CNN training program uses movie set to simulate breaking news scenarios

In what has been touted as a groundbreaking form of journalism training, CNN Last week’s academy program ran a massive fictional breaking news simulation using film sets Abu DhabiYas Creative Centre.

For the first time, CNN has brought together 88 participants in the global CNN Academy program for an intensive week of training, during which they replicate breaking news situations so they can report on a fictional development story, CNN said in a statement. An environment described as “fail safe”.In a simulation, CNN interns gather news on a film set in Kizad Double Four 54 Abu Dhabi.

Twofour54 is the government entity that oversees the media and entertainment industry in the UAE capital and is behind the new state-of-the-art Yas Creative Center on the artificial Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

There, they interact with real CNN reporters who “use custom social media platforms to impersonate witnesses, activists and business representatives, attend mock press conferences and interviews, verify sources and more before pitching to editors And make packages,” a CNN statement said.

The exercise involved “verifying sources, attending mock press conferences, conducting mock interviews, responding to email updates, deciphering documents,” and navigating through a custom mock social media platform “that was updated in real-time throughout the event and included evidence, bots, decoys and news,” it added.

The training format was devised by CNN reporters in collaboration with Professor Rex Brynen of McGill University, a leader in serious gaming, and Jim Wallman of game design firm Stone Paper Scissors. The extravagant exercise “encourages strategic thinking, team building, resourcefulness and decision-making,” the statement noted.

In addition to the simulation, CNN Intensive Training also includes a masterclass with Becky Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of CNN Abu Dhabi and anchor of Connecting the World with Becky Anderson.

“It’s an amazing thing, I’ve never heard of anything like it in the industry,” Anderson said in the statement. “It really replicates the feeling of gathering news in a different environment, collaborating with new colleagues and discovering information to get the facts and get to the heart of the story,” she added.

Phil Nelson, Chief Operating Officer, CNN International Business, noted that since opening the first CNN Academy in Abu Dhabi, they have trained more than 350 participants in various programs around the world.

“I am delighted that the first-ever newsroom simulation is being hosted in Abu Dhabi as we take this initiative to the next level and further expand the way we train emerging news talent and provide CNN with unrivaled global newsgathering and coverage. contributed,” he said. Say.