Lawyer Turned New Media Savvy Journalist

                             Linda Mbabazi at her desk

Ali Balunywa in Kigali, Rwanda

Linda Mbabazi is an unassuming lawyer who has never practiced law. She is an editor at the New Times newspaper in Rwanda. The New Times (TNT) Publications was launched in 1995, as a media outlet publishing in English. It was established just less than a year after the end of the 1994 Rwanda genocide and the return of over a million Rwanda refugees from mainly neighboring countries of Uganda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC then Zaire), Tanzania and Kenya. Many of these returnees were English speakers besides their native Kinyarwanda, a factor that could largely be attributed to the fact that TNT publishes in English. History shows that there had never been an English newspaper in Rwanda before TNT. It is the only daily newspaper in Rwanda.

Linda joined the New Times in 2005 as a freelancer. Sooner than later, she was recruited as a journalist. Today she is the leisure page editor of TNT. Everyday she wakes up at 6.00am and by 6.50 she is in office. On arrival at the office, she checks her mail for stories or story tips and also reads online news especially entertainment.

At 9.00 am she attends the daily editorial meeting where they share tips and story ideas and also carry out a post mortem of the days newspaper. The meeting lasts one hour after which she goes to her desk to type in her stories and coordinate leisure newsgathering.

By 1.00pm she submits her stories to the features editor under whom her portfolio falls. She leaves office at 6.00pm. She also contributes to the weekend editions and therefore works everyday. On whether she has no life, her answer was that she enjoyed her job!

Linda’s computer savoir-faire makes her confident in what she does. She delivers her pages in time and the content is quite interesting. If the pages can be redesigned to achieve a better standard and be able to invite more readers, she will have accomplished a big feat.

Most of the time she sits at her desk typing away day in day out. I later noticed that new media tools assist her do her in doing her work. Because of my interest in digital culture, I asked her if she could tell me more about her work in relation to new media. She consented and that is when I knew that she was a law graduate who decided to become a journalist. The interview took two days before taking place because of her busy schedule.

She explained to me that her use of the new media starts with the basics, that is, typing in stories on her laptop. She uses the spell checker, the Wikipedia and the Internet as a source of her stories and to learn the modern style of writing leisure. Sometimes she receives stories or story tips through her email.

She is a member of many social networking sites like face book, Hi5, Yahoo messenger, Meebo and YouTube. She uses these sites for networking, getting updates, interviewing sources, man on the street and research.

Unfortunately she lost her own digital camera and now uses the TNT photographers whenever she has to go out take photos. She also owns an iPhone mobile telephone, which she uses for receiving, and making personal and work related calls.

Linda was still busy when I conducted the interview, so I did not complete it. However, I sent her an email with other questions, which she answered as below.

Do you listen to radio or watch TV, if yes do they help you in your work?

 Yes, I always do, but mostly TV. I make sure I swatch to different channels, but most entertainment related channels, including MTV Base, E! Channel, Capital and other channel like Aljazeera, BBC, CNN, and CNBC for news.   

And as the radio, I prefer listening to Salus, Contact and Radio 10, for the latest news about our local celebrities. 

Does the Google search engine help you in your work?

Absolutely yes! It really does. I often use to search for facts, and writing style.

Do you text while gathering news, or do you receive text messages?

Both. Sometimes, I send text messages to my sources asking for facts, or when seeking for news. And in return, I receive replies from them, or they send me message texts when they are telling about an event that is going to take place. 

Do you receive SMS alerts for headlines or breaking news?

No…not on my phone, because its not a Blackberry type. But I instead receive Google alert headlines or breaking news. 

Is there anything else you would like to add with reference to digital culture and your work?

I guess not, because I’m sure we exploited everything yesterday. Thanks, and would love to read about my interview

 

 

 

 

Knowledge Sharing at I-Network

Ali Balunywa in Kampala, Uganda 

I-Network Uganda www.i-network.or.ug is a national network of individuals and organizations that acts as a platform for sharing knowledge and information on applying ICTs for equitable national development as well as influencing and supporting ICT policy development and implementation in Uganda. The Netherlands-based International Institute for Communication and development (IICD) supports the organization.

