Donor: IFA Media-Im-Pakt and the Stability Pact for South East Europe
Duration of project: September 2005 – March 2006
The purpose of the project was to create the first high-quality online youth magazine in Serbia that would serve both as a reliable online source of youth-related information and as a ground stone for developing an editorial/technical mechanism for the future printed “UPS!” Magazine. For six issues of e-Magazine that were produced all of the articles were produced in cooperation between the experienced and one or two inexperienced journalists. This way the young journalists have been able to learn from their older colleague on a real-life example.We have also organised a complex journalist training, which has lasted for two months. At the Magazine’s we have kept the level of ten articles each month. It was published 6 issues of the Magazine, with at least 60 articles, through a period of six months – September – March 2006. The articles were grouped into five main sections: Education, Fun, Society, World, and Intimate Life.
Originally the team consisted of around 10 journalists that were previously active in the Magazine; most of them are quite experienced – and a bit older then our target group members; so BCHR have decided to call for new and younger people that would bring the Magazine closer to our readers. Once we did it, on one side we have had the experience – and on the other we have had lots of enthusiasm without much journalist knowledge.
Since the most of them were relatively inexperienced in investigative journalism, from the very beginning they had opportunity to attend a special training organised for them and do their first practical journalist tasks, in co-operation with and under supervision of experienced journalists from the editorial board. The training process began at the very start of the group’s work, with two workshops (on 6th and 13th of October, 2005), dealing with the organisation of the team, explaining and discussing the editorial policy, planning and realising the first issue.
