By Awa DK Conteh
Under the sponsorship of the United States Agency for International Development, USAID), Freedom House in collaboration with the University of The Gambia (UTG) School of Journalism and Digital Media (SJDM) trained twenty journalists on covering National Assembly reporting.
Mrs. Judy Oder of Freedom House stated that Members of Parliament (MPs) and the National Assembly rely upon the media to deliver their message and opinions to the general public. She said that on the other hand, the media plays an important role in monitoring the work of MPs and parliament including critical analysis of their work. This relationship is unavoidable in a multi party system in which the media is ensured of freedom of expression.
She said “it is essential to build a genuine relationship of trust between elected representatives and citizens are also between parliamentarians and journalists who play a decisive role in building bridges between the population and its representatives.”
Mrs. Oder explained that in the difficult learning process of democratic exercise, strong tensions can arise between journalists and politicians hence the need for training on ethical reporting. “Currently we are running a fellowship program to enhance the capacity of mid career journalists to report on a range of topical governance issues.” She revealed.
Dr Samba Faal, Senior Lecturer at the UTG SJDM, said journalism is a like a gold mine and the media plays a vital role in lawmaking process as it creates a platform to collect public opinion and bring it to the attention of the lawmakers.
He further told the training participants that it is essential to build a genuine relationship of trust between electric representatives and citizens are also between parliamentarians and journalists, who play a decisive role in building bridges between the population and its representatives.
He concluded that the training activity is an initiative with the objective to support the Gambia in consolidating its young democracy by strengthening the capacity of the media, civil society and the judiciary. The training which was conducted at the School of Journalism and Digital Media took place from the 5th to the 16th September 2022.
