Back to Index

HIFC Update Vol. 1 Issue 1
Humanitarian Information Facilitation Centre
February 01, 2010

Download this document
- Acrobat PDF version (1.3MB)
If you do not have the free Acrobat reader on your computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking here.

At least 20 journalists gathered in Harare recently to revisit their professional skills in terms of story writing. The training workshop was held under the HIFC media and mentorship programme. HIFC considers training for journalists an important component of its work. Under the media and mentorship programme, weaknesses in story writing, research and interviewing techniques were observed, forming the basis for the training workshop dubbed "Back to Basics".

Paidamoyo Chipunza, a participant, summed up the basic nature of the training when she said: "I have learnt that even a single statement from an internet story is considered plagiarism. I have also learnt that you should choose which of the 5Ws or H to focus on in an intro, thanks to HIFC." "The observation was that the journalists seemed to overlook some of the basic story writing skills such as the requirements for an intro, an indication of the need to have a form of refresher course that would touch on the basics of story writing," said Reyhana Masters, HIFC Coordinator. She pointed out that another concern was that journalists seemed to spend less time researching the topic they would have chosen to write on even when it was specific.

"They don't seem to seek updated information and may use background facts or statistics that are outdated. Research will reveal stories that may have already been published and this could provide the opportunity to explore a fresh angle that may not been covered. Research will assist the journalist to write a story in a more in-depth manner and also ensures that formulation of questions is based on knowledge and not a thumb sucking exercise," she said.

Poor story idea presentation and articulation was another concern that necessitated the holding of the training session. While the journalists are able to generate story ideas, they seemingly face challenges in adequately supporting their ideas with relevant background, justification and identification of potential sources

The journalists agreed during the training workshop that there was a tendency to relax and overlook some of the basic elements of story development and writing, particularly writing the intro. The aspect of the 5Ws and an H was usually ignored. "This was a very useful session. We got basic information which is often overlooked," said Monica Cheru-Mpambawashe, a participant.

Another participant, Chris Msipa said: "It was a highly refreshing exercise especially for people working outside the newsroom because freelance journalists don't always get such training opportunities. And while many of us may think that we are good writers, it was revealed during the workshop that there is a lot we need to work on to improve." The training workshop, under the facilitation of a veteran journalist Nevanji Madanhire looked at generating story ideas, identifying sources of information, formulation of questions, the basics of news writing including the structure of a news story and the intro. The role of research in story development was highlighted. The journalists had an opportunity to discuss new media following a presentation on the topic. It was agreed that new media is relevant to Zimbabwe if the country is to "stay with the world and move with it" in terms of globalization. New media, it was observed, had opened new avenues for the public to air their views and put the Zimbabwe story on the global agenda.

The back to basics training workshop was one of a number of workshops HIFC plans to hold during the course of the media grants and mentorship programme. One of the sessions to be held before end of this quarter will focus on humanitarian reporting.

Download full document

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP