News Highlights
Author:
Maha Al-Azar,
Media Relations Officer,
ma110@aub.edu.lb
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Olayan Business School and Reuters Foundation launch Business Information Academy
 | Dean Najjar
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The Olayan School of Business at AUB in cooperation with the Reuters Foundation announced on June 2 the birth of the Business Information Academy, the first of its kind in the Arab world.
The idea behind the new academy is to bring together makers, analysts and users of business news in order for each group to better understand the other and relate to them more effectively. The academy will contribute to a broad range of academic business streams including corporate finance, corporate governance, effective business communication and the development of financial markets and institutions.
The program which will be offered at the academy will be officially launched in February 2007, and will consist of short training workshops that will be offered for a tuition fee. AUB and Reuters hope to attract sponsorship for these workshops.
Business Dean George Najjar introduced the concept behind the new academy, saying that its objective is to help bring together business leaders, journalists and others in order to produce more useful, accurate and objective information that will help policy-makers and business leaders make better decisions, which in turn would help move the economy forward.
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 | From L-R: Professor Saad Andari, Hobeika, Martin, and Jo Weir from Reuters
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Najjar explained that the academy and the training program are still being worked out, but a 5-member steering-committee consisting of AUB and Reuters-appointed members in addition to Sir Geoffrey Owen, the former Financial Times editor-in chief and member of the board of the Olayan School of Business, will be guiding the academy in the future.
RoseMay Martin, the president of Reuters Foundation, said that the foundation is very selective about which universities it partners with and has only established a few partnerships with leading universities such as Oxford University and Stanford. "We are always looking for excellence and for universities that share our values," she said. "We believe AUB stands for these characteristics."
Martin added: "We believe that reliable, unbiased business information is key to economic success in the world. That's why this academy will play a very important role in promoting economic success."
Several business media experts discussed the problems that exist in business journalism prior to a question-and-answer session.
Dr. Ramzi al-Hafez, publisher of the monthly business magazine, Lebanon Opportunities, pointed to an absence of communication departments in most private companies. That's why he suggested that the academy offer training sessions to the private sector in addition to journalists.
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| He also noted that access to public information is often blocked in Lebanon, due to a prevailing perception that information produced by public agencies is their own property and should remain classified.
Dr Louis Hobeika, an economist and regular op-ed writer, lamented the lack of competence currently found among business reporters, recommending that the academy address this issue in its curriculum, by teaching trainees business concepts.
Dr Nadim Mulla, the former general manager of Future TV, highlighted the importance of devising training sessions for audiovisual journalists, since mass media has a great impact on public opinion.
The cooperation between the Reuters Foundation and the AUB Olayan School of Business goes back to the year 2001 when Reuters Foundation donated a Newsroom to the School and was later followed by a Dealing Room.
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