The continuing education program of the Columbia Journalism School in New York City will offer a 3-day safety course for journalists working in conflict zones and other high-risk areas. The course, to be held October 19 through 21, will teach journalists, including freelancers, “to think critically about how to work effectively and safely in volatile situations such as war/conflict or disaster zones, with emphasis on prevention of harm.” The lead instructor, Judith Matloff, is on the adjunct faculty at Columbia Journalism.

The course will cover risk assessment, avoiding dangers, emergency first aid, cyber security and secure communications, trauma and the prevention of rape and assault. The course description says, “Participants will emerge with a better understanding of how to hire fixers, shun attackers or [sic] protect computers.”

The course will enroll no more than 25 students. The course costs $695, but a limited number of scholarships for freelancers are being funded by Rory Peck Trust and The Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence. Applications for scholarships should be submitted at the same time as applications for the course.

Details can be found on the Columbia.edu web site:
www.journalism.columbia.edu/page/738-reporting-in-crisis-zones/557

(Thanks to Teru Kuwayama and Lightstalkers for the heads up.)

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Tags: Columbia Journalism School, conflict zones, journalist, Judith Matloff, safety

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 17th, 2012 at 9:51 am ET by Holly Hughes and is filed under Photojournalism.