phase of the Pakistan Entrepreneurial Journalism Program, journalists, digital news content creators, and independent bloggers/vloggers from across Pakistan received a three-day training. 20 best news startup ideas were then incubated by GNMI.
Participants of Phase 2 will attend more advanced and technical training and one-on-one mentorship. This will help them craft their startup ideas into a sustainable business model by understanding their target audience’s needs and building revenue opportunities.
The inaugural training session at the launch of MICAP was conducted by Director of Teaching, Learning and Assessment at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, Jeremy Caplan. Caplan is a journalist who has written on business, culture and technology for Time Magazine before becoming an educator. His focus of teaching is new trends in digital journalism and has been a pioneer in the field of teaching entrepreneurial journalism.
In his 2-hour session, Caplan focused on the changes in the news media ecosystem especially in light of the covid-19 pandemic. He spoke about the various opportunities present in digital journalism and explained different business models to sustain news media startups.
SESSION WITH NUNO VARGAS
Nuno Vargas, a Digital Product and Strategy Consultant who has co-built and lead digital projects for clients including Facebook, Google News Lab, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Deutsche Welle and International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) delivered a training on digital content creation via MICAP, a platform for digital media entrepreneurship designed for independent journalists in Pakistan.
Nuno’s training session covered technology and innovation in news media and how journalists can avail opportunities from it. He spoke to journalists about changes in the news media ecosystem, especially after the pandemic, and how to positively gain from the developments.
He focused on talking about the importance of creating dialogue with the startup’s audience, and how that should be a driver for entrepreneurs on what services they provide, and how they provide it.
Nuno also reviewed the journalists’ news startup ideas and assisted them in honing their ideas, by giving feedback and advice on their methods of engagement with users, and monetization strategies.
The training was conducted via MICAP, a platform designed to promote independent journalism in Pakistan by supporting news media entrepreneurship, which is a flagship component of media development non-profit Global Neighborhood for Media Innovation (GNMI)’s Pakistan Entrepreneurial Journalism Program.