The IWMF asked me to transcribe three videos that IWMF Deputy Director Kathleen Currie had taken earlier this year in Africa. She had been visiting Uganda and Zambia, places where the IWMF has implemented its Reporting on Women in Agriculture project. Currie interviews three journalists in their newsrooms.
I played the videos over and over, stopping between each sentence so I could write out what the journalist or editor had said. It was difficult to hear them over the typing and conversations in their newsrooms, and due to their thick accents, but I enjoyed listening to the different accents and to their interesting responses.
I will link to the videos when they are put up on the IWMF website. In the meantime, enjoy the transcription.
Alex Bagyenzire Atuhaire, Uganda
What is the status of the media in Uganda?
Well, the status of the media in Uganda, Uganda is a developing country, so the media is also still developing in this institution, still challenged by economic challenges, and there are economic challenges that are in the country. But we have the print media, the most influential, and then broadcast and electronic media which offers more coverage. In the last 10 years we have seen a fantastic growth in the broadcast media and the electronic media with more than 100 private FM stations coming up. And then we have about 80 percent of the stations in control of private hands and then the rest in government hands like 20 percent. We have more than, we have about three daily newspapers that are effective and then five weekly newspapers and about five TV stations.
What impact of the Reporting on Agriculture on Women project sponsored by the IWMF has had on you personally?
Well, me as a person, as a person in a very high editorial position, I think I am very excited that we have been able to tell this story that is important to the lives of the majority of Ugandans. As you know more than 70 percent of the population in our country depend directly on agriculture or live on agriculture. I think that personally has been my thing that has excited me most. The fact that you are able to tell this story that is important in the lives of the majority of the population, that it resonates with the majority of the population in the country, that has been one of the, and this in a way has been noticed because as we have been saying, as I presented earlier, a part of our content showed that more and more readers were happy because we were covering issues, real issues, that were reflected in the effort they give to our coverage of family and agriculture.
What changes have you observed in the newsroom of the Daily Monitor in Kampala as a result of the Reporting on Agriculture on Women project sponsored by the IWMF?
A very significant and important change I will tell you when we were given leadership of the editorial department about two years ago we were challenged to think through on how we can diversify and how we can bring the diversity to our news coverage, because our news coverage seems always to be pointed at politics, politics, politics. So for us this project couldn’t have come at a better time and in fact we have to be very thankful to IWMF for having chosen us as a center for access, for having chosen us as one of the centers to implement this. So what, where have the effective changes come from now? The kind of skills that the team that has been working on this project that they have acquired allows us to tell an agriculture story. I will tell you that I’m not afraid now to, like previous it has been, to bring an agriculture story on page one of the newspaper, this would not be happen about two years ago. So, and this is a story as I said that affects the lives that is important, the lives of the majority of Ugandans. So we have not been able only to tell these stories but we have been able to tell them in a more creative and effective manner. So I’m looking at the effective changes that have happened: the skills and then the ability to think through projected stories that resonate with the majority of our readership. So that is one of the important changes that I can point out. But there are several others things that have changed. The fact that we are able to take a lead in developing journalism. I think we are one of the newspapers now that can be talked about when it comes to development in journalism. And the fact that we are able to have our women journalists come up in leadership positions and not that we are too biased gender activism but because of the skills they have gotten going through training in this project they are able to attain more higher leadership roles in the institution and commit. So I think those are some of the most effective changes that I can point out.
Doreen Ndeezi, Uganda
What is the status of the media in Uganda?
Radio, or broadcasting, and as far as radio is concerned it’s a very fine branch, one of the fastest growing industries because we have over 200 radio stations. And all of them, apart from Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, are privately-owned media outlets. But the profession is a profession of broadcasting or radio broadcasting I would say is still growing in Sayanguan and the general is everything is young. But we have all the hope that maybe in 10, 20 years to come we can have the best.
What impact of the Reporting on Agriculture on Women project sponsored by the IWMF has had on you personally?
