Embassy NewsCentre
Embassy News
 |
A view of the participants
(Photo: Yacouba Soro/US Embassy) |
US Embassy Hosts Seminar on Independent Journalism for Ivorian Young Journalists
December 13-14, 2007, the US Embassy in Abidjan used the Handbook of Independent Journalism to train about 40 young Ivorian journalists drawn from both public and independent media outlets. The training was led by six veteran Ivorian journalists and media consultants; three of them were former International Visitors.
With no specialized journalism school in Cote d’Ivoire, most journalists in this country – especially the younger generation of reporters – are either graduates from communication and public relations schools or other degree-holders who get trained on the job. As one trainer put it, "They [the young journalists] ignore the basics of the profession and hence become the mouthpieces of interest groups – especially political leaders."
The two-day training focused on journalism fundamentals including ground rules for objective and balanced reporting; the five Ws and one H; news sources; how to handle news interviews; how to write for print and broadcast media; ethics and laws, and specialized journalism.
Speakers also stressed the importance of an independent and free media in a democracy. They highlighted what journalists should and should not do when covering sensitive issues -- for instance the peace process underway in Cote d’Ivoire --, and encouraged them as professionals to focus on the real issues and to stick to the facts in their reporting.
