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In June 2013, Shalom Hartman Institute Director of Media and Internet Services Alan D. Abbey presented the iEngage Project “Reporting Jewish: Do Journalists Have the Tools to Succeed?” survey as the keynote speech of the 2013 American Jewish Press Association IAJPA) conference. The study focused on identifying the needs of and challenges facing Jewish media journalists and using this information to help journalists to succeed in reporting about their communities, Judaism and Israel in ways that are accurate and reliable.

 

The American Jewish Press Association is now using the results of Reporting Jewish research to formulate plans for professional development programs for its more than 300 members in North America, Europe, and Israel.

 

“This landmark project gave us an unprecedented profile of those in our field,” AJPA President Marshall Weiss said in a recent letter to association members published on the organization’s website. “The results will now serve as AJPA’s guide for how professionals in our field can become more successful in balancing work and communal responsibilities, and how we can best attract and train the next generation of journalists in Jewish media.”

 

Weiss said that his number one priority for 2013-2014 is to establish a committee to analyze the recommendations of the survey and to present final recommendations for implementation to the AJPA Executive Committee. His takeaway from Alan’s study of editors, reporters and writers in the field of Jewish journalism is that AJPA has a void to fill. "We can and should train our journalists about Jewish ethics and how to apply them to journalism. We can and should play more of a role in educating our journalists about Judaism and Israel overall."

 

AJPA is "putting its money where its mouth is" through a project to cultivate the next generation of Jewish journalists. In partnership with Shalhevet High School in Los Angeles, AJPA co-sponsored the first Jewish Scholastic Press Association conference. Sessions covered topics such as Jewish journalism ethics, covering Israel in the college press, press freedom in religious high schools, copyright law for newspapers and news websites, how to localize world and national news, page and double-page layout and design, photojournalism; and how to find news in the Torah.

 

Study author Alan D. Abbey is working with AJPA to develop courses and training for the group’s members to be presented at the 2014 conference in Cleveland.

 

Media coverage of the report came from the Jewish Journal, J Weekly, and Israel Hayom, among other media: