ASIA PACIFIC JOURNALISM INSTITUTE (APJI)
APJI organizes trainings, online and in-person seminars and other events for journalists based in the Asia Pacific region with a focus on religion reporting, storytelling and press freedom. APJI also moderates a regional community of journalists for ongoing discussions on contemporary issues, peer review of journalistic work and mentorship. In recent years, APJI has held journalism programs in India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
APJI Faculty
Dr. Paul Marshall
Marshall is the author and editor of over twenty books on religion and politics, especially religious freedom, including Blind Spot: When Journalists Don't Get Religion (2009), Religious Freedom in the World (2008), Radical Islam's Rules: the Worldwide Spread of Extreme Sharia Law (2005), The Rise of Hindu Extremism (2003), Islam at the Crossroads (2002), God and the Constitution (2002), The Talibanization of Nigeria(2002), Massacre at the Millennium (2001), Religious Freedom in the World (2000), Egypt's Endangered Christians (1999), Just Politics (1998), Heaven is not My Home(1998), A Kind of Life Imposed on Man (1996), and the best-selling, award-winning survey of religious persecution worldwide Their Blood Cries Out (1997).
Jennifer Arul
Jennifer Arul is Editorial Advisor at NDTV Hindu, one of Chennai’s (India) best-known faces on television.
With 30 years of experience as a broadcast journalist and executive in Asia, many of them as Managing Editor and COO in NDTV Hindu, Jennifer is known for her fierce reporting on various sensitive issues and relentlessly championing causes. She has traveled all over Tamil Nadu highlighting the important news events and human-interest reports. Beginning as a freelance interviewer in Doordarshan and All India Radio, she has been with NDTV since it started 20 years ago.
Vishal Arora
Arora, a New Delhi-based independent journalist with over 25 years of experience covering politics, religion, culture and foreign affairs in South and South-Asia. Published in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Diplomat and many other media outlets, Arora is also a member of The Media Project Board.
LATEST:
The Media Project invites applications for a two-day residential training programme for journalists from South and Southeast Asia on “Covering Religion and Public Life in Asia,” to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, from Sept. 10-12, 2026.
The training is intended for journalists with at least three years of professional experience who are interested in covering the role of religion in society, politics, culture and public life. Journalists who already report on religion or closely related subjects are especially encouraged to apply. The program will explore how religion influences public debates, communities, identities, conflict, peace-building, law, social change and everyday life across the region. Sessions will focus on helping journalists report on religion with depth, accuracy, fairness and intellectual clarity, while avoiding stereotypes, political simplifications and superficial coverage.
The training will bring together journalists from different countries, backgrounds and newsrooms for discussions, workshops and collaborative learning with senior journalists, scholars and resource persons.
Accommodation, meals and conference expenses during the program will be fully covered. Travel subsidies may also be available for deserving candidates.
Applicants are required to fill out the application form here: https://forms.gle/C6e5h5uAWwpUSSBA9
Deadline for applications: June 20, 2026
Selected participants will be informed by June 25, 2026.
For queries, please contact: Ms. Stacy Varghese at stacy@themediaproject.org