TAMALE-BASED NGO BUILDS CAPACITY OF REPORTERS

(Daily Graphic, Oct 31, 2011, Page 23)

SAVANA Signatures (SavSign), a non-governmental organisation based in Tamale in the Northern Region, has organised a training programme for twenty journalists operating in the Tamale metropolis to improve the accuracy of their reports.

The journalists, many of whom were non-professionals, were given training in how to access information efficiently from various sources, including the internet, and how to assess the accuracy and relevance of such information so as not to produce inaccurate reports from such information.

They were also taken through the economic, legal and social implications surrounding the use of information produced by various entities.

In addition, the participants were exposed to various internet search engines and other internet resources, such as Google maps and translator.

According to SavSing, inaccurate media reports about happenings in the north had the tendency to worsen the already precarious situation in some parts of the area, and this was therefore the reason why it had undertaken the initiative to safeguard the practice of journalism in the north.

At the end of the five-day training programme, the Director of SavSign, Mr Stephen Abgenyo mentioned that funding for the training was provided by the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) in the United Kingdom.

He said although journalists were expected to provide accurate information in the form of news and commentaries, many journalists lacked the skills to decipher which information was true or false.

“This is the reason why INASP partnered SavSign to train journalists in Information Literacy so as to build their capacity to produce accurate reports,” he explained.

Mr Abgenyo noted that, in addition to sourcing and evaluating information and using the internet, the journalists were trained to write reflective journals and undertake mind mapping.

“These skills are expected to enhance the work of the journalists and contribute to deepening professionalism in media practice in the country,” he said.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Northern Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Alidu Baba lauded SavSign for taking the initiative to build the capacity of journalists.

He said the training would contribute to raising the professional standards of journalistic practice in the region by ensuring that information picked from various sources is not used ignorantly and dangerously.

Some of the participants acknowledge the low standards in the practice of journalism and identified poor working conditions, the lack of refresher training for journalists and the tendency to serve the interests of politicians as some of the factors contributing to this situation.

“If we want to improve journalism in this country, we need to collectively place more value on the journalist by ensuring he gets better training and is motivated enough to do his work independently and ethically,” Mr Geoffrey Buta of the Ghanaian Times told the Daily Graphic.