Visiting scholar to take journalism lessons to Eastern Europe

Kaladze to model training for Georgian journalists on KU

A scholar from the Eastern European nation of Georgia is acquiring new techniques for teaching journalism from experts at KU.

Natia Kaladze, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia in Tbilisi, will complete her six-month KU residency in May. During her stay, Kaladze has been learning the latest in technology, converged media, instruction methods and school accreditation.

The University of Georgia is a relatively young school. Kaladze founded the journalism school there after realizing that the nation was short on trained professional journalists. Georgia, which became an independent country in 1991, previously was under Soviet rule, and media outlets were controlled by the government.

“We want to be more open,” Kaladze said. “We want to train a new generation of journalists who value free media.”

The University of Georgia offers a bachelor’s in journalism and two-year master’s programs in media management, public affairs journalism and public relations. Especially important for Kaladze is the public affairs program, the first of its kind in Georgia in the post-Soviet era.

The Georgian journalism school has about 400 students, but the numbers are increasing each year. Kaladze said that 100 freshmen will be admitted to the school this fall.

“She’s soaking up everything she can here,” said Tom Volek, associate professor of journalism at KU and Kaladze’s mentor. “We’ve very pleased to have her. She’s very smart, and we’re learning many things from her.”

Perhaps one of the most beneficial aspects of her visit is the opportunity to observe a new class at KU called Media and the Military. The course explores the relationship — and the tension — between the news industry and the armed forces. Students from both KU and the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth are enrolled. Kaladze plans to teach a similar course at her home university, something she sees as extremely valuable given the recent conflicts between Georgia and Russia.