Workshop: Reporting Islam

The Reporting Islam Project’s Mark Pearson and Abdi Hersi present this workshop for journalists, journalism educators and journalism students – focussing on how to report mosque proposals.

Research shows that Australians have low levels of knowledge about Islam and Muslims, with 83% reporting knowing ‘little to nothing’ about either. Recent research also shows that journalists’ baseline knowledge about Islam and Muslims is one contributor to inaccurate and stereotyped reporting.

By storyboarding news coverage of a mosque proposal and a resulting protest, this workshop will introduce journalists to some of the resources developed by the Reporting Islam Project. The project aims improve the fairness, ethics and accuracy of media reporting on matters relating to Islam and Muslim communities – in hopes of promoting social cohesion, understanding and cooperation.