FANRPAN Swaziland Dialogue Journo team A meeting of minds
Who attended? 16 journos from 6 countries South Africa Swaziland Tanzania Kenya Malawi Uganda
What did we discuss? What is news? “News is anything that will make people talk” Charles A Dana - Editor New York Sun How do we write news? “News selection decisions are influenced by three fundamental biases of journalism: immediacy, interest for a given community and significance.” Francois Nel, Writing for the Media in Southern Africa
What makes news? Conflict Progress and disaster Consequence/Impact Prominence Timeliness and Proximity Novelty Human interest Sex Miscellaneous values
What makes news? Conflict Progress and disaster Consequence/Impact Prominence Timeliness and Proximity Novelty Human interest Sex Miscellaneous values
Where do I get ideas?
Are target markets still relevant? Yes! Do ethics still apply? Yes! Is accuracy still important? Yes!
How do we keep attention? “Always grab the reader by the throat in the first paragraph, sink your thumbs into his windpipe in the second, and hold him against the wall until the tag line.” Paul O’Neil – American Writer “Always grab the reader by the throat in the first paragraph, sink your thumbs into his windpipe in the second, and hold him against the wall until the tag line.” Paul O’Neil – American Writer
Print, radio, TV, online or social media? Print Radio Television Online Social networking service Facebook Twitter The option? A combination – listen to your target market
What are we doing for agriculture in Africa? Is this how we always want to portray Africa?
Or is this the alternative? Africa can become a “good news continent”
Is freedom of the media still important? Yes! Reporting as ethical, objective and informed journalists The establishment of an African Agricultural Writers Association on the cards.
What do the journos say? Interactive Exciting I like what the trainers did The trainers did not assume what we knew This is what we needed A new opportunity to have an in-depth understanding