Background

With the financial support of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Competitiveness Support Fund initiated the program of sponsoring Pakistani journalists for participation in the Innovation Journalism (INJO) Fellowship Program at Stanford University in California in 2006.

The INJO program at Stanford University focuses on building the capacity of media professionals to report on innovation, develop interaction between journalism and innovation, including how innovation is changing the profession and business of journalism, how to cover innovation in the news, and how journalism links innovation with society. 

The Innovation Journalism Fellowship Program aims to develop innovation journalism leadership. This involves forming a collegial network of innovation journalism leaders, identifying and developing best practices, shaping a common understanding of professional ethics and innovation journalism’s role in society and understanding and developing business models of innovation journalism.

Over a period of four months every year, each group of journalists gets to refine their expertise in reporting on innovation and build international collegial networks. The time is divided between working with top tier US-based newsrooms on covering innovation and participating in fellows’ group activities at Stanford. 

Apart from the long-term fellowship, CSF also sends another four journalists for the Innovation Journalism Conference that takes place towards the end of the fellowship. The fellows obtain a better understanding of innovation processes, experience different journalism cultures and entrepreneurial viewpoints, observe international aspects of the innovation economy and become a part of an international network of innovation journalists. 

Each Pakistani group comprises four journalists working on business, technology, politics or other relevant fields of journalism that cover innovation. After completing the program, the fellows receive a Stanford certificate. An alumni program supports the established networks after their fellowship period ends. The newest batch of 2010 fellows has now been selected by Stanford University under the selection criteria developed by the University.

Objectives at a glance:

1. Increase public focus on innovation, business and technology through the Pakistan news media
2. Improving communication within clusters and innovation systems, bolstering economic development
3. Encouraging greater understanding of the rapidly developing global innovation economy
4. Recognition of innovation journalism as a practice of bridging the existing gap between business and science/technology in the news
5. Increased understanding of the role of journalism and the news in driving innovation
6. Creating an international community of innovation journalists supported by an alumni network
7. Enhanced personal networks between international fellows and US hosts
8. Nurturing greater understanding of a fellow’s society in his/her US hosting media organizations
9. Fostering understanding on how the elite universities operate

The achievements/Impact

Since 2006, CSF has sponsored 20 journalists for the Stanford Innovation Journalism Program while another four – part of the 2010 program – have now been selected.

The journalists on their return act as master trainers and teach other journalists in better practices, utilizing the knowledge and competence developed at Stanford to make journalism in Pakistan more competitive through innovation journalism, covering technology and modern techniques. The result of this has been that many TV channels and newspapers have started implementing technical and professional innovations in their media outputs with the result that quality work is coming out in education, citizen rights, technology, agriculture, economy, and self improvement.

Because of the interaction with Stanford and newsrooms in the West, Pakistani TV channels such as DawnNews, Geo and Samaa have started using various innovations including student and citizen journalism segments, awareness campaigns and programs based on better practices on a variety of topics. The words ‘Innovation’ and ‘Competitiveness’ have now become familiar jargon in TV and print reports. Media people who underwent courses at Stanford are now looked upon as experts in their field and have been offered better jobs and better salaries. 

The CSF-Stanford program has also resulted in capacity building workshops organized by CSF in Pakistan with the first being held at the Serena, Islamabad, in October 2008. More than 80 journalists from Lahore and Islamabad attended the workshop. Similar workshops are being planned in 2010.

Journalists sent for training to Stanford since 2006

1. Aamir Jahangir (CEO Samaa TV)
2. Fatima Akhtar (Manager/Producer Innovation Samaa TV)
3. Khaleeq Kiyani (Dawn)
4. Ihtesham-ul-Haq (Chief Reporter Dawn, Currently Director News North Samaa TV)
5.  Asad Kaleem (Assignment Editor, Aaj TV)
6.  Afzal Bajwa (Senior Reporter, The Nation, Islamabad)
7. Hamza Habib (Business News Editor Geo TV, Karachi)
8. Karim Maddad (Economic Editor APP, Islamabad)
9. Khalid Mustafa (Special Correspondent, The News, Islamabad)
10. Zameer Haider (Senior Producer Aaj TV, currently Senior Reporter Dunya TV)
11. Sadia Fazal (Resident Editor Business Recorder)
12. Phyza Jameel (Acting Bureau Chief CNBC)
13. Faisal Rehman (Director News North News One)
14. Sara Hassan (Reporter Aaj TV)
15. Osama Hashmi (Director Green and White)
16. Arif Rana (Senior Reporter Business Recorder, currently with Samaa TV)
17. Nadia Zafar (Producer/Anchor DawnNews)
18. Mubarak Zeb Khan (Senior Reporter Dawn, Islamabad) 
19. Shahzada Irfan (Assistant Editor, The News, Lahore)
20. Adnan Mahmood (The News, Lahore)

The 2010 batch for Stanford

1. Shehryar Mufti (DawnNews)
2. Fariha Razak Haroon (Geo TV)
3. Fatima Akhtar (Samaa TV)
4. Hina Malik (News Week Pakistan)

The selection mechanism

CSF entered into collaboration with Stanford University California, USA, in 2006 with the objective of sending Pakistani Journalists to Stanford University to be part of the institution’s prestigious Innovation Journalism Fellowship Program. CSF is the only organization in Pakistan that sponsors journalists every year to attend the program at Stanford University. Interested candidates can apply through CSF’s on-line registration form that can be found at CSF’s website www.competitiveness.org.pk . 

The selection criteria for the Stanford University Fellowship Program as set and developed by Stanford University is:

1. The candidate is a senior journalist and should have made a mark in his/her respective field;
2. Be reporting on technology, innovation, business and finance;
3. Have the potential to do well and deal with the stresses of working in a foreign newsroom.
4. Compatibility
5. Understanding of innovation concepts
6. Track record in developing relevant content
7. Influence amongst contemporaries
8. Aptitude for innovative thinking
9. Submit a letter from your organization stating that you are permitted to go to Stanford and have been granted leave for the duration of the fellowship
10. Will come back and serve the organization he/she represents for at least one year and pass on the lessons learnt at Stanford to colleagues

Once this criteria is met a shortlist of relevant journalists is drawn up. The candidates are interviewed by CSF and senior journalists and the list provided to Stanford University.

David Nordfors, Director of Innovation Journalism Program at Stanford, subsequently contacts and conducts phone interviews with possible candidates after CSF provided overviews detailing their area of expertise, experience and compatibility. His approval of the journalists brings the mechanism to conclusion.

Fellowships: http://injo.stanford.edu/node/59

Innovation Journalism Blog: http://www.innovationjournalism.org