SIUC group traveled to Africa to train journalistsCARBONDALE, Ill. — Journalists asking pointed questions of government officials is a common occurrence in the United States, where open government ensured by a free press is a tradition and considered crucial to democracy.
A group of journalists from Southern Illinois University Carbondale is helping export this brand of journalism to other countries where the news media only recently gained the freedom to question their leaders. The group, which includes professors, producers and lecturers from the SIUC School of Journalism and public broadcasting, among others, recently returned from a 16-day trip to the east Africa countries of Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya. There, they held workshops for working journalists, journalism educators, government officials and leaders of social welfare groups aimed at fostering understanding and cooperation among the parties as their countries struggle for open governments and improved democratic societies. The group, led by Jyotika Ramaprasad, associate professor at the SIUC School of Journalism in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts, received a three-year, $240,300 grant from the U.S. State Department's Office of Citizen Exchanges, which seeks to support the growth of democracy abroad. The trip last month was the second in a series of planned exchanges, the first of which happened in spring when five Ugandans and two Kenyans visited SIUC and other sites in America to learn more about the media and culture here. James Kelly, associate professor in the journalism school, said the grant is aimed at fostering transparency in government. The group also sought to help social welfare groups, such as those focused on HIV/AIDS education and prevention, learn how to work with media to publicize important information. "Prior to the 1990s, all three of these countries' media were controlled by one-party states or some other significant government control," said Kelly, who made the trip along with journalism lecturer Bill Recktenwald, Jeff Williams, news director at WSIU-FM and Judith Roales, former publisher of the St. Petersburg Times and a graduate of SIUC. The SIUC group traveled first to Kampala, Uganda, where members hosted a three-day workshop at Makarere University. It focused on government transparency and the need for journalists and the leaders of social welfare groups to develop strong working relationships to improve public information. About 60 Ugandan journalists, government officials and others participated. The group held a similar workshop the following week at Nairobi University in Kenya, with about 20 participants. The group canceled a planned workshop in Ethiopia, however, because of recent anti-media steps taken by the government there, Kelly said. Still, he and Ramaprasad spent two days in Ethiopia meeting with journalists and educators at Addis Ababa University, and Kelly hopes to hold a workshop there next summer. The senior journalists they worked with in Africa often were the same people whom in the past, and at great personal risk, agitated for more openness in government. With more freedom won, the reporters are hungry for the training, Kelly said. "They expressed a desire for this basic, hands-on training for reporters," said Kelly, who has been involved with such exchanges since 1994 and has visited nine countries in doing so. "It's not that they all didn't want more transparency in government. It's that they aren't fully versed in the relationship between a democratically elected government and an independent media. It's a new situation." With journalists, the group focused on basic reporting techniques such as getting multiple sources — including non-governmental sources — for their stories. The media have not traditionally turned to the groups working on the HIV/AIDS problem, for instance, for information. "That is the big social issue there," Kelly said. "These groups can be valuable sources of information and the news media is learning to work with them." At the same time, government officials, such as press officers, learned more about the operation of a free media and how their relationship with such might work. One thing all parties — media, government and social agencies — agree on is that an independent media coupled with transparent government will improve life for their citizens. The workshops improved understanding among the factions, Kelly said. "Once they learned about each other, there was a deeper understanding and appreciation for how each works," he said. The SIUC group plans to welcome Ugandans, Kenyans and Ethiopians to Carbondale in spring 2007 for additional workshops and classroom visits. Kelly said the exchanges have a positive impact on the journalism program at SIUC. "Just having the foreign journalists on campus is of great value to our students," Kelly said. The interaction also enriches the school's teaching staff, he said. The group also plans on one final trip back to the three countries in summer 2007. Creating citizen-leaders with global perspectives is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint the University is following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.Media & Communication Resources • siucnews@siu.edu | ||||||||||
