By Houda Trabelsi for Magharebia in Tunis – 17/05/11 Two recent workshops in Tunisia laid the foundation for a newly invigorated free press. The Amman-based Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) organised the training sessions to teach Tunisian media professionals the basics of the field. “The two workshops inaugurate the first fruits of ARIJ activities in Tunisia since the change of the political regime, early this year,” ARIJ Executive Director Rana Sabbagh told Magharebia. She said the programmes, which wrapped up May 13th, “focused on techniques for preparation and building of theories, in order to carry out investigative reports, write them, and check their quality according to the methodology of our NGO”. “The participants also address the legal and ethical aspects of the journalistic work, as well as the use of IT by the journalist for the organisation of their files and for the maximisation of the outcomes of the investigative reports,” Sabbagh added. Several prominent journalism experts attended the event, including INSEAD professor Mark Hunter, Egyptian Omar Kahki with the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ) and Pia Thordson, a member of the ARIJ board of directors and the Danish Association for Investigative Journalism. Sabbagh said they contributed with “intensive interactive lectures” and debates on investigative journalism. The first workshop, held May 6th-8th, aimed at training 12 editors and supervisors who will form a core team in charge of investigative reporting. Participants were chosen based on their experience in Arabic language news and their ability to use computers. “I have, in fact, after such training, discovered investigative reports on scientific basis, which will help us as journalists, especially in the current moment, under the supervision of ARIJ, to reveal several corruption affairs, without committing any legal mistakes,” Tunisian National Radio correspondent Boutheina Gouia said. The second workshop, held May 9th-13th, focused on teaching journalists how to write elaborate investigative reports. A day was added to the originally planned schedule in order to accommodate training in how to build digital files, follow up on websites and protect their work using a “computer-aided reporting” course. “I took a big advantage from the training and I hope that the Tunisian journalists will benefit from other training sessions, especially that we suffer from a lack of independence of the fourth power, and thus suffer sometimes from a lack of professionalism needed to contribute to the development of the media industry,” trainee Riheb Mezni said. ARIJ also plans to hold similar workshops in Tunis through the end of July. “The Tunisian revolution gave way to journalists to activate the role of the press in monitoring and holding accountable after decades of absence,” Sabbagh said. She also added that “Tunisian journalists have a great opportunity to introduce investigative journalism to the editorial office, in order to unveil abuses, malpractices, corruption, and eventually negative habits and traditions in local societies.” This content was commissioned for Magharebia.com.