I talked with Rachel Kadama who holds a Masters in Business Management degree is the knowledge sharing activities manager. She joined the organization in 2006. 

The knowledge-sharing plan has 6 core activities viz:

•     Publishing a newsletter
  
•     Maintaining a website
  
•     Holding seminars
  
•     Maintaining a mailing list
  
•     Preparing and distributing short publications
  
•     Video making and uploading 
  

The above mentioned core activities were relevant to my research.

The Newsletter 

The secretariat generates story ideas that are given to the editor to pursue. The editor of the newsletter is outsourced and is not part of the staff of I-Network. Freelance journalists can also be commissioned to write stories. The organization also encourages projects that are supported by I-Network to send in stories about their projects.

Project stories examples include; 

•        How mothers use internet cafes
  
•        Or how the health change project’s resource centre is used in combination with the internet     facility 
  

A team of journalists and I-Network workers write the stories in the newsletter. Before a newsletter is published, the staff at I-Network decides on the theme of the particular issue. Readers interact with writers through email. The feedback is always published in the following issue. 

Readers of the newsletter include; the ICT sector, development workers and most projects incorporating ICT. The newsletter stories are shared mainly the development areas. A modest 4,000 copies are published and distributed free of charge. It is funded through IICD.

Stories come in via email and follow the editorial process. The I-Network staff edits the stories to maintain the integrity of the organization. The layout of the magazine is outsourced and indesign software is used. 

The ready pages are PDF-ed and sent to the printers by email or on a flash disk. The printers are also outsourced.

New Media was welcomed with a sigh of relief. From typing, emailing, flash disks and PDFs to Googling for background and facts and sourcing stories. An online subscriber base is also a new media tool used for communication circulation 

A blog will be established on their website to enable people to comment and discuss issues. The Wikipedia is also frequently used for reference. The mobile phone and digital camera are very useful tools during the gathering, sorting, publishing and distributing of the newsletter.

The newsletter website is a Joomla - open source content management system.  The organization updates the website themselves every week especially with ICT news in Uganda. It is also used as a platform for other ICT based organizations to advertise themselves and upcoming events. The website carries a resource centre for documents, activities, presentations, discussions and National Information Technology Authority (NITA). All these are made available foe people and can be downloaded or commented upon. So the main purpose of the website is to be a resource.

I-Network also publishes short publications. These are focused on promoting certain projects for example; Internet connectivity, guide for rural ICT in Uganda and Cordaid/IICD health project. The come by way of hard copy and also via email to subscribers. Short publications guide the people to understand things like the Internet. 

Lastly, I-Network has started shooting videos to complement the short publications. They intend to shoot a video every quarter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Internet is the Most Important Media Tool”, Cissy

Ali Balunywa in Gulu, Uganda

The Monitor office unlike the New Vision’s in Gulu has several female reporters and correspondents. Cissy Makumbi is one of them. She joined the Monitor in 2007 as a correspondent. The Monitor is Uganda’s other second daily newspaper. It is an independent daily founded by a group of journalists. Currently, it is owned by East Africa’s biggest media house, The Nation Group of Companies that publishes the biggest circulating newspaper in East Africa. It also owns radios and televisions in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

For Cissy, a typical day depends on what is happening in the region. However, she is always at the office by 8.00am to attend the editorial meeting. Thereafter she goes to the field in search of news, following up tips or to conduct interviews.

After getting her stories, she goes back to the office and discusses them with her boss before typing them. The discussion involves establishing what angle the story should take. The computers are not networked, so Cissy uses a flash disk to pass the typed story to her colleagues and bureau chief, before sending it to the Monitor in Kampala.

To Cissy, the Internet is the most important new media for journalists. She uses it for communication via email, yahoo and messenger. She also uses it to access news from other sources and to beef up her stories with the Google search engine. She does not blog, nor belong to any social networking sites, but she relaxes with the Solitaire computer game.

