Tudor Vlad of the University of Georgia has worked for 20 years to help journalism programs in emerging democracies “take the media destiny in their own hands.”
Pausing to collect his thoughts in an interview on Monday, Vlad explained how communist regimes throughout the world tend to have the same effects on journalists. “They will do as they are told, and nothing bad will happen. Nothing good will happen either,” Vlad said.
Vlad has emphasized the need for a change of mentality in the journalism programs of these developing countries.
Vlad described this mentality in his rich Eastern-European accent as “the idea that there is a structure above that is thinking for them.”
Working through the Cox International Center, Vlad has changed this viewpoint amongst some journalists in emerging democracies by encouraging them to increase levels of dialogue with the government.
Vlad has also brought these aspiring journalists back to the University of Georgia to study the role of print media in the U.S. and has redesigned the journalism curriculums in these developing countries’ schools.
Responding to a final question regarding the source of inspiration for his work, Vlad thoughtfully nodded his head and said, “helping journalists create and generate accountable and indispensable media is very important.”
No comments:
Post a Comment