Blog Post

Training Investigative Journalists in the Countryside: Quenching the Thirst for Knowledge

This past weekend, 22 journalists in the southern town of Jacmel received a certificate of completion for 36 hours of training in investigative journalism. The four women and 18 men who participated on a volunteer basis are, I hope, the first of many throughout the country who will benefit from this course thanks to a generous donation from a group of anonymous donors.

In Malawi, the battle over trees pits the poor population against the government

Editor note: Knight Fellow Edem Djokotoe discusses contrasting philosophies between a government bent on prosecuting the charcoal industry and a rural population dependent on its profits.

Two weeks after he returned from the UN climate change conference in December, Malawi’s energy minister, Grain Malunga, made a controversial public pronouncement: “Arrest all charcoal sellers.”

Prosecuting them, he argued, would save the country from the devastating effects of deforestation and deter others from chopping down trees for charcoal.

At Long Last, Recruitment Begins at Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation

The radio notices started in early spring. The constant television scroll made the announcement amidst reports about Libya and the Salone Stars football team. On Wednesday, March 23rd, three of the 30-odd daily newspapers in Freetown ran center spot, double-page spreads. Pages were stapled to notice boards within the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). The new SLBC web site lists the jobs available and has a PDF of the application form. And, the media sector in Sierra Leone is abuzz… with the news of the SLBC recruitment campaign.

In Mozambique, Surgery Helps Women Recover Both Health and Dignity

There is nothing like interviewing women with fistula to realize, in your heart and in your bones, what fistula does to women: the humiliation, marginalization, loss of self-esteem, and depression. Fistula is an orifice resulting from ruptured tissue between bladder, rectum and vagina that provokes permanent incontinence. Feces and urine flow through the vagina.

Obstetric fistula is caused by early and repeated pregnancies, long and complicated deliveries without proper medical care, delays in reaching hospital, clandestine abortion and violent rape.

The Return of Jean Bertrand Aristide

"Li Ale, Li Toune, Li Ale, Li Toune Net" was just one of the chants throngs of supporters sang outside Haiti's airport early Friday, March 18: "He left, he came back, he left, he's here to stay." The "he" is Jean-Bertand Aristide, the only president in modern history to be deposed and returned to power, then deposed again and returned a second time. Only this time, as opposed to being able to finish his truncated 5-year term as he did in 1994, he's returning from seven years exile in South Africa, ineligible to run for president again.

In Sierra Leone, A New Broadcast Training Space Raises Hope

Training. Capacity-building. Resource development. Things that everyone from President E.B. Koroma and Board Chair Septimus Kaikai to Idrissa, a camera operator, and Emmanuel, a radio presenter, have yearned for at the year-old Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), the country’s first public broadcaster. The need for training is ever apparent and almost universally recognized here in Sierra Leone.

Haiti’s Presidential Election May Impact Press Freedom

On Sunday, March 20, Haitians will go to the polls to elect their new president. This second-round vote for the top two contenders from a field of 19 is a first in Haiti’s history.

Mrs Siti Zurina Hassan and the Bank Negara Malaysia - One Proof Point in the Local News Model

At MalaysiaKini’s start-up community news operation, KomunitiKini, we have been working on bringing three things together into a business model for local community news – trained community based citizen journalists (CJ’s), an online platform for communities to create their own local newspaper and finally local advertising.

Medcom -- Telemetro promotes Mi Panama Transparente

Rafael Candanedo, Vice President of the Forum of Journalists for Freedom of Expression and Information, made a presentation on Mi Panama Transparente in an interview in Telemetro Reporta, a very popular morning TV news show in Panama.

During the interview, Aracellys Leoteau, Telemetro Reporta's anchor said that Mi Panama Transparente is a program not only for citizens to send reports about crime and corruption, but also for journalists to play a role of social change.

Leoteau make reference to Panamanian journalists involved in producing stories based on the citizen reports as a way to h

Why Do People Laugh When You Tell Them You Are Studying Journalism Ethics?

-- Why do people laugh when I tell them I'm taking a journalism ethics course?--, I ask Flor when I see her smiling face.

-- Because I think you don't need it--, says Flor Ortega, a Panamanian journalist and ethics university professor.

I feel honored to hear Flor saying I don't need a journalism ethics course. She has been a university professor for a number of years and she has also been a founding member of the National Council of Journalism's Ethics Committee.

However, I think I need to keep studying journalism ethics.