RIYADH: The Human Development Center (HDC) will offer a journalism course in the Saudi capital next month in response to the need among women to be trained in media professions.

“The course aims to equip women aspiring to be media practitioners with skills and competence so that they can join the local labor force later on,” said Mona Al-Qahtani who will handle the course.

Al-Qahtani, who holds a master’s degree in media, is the director of information at King Saud University (KSU) and a researcher in the field of training and information.

She said that many women among the citizens have the potentials as media practitioners and that they could further develop their skills by attending the course scheduled on Nov. 15.

She added that the trainees should be able to write press releases or developmental articles after the five-day course and that they could use whatever they had learned to get a job.

She said that the course will teach the basics in journalism such as the five “Ws” and the one “H” as well as the inverted pyramid in which important facts are in the lead of a news item, followed by less important data.

“The trainees will be equipped with skills in looking for facts needed for articles or news items, interviewing and dealing with news sources or writing follow-up stories,” she said.

She urged women in the Saudi capital to attend the course to be better media practitioners now or in the future.