The other tool Cissy uses most is the mobile telephone. Her phone has a camera, recorder, radio video and texting in addition to making and receiving calls. She is a proud user of all the functions of her telephone.

New Media, a Blessing for Upcountry Journalists

Ali Balunywa in Gulu, Uganda

The New Vision regional office in Gulu is located in the very heart of Gulu town in Northern Uganda, The New Vision newspaper is a member of the New Vision Group of companies and it is the biggest multimedia house in Uganda. It publishes 8 newspapers and 5 magazines. It owns 3 FM radio stations and a television network. (www.newvision.co.ug).

Chris Ocowun is the bureau chief of the New Vision in Gulu. He holds a diploma in journalism and mass communication. His typical day starts with an overview of the previous day, what was done or not done. He also looks at how stories can be improved or built on.

Every Tuesday, he chairs the editorial meeting between 8.00 am and 9.00am. They share news tips and ideas and assign duties to every one.

Every day Chris sends his staff out to the field in search of news or to follow up on stories. Every reporter is computer literate. Each types out his/her story on the computer and emails it to the editor. Deadlines for stories are 10.00am though breaking news stories can be sent much later. 

In the Gulu office newsroom, reporters share stories with each other before sending them to the editor to ensure that the grammar is right and facts are in order. The Gulu office has 6 reporters.

Chris observed that the new media is a blessing for upcountry journalists. It all starts with the computer, which is used for typing stories, editing them and forwarding them via email to the editor. It is also used to spell check and for obtaining background information.

Chris also uses Yahoo messenger for conducting interviews, collecting data and clarifying on some information. He however does not belong to any social networking sites, nor does he blog.

The office has a digital camera, which is used to take photos that are attached to stories. The photos are uploaded on the computers, cleaned up and instantly sent to Kampala.

The mobile phone is also used at the office in the line of duty. It is used for gathering news, making appointments, clarifying on stories and sometimes sending stories to Kampala.

 

 

Corresponding for New Vision

Ali Balunywa in Gulu, Uganda

Cornelius Lubangakene is a freelance journalist with the New Vision in Gulu, Northern Uganda. The New Vision newspaper is a member of the New Vision Group of companies and it is the biggest multimedia house in Uganda. It publishes 8 newspapers and 5 magazines. It owns 3 FM radio stations and a television network. (www.newvision.co.ug).

Cornelius arrives at office every day at 8.30am. He attends a brief editorial meeting where tips are shared and assignments given. Invitations for functions are also allocated to different journalists. Cornelius then listens to the radio to get more news tips. He also goes out to the police station or the court or market in search of news.

He uses motorcycle taxis or boda boda as they are locally called. He always carries with him a notebook, camera, mobile phone and pen. After getting his stories, he returns to the office, types them on computer, downloads photos and mails it to Kampala.

He regards the computer as his main new media tool. He uses it for typing stories, spell checking, email, Google, Gmail and chatting to source stories. He however doesn’t use any social networking sites. The mobile phone is the second best tool to use in news gathering and reporting. It is used for receiving assignments, texting and interviewing sources.

Cornelius also uses the radios for sourcing news tips. 

Environment Journalist and ICT

Ali Balunywa in Mbarara, Uganda

Uganda does not have many specialist journalists, so when I met Ebenezer T. Bifubyeka in Mbarara, Western Uganda and he told me he was an environment correspondent for the New Vision I was pleasantly surprised.

The New Vision newspaper is a member of the New Vision Group of companies and it is the biggest multimedia house in Uganda. It publishes 8 newspapers and 5 magazines. It owns 3 FM radio stations and a television network. (www.newvision.co.ug) 

Ebenezer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in social sciences. He joined the New Vision in the year 2000. He is now its environment correspondent.

His typical day starts every morning by listening to radio. He tries to sieve out environment issues to provide him with tips for the day’s newsgathering. He arrives at the office at 9.00am and proceeds to read the newspapers especially the New Vision. He looks out to those stories that he can react to or use as tips for new stories.

