BY AfricaNews Monitoring Team
New Business Media and Communications PLC, which recently joined Ethiopian private media arena to publish a daily English newspaper New Business Ethiopia, launches basic online journalism training program for Ethiopians.

The theoretical and practical journalism training is said will enable the media house to have correspondents and freelancers in every part of Ethiopia. The media plans to train and recruit interested Ethiopians living in different regions of the country as freelancers and correspondents.

"The main objective of this online basic journalism training is to train Ethiopians who have passion for journalism on how they can write news, articles and blog their day to day observations," said Andualem Sisay, CEO of New Business Media and Communications plc, which released the online version of the upcoming newspaper- www.newbusinessethiopia.com

"Our key targets are individuals who live in different towns and cities of the country and have Internet access. It doesn't matter in which profession they are engaged now or whether they are university students, we train and recruit them as our regional correspondents at the end of the course and also assist them on how they run their own active blogs," he says.

"The online version enables us to serve the global audience who have some interest in Ethiopia, while the hard-copy is expected to have its own positive impact in the development of Ethiopian private press,” he noted.

The training, which will start with the first 100 students in May 2010, will be conducted in collaboration with university journalism instructors from Ethiopia and
abroad.

The company also hopes to get necessary support from Ethiopia’s development partners who are assisting the democratization process of the country where press freedom is one component.

"We are happy to share our knowledge and experience in journalism with any one who is interested to become a professional journalist and willing to play key role in the democratization process of Ethiopia," said Mekuria Mekasha, Assistant Professor of Journalism at the Addis Ababa University.

New Business Media and Communications PLC has recently got license from the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade and Industry registration number 1411/2002 and the Ethiopia Broadcasting Authority registration number 135/02 to publish Daily English Newspaper, New Business Ethiopia.

Peter Vlam, Co-founder of Africa Interactive, an online media based in the Netherlands on his part said that Ethiopia, which the largest East African market deserve to have professional journalists who can show the real picture of the fast-growing nation.

“To realize this, we are willing to collaborate with New Business Media and Communications plc and teach on how anyone can become a blogger, an online journalist or a reporter,” he said.

The information obtained from newbusinessethiopia.com states that by moving Ethiopian private press to the next era, New Business Ethiopia aims to show a better balanced and multifaceted image of the Ethiopia.

"We are convinced that news stories, photographs and videos about Ethiopia’s business, political and social developments need to be much more available to Internet users," it says.

Now, Ethiopians who have passion for journalism and interested to get basic theoretical and practical online journalism training to work New Business Ethiopia are invited to get registered at:http://ethiopiannewerajournalists.ning.comm