Journalism in Mongolia

Mongolia may not strike you as the home of cutting-edge journalism. However, if you want to gain experience on a top newspaper, in the centre of the most influential city in the country, our placements offer you just that. Newspapers have flourished since the democratic revolution in 1990 and you'll be working in a country where the idea of a free press is relished.

On the Ulaanbaatar Post or Mongol Times, you'll initially work alongside local journalists, seeing what they do and where they go on a day-to-day basis. Once you've got your confidence, like many volunteers so far, you may have your own regular English column in the newspaper. Alternatively your work might be translated into Mongolian and used in the main body of the paper.

Being one of the only English-speaking journalists in the city has its advantages. One volunteer recently interviewed the American Ambassador and, to the envy of other newspapers, he secured an interview with a famous English-speaking Mongolian pop star!

We also arrange journalism placements in radio and television, and volunteers have recently found themselves presenting shows on both. On FM103.6 we had a volunteer fronting a chat show which went out live to residents of Ulaanbaatar and the surrounding region. On the publicly funded Mongolian National Television another volunteer was the anchor on the English News, which was broadcast to the entire Mongol nation!

We also work with privately owned television stations like TV5, where volunteers can get involved in many diverse areas both in front and behind the camera. Staff love it here if you can bring new and exciting skills to the job, as one volunteer found out when he began work as a cameraman, only to find himself first working as a director, and then being commissioned to design a new TV5 logo!

With cuttings and tapes to bring home, a journalism placement in Mongolia is an interesting way to add something extra to your portfolio.