By AP/KWMU
Columbia, MO – A retired journalism professor at the University of Missouri has been helping train journalists for the Arab news agency Al-Jazeera.
Roger Gafke says he knows his work with Al-Jazeera will have its critics. But he says the workshops he's conducted for supervisors at Al-Jazeera's news and sports channels, along with its website, will help bridge a gap between the agency and Western media. He was part of two ten-day workshops in November and January.
Al-Jazeera has more than 30 bureaus around the world and is often the first news organization to receive communication from terror organizations and Osama bin Laden. It plans to launch an English-language channel in April.
Gafke says Mizzou knows about his workshops, but has not been involved in them.