You know me as a person when I interfaced with this project I thought, ‘Wow, this project is asking to report about women in agriculture.’ But along the way I’ve come to learn and feel that it is even more than that as a profession and it has led to the growth of the profession in me. And sometimes challenging issues come up when these young journalists come up and say, ‘Hey, look at this. We’ve done this.’ You really feel that probably as a person you needed to do more and probably as a person you also need to review yourself. And when they bring up stories of women you feel attached, you feel that, ‘Well, I’ve been an editor, but probably my eye has been closed to a certain section of society that really needs support of the media that needs to come and also showcase what they are doing so that probably they have support as far as policy is concerned because most policies on agriculture are looking at the way the bigger farmers, they’re looking at what is the issues, yet they forget that these need to address the real issues of ordinary women. So even as an individual I feel that as people have heart and opportunity to really go out we need to bring out and support the other voiceless people, especially women, who may not be targeted by the mainstream media because probably their stories don’t sell or because probably their stories appear weak yet they are the strongest.
What changes have you observed in the newsroom of the Daily Monitor in Kampala as a result of the Reporting on Agriculture on Women project sponsored by the IWMF?
Well, I would say there has been tremendous change. In, first of all, in, as far as newsroom is concerned, I think we’ve ripped from the project in terms of increasing our output, our stories have increased in terms of content, but also more and more important the point of this stories is coming out more powerful. And now agricultural stories are able to compete with the rest of the mainstream stories which we have always thought that they are the best. Then as far as you know newsrooms survives on a team, on teamwork, and radio itself is a team. You can’t do otherwise. So if you have a project, this project has helped in building more team spirit, in building more mentorship. You find, you know when you find people concerned about, a reporter is concerned about other reporters’ performance we feel that our reporter is trying to encourage a colleague to move on, to take an extra mile, and even it will work professionally, if others work with an objective mind without taking offense, that’s the spirit of newsroom. But also, the equipment that we’ve got from the project has helped us to get more good quality sound stories but also to expand. Because without sound in radio then you don’t have radio radio, it’s about a lot of voices. So it has helped us to increase on the number of voices. Maybe last but not least, the research. The research which is the paramount element in broadcasting or in any of the other work has been enhanced. Now you find that reporters know, those who are involved, the trainers, know they have to do rigorous research, go an extra mile to get as far as they can. So I think it has been a very useful project.
Miriam Zimba, Zambia
What is the status of the media in Zambia?
The status of the media in my country is it’s still an evolving industry. In that we still don’t have a number of media institutions. We still have only three daily newspapers, besides small tabloids that are coming out. But these are only concentrated in the capital city, Lusaka, and these usually come out and they wind up because of the challenges that the media industry faces. When we talk of the media in Zambia we’re talking about it being dominated by men. It’s only now that we are seeing a number of women in the newsrooms. Previously you would have only one, two, three women in the newsrooms, the rest were men. But I must say that we are improving. Our colleges and universities are churning out a number of journalists, female journalists, who are ending up in newspapers, broadcast. And right now the airwaves have been liberalized and you see a number of community radio stations coming up. And even the television is also evolving. Because from having only one national broadcaster we now have like three broadcast stations which are competing side by side. But even this, I must say, they still have limitations. The two broadcast media organizations that have come up are only concentrated mostly in Lusaka, they transmit in a certain radius in Lusaka only. But we’ve had the situation where television like movie-TV is now found on free-to-air channels. So those outside of Lusaka are able to tap in and watch the news.
What impact of the Reporting on Agriculture on Women project sponsored by the IWMF has had on you personally?
On a personal level, since this project came on board, it has transformed my understanding of agricultural issues, especially as they relate to the way the media covers women in my country, women who are involved in agriculture. I didn’t know that we were doing a disservice as a newspaper by not involving a number of women farmers’ voices in my newspaper. But since I got on board this project I’ve had a deliberate policy being deputy-editor-in-chief at the time in Zambia to ensure that stories about women who are involved in agriculture find their way in the newspaper.
What changes have you observed in your newsroom as a result of the Reporting on Agriculture on Women project sponsored by the IWMF?
Since we got on this project I have seen an improvement in the quality of stories which are being written by our trainees. And I’ve seen an increase in the number of stories on agriculture, especially women in agriculture, which are being used in the newspaper. Previously we would only have a few stories written by outsiders and these were stories which had no depth, which were usually Internet downloads. Now we have human-interest stories which are being written by our own staff members. And for me, I think, this has been one of the positives of this project.
Interviews and videos by International Women’s Media Foundation Deputy Director Kathleen Currie.
Transcription by Marlena Chertock, an intern with the International Women’s Media Foundation.