Assessing knowledge and skills needs for Journalists in responsive public affairs reporting

17 February 2025, 4:58 pm

By Byamukama Alozious

A needs assessment for the “Women in Media” project, aimed at enhancing the capacity of journalists in responsive reporting on public affairs and governance and also improving the skills of women journalists to produce well researched stories, is currently underway.

According to the project coordinator, Catherine Apalat, “We are targeting journalists from Northern Uganda, and also some journalists from Kampala region. After that training, we shall have also a follow up on the same training that was conducted.”

The project is implemented by Uganda Media Women’s Association (UMWA) with financial support from the Finnish Foundation for Media and Development (VIKES) through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland.

Apalat pointed out that the project will equip journalists with knowledge and skills in responsive public affairs reporting, support the production of some radio programmes on Mama FM and also conduct onsite visits/gender learning visits for a few selected media houses in Kampala and Northern Uganda.

During the needs assessment, participants were involved in tackling questions like what they understand by public affairs, whose voices are usually included, and how they can include the marginalized voices. They were also tasked with deeply understanding public accountability, public service delivery, and budgeting, as well as tracking elections and policies, and how to make stories out of these topics.

At least twenty journalists from both online, television, radio, and newspaper attended the needs assessment training, demonstrating a strong interest in enhancing their skills in responsive public affairs reporting.

Uganda’s population is comprised of 51% women and girls, and 49% men and boys, highlighting the importance of inclusive reporting. The project also aims to address issues of gender biases in news reporting, promoting balanced and fair representation of all genders.

Busein Samil from the Daily Monitor noted that there is a deep need for training journalists to understand the matter and report accurately, as stories of public affairs often favor men due to their dominance in the space, leading to women being marginalized.

Babirekere Cothilda, the Gender Officer at Uganda Media Women’s Association, emphasized the importance of assessing the needs of journalists to ensure that everyone is included in the reporting process.

Nagujja Serina, founder of NSTV Online, praised the assessment, saying it has shaped their understanding of public affairs reporting, inclusivity, and governance. She added that the training will equip them with skills on public affairs and governance, serving as a reminder of the importance of holding leaders accountable as journalists.

Apalat further noted, the project will support at least 10 female journalists from Kampala and Northern Uganda to produce well researched and packaged content on different issues like gender based violence among others. This is to encourage more female journalists to report embrace investigative reporting.

The goal of the project is to see that media houses provide diverse and inclusive reporting and quality journalism that reach wider audiences, including marginalized groups and also to ensure gender equality is mainstreamed in the policies and practices of media organizations.