DUBAI: Three graduates from the inaugural CNN Academy Abu Dhabi have been rewarded with internships at the network’s Middle East hub in the UAE capital.
The three interns, Mohammed Abdelbary, Dana Abdulrahman, and Tasmiyah Randeree, will work under the leadership of anchor and managing editor, Becky Anderson, across editorial and technical roles at the bureau. They will also support CNN’s Expo 2020 coverage, which will be broadcast to the network’s global audiences from its on-site presence in Dubai.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to welcome Dana, Mohammed, and Tasmiyah to our crew for the next three months — they were outstanding participants of the first CNN Academy Abu Dhabi,” Anderson said. “Not only are they enormously talented, but the skills they gained through our academy program shone through in their applications for these internships.”
The launch of the Academy was announced in September 2020 with the program beginning in January 2021. The full time five-week course combined online learning sessions and in-person workshops that took place at CNN at twofour54 in Abu Dhabi.
The network has offered around 30 internships to local and international talent during the past decade. These new, full-time, paid internships will provide an extra layer of instruction and experience to further equip the interns for a successful media career.
“This is a brilliant opportunity for these young journalists to work alongside some of the best at CNN,” Anderson added. “With a global event like Expo 2020 Dubai around the corner, this is an important time for the region, and they will be key team members working across our coverage.”
Abdelbary will work on CNN’s flagship show from the region, “Connect the World with Becky Anderson,” assisting the team with editorial research, story preparation, and production needs. Anderson said that he would have the chance to “pitch stories and treatment plans” and “could find himself producing content for the show’s social platforms, assisting with editing content, supporting our editorial and technical teams and more.”
Abdulrahman and Randeree will be trained as floor managers. “They’ll learn the ropes in our Abu Dhabi bureau before moving to CNN’s Expo studio,” said Andersen. “They will be instrumental in the smooth running of a live TV show, doing everything from providing scripts for our anchors, to making sure guests and talent are properly equipped on set,” she added.
The duo will also be responsible for testing equipment and liaising with CNN’s control rooms at its Atlanta headquarters in the US. They will “find out exactly what it takes to build and operate a multi-camera outside a broadcast studio,” said Andersen.
CNN Academy Abu Dhabi will resume in 2022.