Most of the time he assigns himself leads to follow. However, once in a while, the editor assigns him stories to follow up. His articles are always well researched and take time to complete. After completing an article he emails it to the editor in Kampala and also uploads it on his blog; www.tenbifubyeka.blogspot.com.

Apart from the computer and blogging, Ebenezer uses other ICTs in the course of fulfilling his journalistic duties. He uses his mobile phone for communication. He also uses the Internet’s search engines like Yahoo and Google.

He further uses the Internet’s social networking sites like Panos to share experiences and ideas with his peers. He is also a member of the online Mbarara environment journalists association 

He is additionally a frequent user of Yahoo messenger to source tips, generate ideas and exchange information 

Other new media he uses include the digital camera, spell checker, fm radio and television for tips. Lastly he subscribes to online bulletins on the environment.

Finally during his free time, Ebenezer writes novels. He has to date written 6.

 

 

 

Graphic Designing at the Monitor

By Ali Balunywa in Kampala, Uganda

Under editorial department at the Monitor, you find the Creative section where Graphic designers sit. The Monitor is Uganda’s other second daily newspaper (www.monitor.co.ug). It is an independent daily founded by a group of journalists. Currently, it is owned by East Africa’s biggest media house, The Nation Group of Companies that publishes the biggest circulating newspaper in East Africa. It also owns radios and televisions in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania 

Janet Akong is one of the designers at the Monitor. She studied Industrial and Fine Art at Makerere University and joined the Monitor in 2004. She works on the magazine insertions: Full Woman, Sunday Life, Rainbow the Children’s magazine, Health and IT.

Janet wakes up at 5.00 am every morning to pray and prepare herself for work. She leaves home at 7.30 am and by 8.30 am she is at the office. She receives material from the product editor organized in a folder with a particular date when the magazine will be printed.

The pages are laid according to the stories coming in plus the pictures. Janet discusses with the product editor the final design of a particular magazine. She also liaises with the editorial team on the design. The creative section has 3 staff including Janet.

The designers use new Media tools in all their work. They receive raw material in soft copy through the intranet. They use QuarkXPress to design and layout the pages. They send the PDF copies to printers via mail. They subscribe to www.Photos.com for quality pictures they use to illustrate the stories.

They also Google for story ideas, research, inspiration and page formats. Mobile telephony is also a tool designers cannot do without. It is used for communication with editors, writers, printers and the head office in Nairobi, Kenya. Clients to receive news alerts or breaking news from the Monitor also use it. Further still it is used for texting, photography and recording.

 

 

Electronic Photo Editing

Ali Balunywa in Kampala, Uganda

Jimmy Adriko is a veteran photojournalist who joined the New Vision in 1991. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Art and he has attended many different courses in photojournalism from Moscow, South Africa, United Kingdom and Netherlands.

Excerpts from the interview

Ali: Jimmy what exactly is your role as a photos editor?

Jimmy: As photos editor I assign duties to the photographers. I convene meetings every morning and give the photographers assignments for the day. For those who are not present, I do it via telephone, SMS or email. I also receive photographs from my staff through the network or via email from those photographers out of the station. I select the photos to be used in the newspaper and send them to the editors and I archive the unused ones electronically. I also take photographs, write and coordinate training, equipment and budgetary needs for the New Vision and the sister papers. In addition I organize with international agencies in terms of photo needs with institutions like Reuters, AFP, photos.com and the like. I also manage the sales and purchases of photos.

How does the New Media support you in fulfilling your duties?

Until a few years ago, the photo process was all manual. Taking, processing and cleaning the photos was a long process. For example if a photographer was to travel to Rwanda, the photos he would take would only be used on his return! 

Today coordinating activities is easily done using the mobile phone. Photographers can be tracked and those in the field reassigned duties. The mobile phone can also be used in emergences to take photos and also use MMS or email to send them. This encourages citizen journalism. 

We use the Internet to buy and sell photos through the wire service. We also search the Internet for photos to illustrate our stories. Email and the intranet are other useful tools of communication. 

All photographers use digital cameras to take the photos after which they upload them on the computer, clean them and send them to me through the network. The computer processes and enhances the photos. All photographers are trained to use the Adobe Photoshop software for this.

