50 Somali journalists based in Kismayo, Jubaland State, have benefited from a 3-day media training to improve their media skills, personal safety and to professionally report on security in the Federal Member State.
Supported by the Africa Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), the training was facilitated by the Jubaland Ministry of Information and Public Awareness and attended by journalists from both public and private media organizations in Kismayo.
The modules for the training included situational awareness, personal safety, media ethics, the evolving dynamics in social media, fact checking and fake news, varied editorial policies, media bias, and the protection of informants and news sources.
The Director General of the Jubaland Ministry of Information and Public Awareness, Miski Yusuf Ali, thanked ATMIS for supporting efforts to build the capacity of the media to enable them to improve on journalism standards.
“When you go back to your respective workstations, I’m confident you will apply the new knowledge and skills acquired to your daily work. We hope to see an improvement in your news reports to enable us to help the public to make informed decisions,†said the Director General at the official closing of the training.
For Abdimajid Abas Adan, a radio producer based in Kismayo, the sessions were engaging and interesting.
“I learnt the importance of being a responsible journalist, how to professionally produce news and most importantly how to be fair and balanced in my reports,†said Adan.
The Secretary General of the Jubaland Journalists Association (JAJ), Abdullahi Abdirahman Mohamed, and the Director General of the Ministry of Health, Mohamed Hussein Mohamed, both urged the journalists to share the new skills acquired with their colleagues to ensure responsible journalism across the state.
