Fulbright professor studying rural media at UM

UM has been selected to host Fulbright Visiting Scholar Kubanychbek Taabaldiev, who has headed the national news agency, Kabar, in Kyrgyzstan since 1998.

Taabaldiev is in the United States to do research to help create avenues for transition from state-controlled to independent media in his country, one of many in Central Asia aiming to develop a democratic state with free mass media.

He will work with Associate Professor Ray Ekness, chair of UM’s Department of Radio-Television in the School of Journalism.

Taabaldiev’s research will focus on media in rural areas. Kyrgyzstan has many geographical characteristics in common with Montana, and its economy is largely agricultural. More than 65 percent of the country’s people live in rural areas. Of the more than 1,000 mass-media outlets registered with the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Justice, 80 percent are in rural areas.

While at UM, Taabaldiev will study media in Montana to help journalists in his country apply advanced techniques to improve information delivery to rural populations. He plans to help his country’s journalists maintain regular contact with mass media representatives from other nations and to develop and provide short-term training and seminars.

Taabaldiev is one of about 800 outstanding foreign faculty and professionals the Fulbright Scholar Program will bring to the United States during the 2006-07 academic year. He currently teaches international journalism courses and techniques of news writing at Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital.

The Fulbright Program, which operates in more than 150 countries worldwide, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement as well as demonstrated leadership potential.