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Editors and Station Managers Trained on Media Laws
UNESCO Juba Office supported editors and station managers during a two-day training workshop on Strengthening the Role of Editors and Station Managers towards Promotion of Freedom of Expression and Professional Media from 24-25 Sept 2019 in Juba.
Fifty (50) editors and station managers from broadcast and print media houses participated in a two-day training workshop organized by the South Sudan Media Authority in partnership with the Community Empowerment for Progress Organizations (CEPO) with support from UNESCO through its IPDC and Multi-Donor Project Funds on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists.
The training was geared at empowering participants with knowledge and skills about the media laws and the Media Authority regulations on accreditation of journalists, print and broadcast media with the aim to create an enabling media environment for media professionals as they execute their duties.
The training comes at an opportune time when South Sudan media professionals still face various challenges including limited technical capacity to work within the journalistic code of ethics/media regulations. In her opening remarks, Hon. Lily Albino Akol Akol, Deputy Minister for Information, Communication, Telecommunication and Postal Services urged editors and reporters to portray professionalism, report ethically, balance and fairly report their stories.
While Mr. Elijah Alier, Managing Director, Media Authority stated that the “Media Authority was committed to promote freedom of expression, pluralistic media and ensure safety of journalists in the country and also encourage media practitioners to work within the confines of the media laws provided by the country”.
Ms. Doreen Loboka, UNESCO Communication Specialist, noted that, fake news, misinformation and hate speech are taking a toll on the media eco-system. Poor quality journalism sometimes allows disinformation and misinformation to leak into the real news system. She therefore urged participants that despite the rapid changes in the technological landscape, strong ethical journalism is much more needed as an alternative and remedy to the contamination of the information environment.
Advancing freedom of expression, freedom of the press, safety of journalists and access to information is at the heart of UNESCO’s mandate in South Sudan.
