Balkan Journalists Then and Now

Since 1990 the map of Europe has been redrawn from Germany to Russia to Southern Europe. These map changes were nowhere more violent than in the Balkans where ancient feuds papered over by Tito's Yugoslavia burst into bloody fights ten years ago.

Now, in the aftermath, the Balkan region is in transition. However, positive change is not an inevitable progression and for those whose job it is to report on those changes, even the rules of the game have changed.

On this week's show, we held a roundtable discussion with six journalists from the Balkans, who have been participating in a six-week long media training program in Boston and Providence under a grant from the U.S. State Department. As different as their cultural, historical and religious identities may be, they are all journalists who are redefining their craft. We spoke to them about their training experience in United States and how their role as journalists has changed since the fall of communism.

Ms. Teuta Hyseni and Mr. Visar Hoti are radio producers from Kosova. Mr. Roland Qafoku is a TV news director and Mr. Arben Rrozhani is a newspaper editor from Albania. Ms. Tanja Novak is a television reporter from Croatia and Ms. Tamara Causidis is a radio host from Macedonia.