In 2015, JMI witnessed important achievements that consolidated its position as an academic institution offering quality education through its Master’s in Journalism and New Media, as well as its training courses and collaboration with other select media entities.
Following is a summary of the most notable of these achievements.
First: Academic Field
Implementation of the thesis track continued for a second consecutive year, with a total of 30 students. JMI and the University of Jordan carried on with the legislative, academic and administrative procedures governing their academic cooperation agreement. The regulations for granting the Master’s degree were amended to include the thesis track students. JMI also published two guidebooks: one on writing the Master’s thesis and the second on research priorities in the institute’s media study fields.
Twenty students from the sixth intake graduated in 2015, while 32 students comprising the seventh intake enrolled in the MA program: 23 students in the comprehensive examination track and 9 in the thesis track. Since 21 thesis track and two comprehensive examination track students from the sixth intake did not complete their study plan requirements and stayed on at the JMI, the total number of MA students reached 55, the highest figure since the institute’s establishment.
JMI also continued to implement the guest lecturer program, study trips and extra-curricular activities for students. The institute hosted 23 visiting lecturers this year; convened 15 workshops and conferences; and sent the majority of students abroad on five trips.
Attendance at lectures went up to 93% this year, while attendance at curricular activities rose to 86.7%.
Moreover, 92% of JMI graduates secured jobs in journalism and media fields.
Second: Projects and Research
A main achievement in 2015 was the establishment of a media research unit at the JMI, constituting the first such entity for media studies at a Jordanian academic institution. The dean directly supervises research work assigned to the unit, in addition to employing temporary research assistants, some of them JMI alumni, with remuneration provided from the research project budgets.
This year, the unit worked on three research projects: a content analysis study on “Human Rights Violations in Jordanian Media Outlets” in cooperation with the Canada’s Journalists for Human Rights organization; an “Assessment of the Population Communication and Production Unit at Jordan Radio and Television” in cooperation with the USAID-funded JCAP project; and the “Status of Media Professionalism in Jordan (2015-2016)” report in cooperation with the King Abdullah II Fund for Development.
In the projects sphere, JMI continued to implement its ongoing projects, including the “Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (Akeed)”, which enhanced its reputation in local media circles for the second year, publishing approximately 185 news reports. Activities of the “Expanding dialogue on human rights through the media” project with Journalists for Human Rights also continued. These consisted of training courses on human rights and data journalism; two studies monitoring human rights violations in the Jordanian press; and the launch of the Human Rights Reporting Award, the first of its kind in Jordan.
Cooperation continued with the Norwegian Institute of Journalism, such as organizing and supporting the “Television and Radio Broadcasting Conference: Policies, Transformations and Challenges”. Moreover, four training courses were organized for students as part of the cooperation program.
Achievements also marked four other projects: the USAID-funded “Cooperation with the Jordan Communication, Advocacy and Policy (J-CAP)” activity; “Media Reforms in the MENA Region (MedMedia)” in cooperation with BBC Media Action and funded by the EU; Cooperation Program with the Swedish Postcode Lottery Culture Foundation and Reporters without Borders Organization in Sweden (2014-2015), which concluded at the end of summer this year; and the EU-funded project “Cooperation with the Anna Lindh Foundation as part of the Net-Med Youth Project” in cooperation with UNESCO.
Third: Training
JMI organized 29 training activities this year, including workshops and courses, benefitting 580 trainees from various media institutions, as opposed to 37 training activities for 671 Jordanian and Arab trainees in 2014. Thus, the 2015 training indicators fell by 21.6% compared with last year.
JMI supervised five external training courses on sports journalism implemented by Daem for Media Center and funded by the King Abdullah II Fund for Development. Trainees from Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Libya, Oman, Tunisia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan took part in the program.
This year’s training programs were implemented in partnership with 18 local and international entities. JMI also announced, for the first time, paid training programs in the form of quarterly plans, three of which were implemented in 2015.
JMI sought to expand its regional network and build cooperative training networks with established training centers. As a result, joint programs were conducted with Aljazeera Media Training and Development Center in Jordan, and training courses were initiated in the Sultanate of Oman.
Fourth: Institutional Framework
JMI enhanced its institutional performance by developing a comprehensive system of internal legislation. The institute also completed the electronic archiving, documentation and administration system launched in 2014.
In 2015, upgrades in methodologies and equipment helped to boost JMI’s academic and administrative capacities. These included free access to databases and search engines in cooperation with the University of Jordan, allowing students to use around 20 global databases; a 24-passenger capacity bus as a gift from the Royal Court; the acquisition of updated and new cameras, equipment, sound systems and spare parts.
JMI continued to enhance its local, regional and international standing and relations by signing seven agreements and MoUs with internal and external parties. In 2015, the institute doubled its activities compared with the average for the past four years. Media outlets published 576 news items about JMI this year.
Fifth: Resources and Sustainability
Administrative costs constituted the largest area of spending at 40%, up by 5.3% compared with 2014. The Master’s degree program followed at 37.4%, a 3.3% drop compared with 2014.