While traversing India in 2018, Paul Salopek will teach a series of National Geographic workshops for professional journalists in Indian cities, which I’m producing in collaboration with prominent Indian journalists and media institutions.
Launched in Delhi the week of May 14, these workshops will enable a group of selected journalists—early- to mid-career professionals, prominent freelancers, and nominated journalism students—to train in the techniques of “slow" journalism by incorporating walking, in-depth observation, and immersion into their methods of reportage, as they seek untold stories on the boulevards and backstreets of Delhi.
“By slowing down to the pace of his footsteps, Paul reminds us that storytelling, an art that dates back to the first ever campfire, is not a destination but a quest, not a goal but a journey without end,” says Prem Panicker, former editor-in-chief of Yahoo! India and India Abroad, who will serve as faculty for the workshop along with Salopek, me, and renowned photojournalist Arati Kumar Rao. “Paul also reminds us of the inestimable value of immersion and provides us with a model to emulate, at whatever scale we are capable of,” Panicker says.
On foot through northwestern India. Journalists participating in the workshops will be encouraged to enrich their reporting by slowing down to walk speed.
Paul Salopek
Workshop participants will produce fully developed stories for print, broadcast, online, or other media, to be reported on foot and brought to fruition over the course of the four-day workshop. Their work will be brought to the Indian public by their home publications in association with the National Geographic Society. In addition, workshop faculty will maintain contact with reporters and their editors afterward, to gauge the reaction of Indian audiences and other long-term outcomes.
The inaugural course in Delhi will be followed by slow journalism workshops in Chennai in early September and Kolkata in mid-November. For more information or to apply for a place in an upcoming workshop, please contact Prem Panicker at prem.panicker@gmail.com.
During his 25 years as a National Geographic writer and senior editor, Don Belt authored more than two dozen feature stories for the magazine. He now teaches journalism at the University of Richmond. He’s on Twitter @dbelt50.