The computer is also used to archive photos. At the moment we are in the process of scanning all the photographs and very soon all hard copies will be discarded. In a day, the New Vision archives a minimum of 200 pictures.

Photographers also use the Social Networking Sites to share photos with peers and some have created their own catalogues online.

Lillian's New Media

Ali Balunywa, in Kampala, Uganda

Lillian Namusoke is a sub editor at the New Vision. She joined the establishment in 2004 after completing her university education. She is in possession of a Bachelor’s degree in languages and a diploma in reporting and creative writing. The interview;

Ali: When and how were you recruited to work for the New Vision?

Lillian: I was recruited in 2004 and reported for the New Vision for 4 months before being made a sub editor after an in house training session. Mr. David Billington, a British training consultant, carries out the training sessions. 

Tell me about the sub editors’ office 

I am one of the 6 news subeditors at the New Vision. We sit in the editorial office just next to the newsroom. There are many other subeditors for the Sunday and Saturday Vision and for the other regional newspapers under the New Vision Group.

Tell me about your job 

The New Vision has its own house style, which subeditors have to follow. The fonts (Nimrod MT) and body are consistent all the time.  The layout follows the modular form, which makes comprehension for the reader easy. When we use photos to illustrate stories, they must all be the same shape on the same page.

How do computers assist you to do your job?

New Vision has its own computer system that is shared by the editorial. Writers write their stories using the Microsoft office word programme, send them to the editor for editing, they are grouped and sent to the relevant subeditor. Subeditors check for the grammar and later use the QuarkXPress programme for designing the layout.

How much work does the subeditor do?

On average a subeditor lays out 2 pages per day. After laying out the pages we exchange them amongst ourselves for further proofreading and later send them to the deputy chief subeditor. When ready, the pages are printed out, as they appear and handed over to the chief subeditor for final approval before printing 

How does the new media contribute to the effectiveness of your work?

Subeditors use the mobile phone frequently to consult with the writers over stories we sub and also for clarification with editors. Most times, stories need beefing up with background information, so we frequently use the Internet for information. Personally I use social networking sites like face book for reducing stress. We also often use the fm radios to update stories especially court cases or accidents.

 

 

New Media at the New Vision

Ali Balunywa in Kampala, Uganda

 

After finalizing the formalities with the administration, the human resource manager of the New Vision handed me over to the Mr. Ben Opolot, the Chief sub-editor. She made for me an appointment to meet him (Ben) on Monday 20 April 2009 at the New Vision head office.

I was there at the agreed time of 10.00am. I explained to Ben how I wanted to do my research. Since all permissions had been granted, he thought all we needed was to let the editor in chief know and off I start.

He accompanied me to the chief’s desk. To her amazement, I greeted her in Dutch as an icebreaker! The editor in chief is Ms Els deTemmerman, a Flemish from Belgium. I explained my mission and she accepted to extend her cooperation and help whenever necessary. 

Ben went ahead to introduce me to journalists who were around, allocated me a desk and asked me to draw a programme for the entire period I will spend at the New Vision. 

My first impressions at the New Vision were the modernity of the working environment. The editorial offices are situated in a modern building with open office floor space. Departments like Newsroom, subeditors, features sports and business divide the office. All desks are equipped with the latest flat screen computers, printers and air conditioning.

On each desk are a number of fixed and mobile phones. When I asked why one should own more than one phone, they explained that same network calls are always cheap, so it is advantageous for one to be connected on each network. 

The editorial room is a beehive of activity. I was told that because of the strict deadlines, journalists and editors have to move with haste all the time. On the walls of the newsrooms you find a notice saying: “DEADLINES – OR YOU ARE DEAD”! Almost all journalists have a flash disk either on a keychain or dangling on a string or necklace around the neck.

Access to the New Vision is restricted. To access any office one needs a security clearance or a smart card. Security at this hi tech organization is paramount so, it is not taken lightly. For a visitor, someone must at all times open the door whether to get in or out!