Regional Chief of 24 Districts

                                              David Mafabi

Ali Balunywa in Mbale, Uganda 

Having studied and attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication, David Mafabi was recruited to the Monitor in 2002 as a correspondent. The Monitor is one of Uganda’s leading daily newspapers. It was in founded by a group of journalists 1992. 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.

David is now the Bureau Chief of Mbale, which oversees 24 districts zoned into Bugishu, Sebei, Tororo, Teso, Karamoja and Bugwere. All these areas are in Eastern Uganda.

David is at the office by 7.30 am. The first thing he does is to chair the daily meeting with reporters and correspondents. The objective of the meeting is to share tips, exchange ideas and assign duties. During the meetings, a docket comprising of issues to be written about is developed. At 9.00 am it is sent to the news editor in Kampala.

The correspondents are then sent out to chase after what is in the docket. All stories are expected to be in by 12.00 noon, which is the deadline for regional pages unless there is an issue of national importance or breaking news that can be sent later.

David writes at least 2 stories daily, 2 features and one opinion per week. Sometimes he also attends conferences, workshops and other PR related events, which provide tips for stories. Human-interest stories like undressing and whipping a woman who is found committing adultery in Karamoja region yet a man is allowed to have as many wives as he wishes always attract national prominence. 

David, an award winner in investigative journalism does not blog nor have any interest in social networking sites. However, he uses the computer to type in stories, edit them and email them to the editors in Kampala. He also uses his Gmail for chatting and interviewing news sources. Almost all the time, he uses search engines to beef up his stories.

There is a digital camera at the office, which makes taking and uploading photos easy. David’s mobile phone is another ICT that he uses all the time for communication, briefing and debriefing, interviewing sources, clarification and getting tips. Sometimes sources beep him and he calls back to receive tips and stories.

Basic ICT tools for the Media

Ali Balunywa in Gulu, Uganda

Justin Muboka works in the Monitor’s Gulu Bureau. 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.

Justin holds a diploma in education. She joined the Monitor in 2008 and she holds the post of news reporter.

Every morning, Justin gets to office by 8.00am to get to office in time for the editorial meeting chaired by the bureau chief. During the meeting they discuss how to improve on the paper. They also exchange news tips and receive assignments.

After the meeting, Justin goes to the field in search of news. After gathering the news she returns to the office to type the stories. She passes the typed stories to her colleagues and bureau chief using a flash disk. If the story is fine, the bureau chief sends it to the Monitor in Kampala.

Justin’s use of the new media is limited to the computer, Internet and mobile phone. She does not blog or belong to any social networking site. She uses the intern for research, email, Gmail and news; She uses her mobile phone for communication, texting, receiving assignments and reporting.

 

Diary of a News Editor

Ali Balunywa in Kampala, Uganda 

Hellen Mukiibi is the deputy news editor at the New Vision. She joined the media house way back in 1989 as a reporter. She is one of the most senior journalists. The New Vision Group 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) 

Hellen wakes up at 5.00am and switches on the radio to listen to the news. She tunes from one radio to another looking out for any breaking news story or tip. She quickly checks the Internet for stories from Kenya, Rwanda, AFP, Reuters and BBC. These are the major sources of news from the Diaspora. 

7.30 am:  She peruses the local dailies and weeklies if out. She would be looking       out for what the New Vision could have missed or how the competitors       can be beaten. 

8.30 am:  She or the news editor chair the daily editorial meeting to do a                postmortem of the day’s paper and to deploy reporters on different          beats

9.00 am:  Section meeting with other editors and editor in chief to discuss the           photos and stories. The editor in chief shares out stories among the           sister papers.

9.30 am:  Make phone calls, briefings, assignments supervise imprest for transport     and if there is a breaking news story alert the website editor and the FM     radio stations.

             From this time to 3.00 pm, liaise with writers to prepare stories for           editing.

3.00 pm:  Major outlook of the following day’s paper is ready. Consult throughout       the day with editors and writers.

4.00 pm: Arrange what will be in the meeting as we continuously enrich the              content

4.30 pm: News editor takes the line-up of the stories to the editor in chief who         together with chief sub editor and photos editor meet to agree on line up.

6.00 pm:  Sign out, but continue consultations by phone and email.

“Basically all days are like above. I supervise the newsgathering process, which begins with making the diary. The diary consists of what is in store and what we want to gather. We find out from the international and local news agencies what is happening and see how we can follow it up. We also go through the local diary of invites to see what we must cover among the several functions. There is also a diary for follow-ups and a diary for news from other media houses”, says Hellen.

“The progress in the newsroom is continuous up to the time the paper goes to bed. However, as editor I must help the reporters to polish the story and edit it and hand it to the news editor or the other way round. All stories and photos can be accessed on the network even when they are being worked on. This makes it easy for us to link the photos to the stories”, she added.

New Media tools

1.   Mobile telephone: Used for local and international communications. It is used to coordinate and consult with reporters in the field. The SMS is also very frequently used for the same purpose. 

2.   Television and FM radio: For listening to news and other programmes

3.   Internet: This is the most effective news gathering tool.  Examples include; Google search engine, news alerts, breaking news, SMS media and email. For instance, the Uganda Media Centre invites journalists to attend press conferences via SMS media. 

4.   SNS: The social networking sites makes a news editor lazy and they are difficult to follow-up given the amount of work an editor has to accomplish.

5.   Blogging: Hellen blogs, but she is too busy to keep her blog updated.

6.   News@newvision.co.ug: The easiest way to access the editorial

7.   Content Management Software: Saves time and paper and makes work less laborious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Vision Senior Reporter and New Media

Ali Balunywa in Kampala, Uganda

Anne Mugisa is a senior reporter at the New Vision. She is a Bachelor of Arts communication science graduate. She was recruited in 1998.

Anne has been reporting for the New Vision for over 10 years. She is happy with the new technological developments because they make her work much easier. She especially uses the computer to type in her stories, spell check, and mail to her editor. She also uses the search engines for her research.

She does not blog, but always reads people’s blogs. However, she has no time for social networking sites. Sometimes these and the overall Internet are sources of her stories.

Anne also uses the radio, intranet, email and mobile telephone in her day to day work at the New Vision.