The Roma Integration Program’s media initiatives promote non-biased reporting, counter discriminatory stereotypes, and enable Roma journalists to cultivate the necessary skills to thrive in diverse media environments. The resulting shift in majority-minority relations is vital to further Roma integration. Central to the media initiative are the internship programs in mainstream media outlets.

Partners-Hungary, in collaboration with the Ministry for Equal Opportunities, began supporting internship opportunities for five Roma journalists on Hungarian State Television (MTV) in January 2006. A mentor works with the group, giving advice and professional guidance, and conducting trainings. The interns gain valuable experience editing and producing stories and acting as reporters – in fact one intern is working for the main evening news show. In the fall of 2006, the interns will produce a one-hour show on Radio C, and two interns will visit the BBC for a week.

Six interns have begun work in the Czech Republic. Three of the aspiring journalists have positions with Czech TV, one young Romani woman is a writer for Mladá fronta Dnes, a leading national newspaper, and two interns are working with Czech Radio. Below is a clip about the Czech intern program from the Prague Post.

Romani Student Journalists Find Mainstream Media Opportunities Prague Post May 25, 2006 Romani student journalists find mainstream media opportunities challenging and a disproportionately small number end up in key reporter positions. But the Roma Integration Program, an internship system funded by USAID, has placed four Roma students with Prague media outlets and two more are expected to start shortly. Vera Duzdová (Mladá fronta Dnes), Denisa Tiserová, Aladar Olach and David Tiser (Czech TV) are already settled in while Kristian Drapák and Věra Horvathová will join Czech Radio. The year-long internships provide practical training toward high-level media careers. The Partners-Czech organization is part of the international nonprofit Partners for Democratic Change, charged with overseeing the internship program along with Partners-Hungary and Partners-Slovakia. The students receive real-life experiences in broadcast newsrooms and editorial departments, and they recognize the possibilities such work grants. Those involved in the program expect the six to remain in media positions at the conclusion of their training period and serve as role models for the next group of Roma media hopefuls. Partners-Czech also facilitates policy roundtables, school-based initiatives and other projects to improve the integration process. The Roma Integration Program is a broad effort to identify social development and community needs across nine [sic] target communities in the Czech Republic alone.

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