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Fifteen journalists from four of the fifteen counties have completed a three-day training program in environmental and investigative journalism organized by The DayLight in partnership with the Multistakeholder Forest Governance and Accountability Project (MFGAP).
The training aimed to enhance journalists’ capacity to report on critical environmental issues and conduct thorough investigations. The participants received valuable insights into interview techniques, news journalism basics, forest governance, human rights in natural resource reporting, climate change, and carbon credits.
James Harding Giahyue, The DayLight Managing Editor, highlighted at the close of the training that the significance of the initiative—emphasizing that the training aligns with the organization’s mission to build a community of forest and environmental journalists.
“We want to inspire a community of forest and environmental journalists,” Giahyue said. “We aim to have them give their best, train them, mentor them, and share opportunities with them. We also hope to learn from them. When that is achieved, we are confident that the number and quality of environmental and investigative stories in the media will increase.
Giahyue stressed that empowering journalists to hold public officials accountable was a core objective of the training. “Now, more journalists can begin to hold public officials to account, demand transparency, and ensure accountability in the public space,” he added.
According to him, DayLight’s approach is comprehensive. It includes editorial collaborations with national media outlets like the Daily Observer, FrontPage Africa, and Okay FM. These collaborations aim to expand the reach of investigative and environmental reporting and provide journalists with the editorial and financial support needed to pursue impactful stories.
“We do not just focus on community radio journalists or forest-based reporters. We also work with national radio stations and newspapers,” Giahyue noted. “The training is part of our program for the year. We have conducted two previous trainings, and this is the third one. Our goal is to regularly build the capacity of journalists in investigative and environmental reporting because these areas are not part of the everyday genre of journalism.”
Continuous training is essential to keep reporters updated on new practices, processes, and emerging issues in the fields of investigative and environmental journalism, The DayLight boss stressed.
The training focused on empowering journalists to hold public officials accountable and emphasized the importance of transparency and good governance in managing Liberia’s natural resources.
The training covered critical areas essential to investigative and environmental journalism, including:
· Interview Techniques: How to effectively question sources and extract crucial information.
· The Basics of Journalism: Understanding what constitutes news and how to identify newsworthy stories.
· Forest Governance: Reporting on governance issues within Liberia’s forestry sector.
· Human Rights and Natural Resource Reporting: Highlighting the human impact of natural resource exploitation.
· Climate Change and Carbon Credits: Understanding and reporting on global environmental issues with local relevance.
“These are topics that journalists are most likely to encounter in their work on investigative and environmental reporting,” Giahyue said.
The participating journalists now have the opportunity to pitch story ideas to The DayLight and receive funding support from MFGAP for the development and publication of impactful stories, ensuring that the knowledge gained during the training translates into tangible outcomes.
The initiative seeks to inspire a community of forest and environmental journalists who play a crucial role in shedding light on Liberia’s natural resource sector and promoting accountability for the benefit of all.
Feedback from one of the participants, Esther Dillon-Johnson, highlighted the enriching experience and practical knowledge gained during the training, emphasizing the significance of new interview techniques and news pegging.
“The past three days have been so far impactful” Dillon-Johnson stated. “The concept of news pegging is an eye-opening takeaway.”
The training represents a significant step towards strengthening investigative and environmental journalism in Liberia and fostering a more informed and engaged public while holding power brokers accountable for their actions. The journalists were drawn from Grand Bassa, Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, and Gbarpolu Counties
