Author Archives: Jenny Vaughan

About Jenny Vaughan

Jenny Vaughan is jhr’s Overseas Program Coordinator, stationed in Accra, Ghana. With a masters degree in journalism and a B.A. in African Studies, Jenny has found her footing with this position. Last year, Jenny spent three months working for a national newspaper in Kampala, Uganda, which cemented her obsession with media and convinced her to return to the continent—this time to west Africa. Though she spends most of her time in Ghana, she travels frequently to Malawi, Liberia and Sierra Leone to oversee our programs and to act as the face of jhr in Africa. Keep track of Jenny’s travels here on Field Notes, where her work appears regularly along with blogs, pictures and videos from jhr’s interns and journalism trainers on the ground in Africa.

jhr connects journalists, NGOs in Ghana

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Text by Jenny Vaughan, video by Robin Pierro

On any given day in Ghana, most papers are splashed with salacious headlines about the country’s latest political scandals. Drama dominates the news here and unfortunately, crucial human rights stories rarely make it to the front page.

This is in part because journalists in the country don’t have ready access to human rights stories. Luckily, most NGOs in the country do. Most are set up to end the abuses that JHR works with journalists to report on. Child abuse, housing, domestic violence and corruption are some of the critical issues NGOs are working hard to address here.

Jhr recognizes the need to provide journalists with access to those crucial issues. One way of ensuring that is to make sure that journalists can establish strong networks with aid workers here. Another way is to ensure that NGOs know how to interact with the press.

Canadian High Commissioner Trudy Kernighan addressing workshop attendees

So on last month, jhr hosted a workshop called Bridging the Gap in order to better connect journalists and NGOs in Ghana. The event was attended by the Canadian High Commissioner in Ghana, Trudy Kernighan, who kicked off the day with an inspiring speech.

“The media provide information about democratic change, champion social and political issues, defend human rights and investigative reporting can expose corruption of political leaders,” Kernighan said, noting that NGOs are crucial sources for this kind of reportage. She also addressed the need for “high quality reporting that has the potential to bring about constructive change” in Ghana.

The event, which was expected to be attended by twenty people, drew sixty participants from private and government-owned media as well as a variety of NGOs and civil society organizations. It was hosted by jhr’s overseas program coordinator, Jenny Vaughan, and Adisa Lansah, who is a communications officer at PLAN International, and also a ten-year journalism veteran.

The day started with discussions about how the media can better use NGOs as sources and how NGOs can improve their communication with the press. After lunch, participants broke off into groups, mixing journalists with NGO workers. We practiced writing press releases—an exercise informed by the expertise of the communications officers and the reporters in the room. Then, we drafted articles based on the mock press releases, using jhr’s framework for rights media (PANEL) to guide the exercise.

Participants said they found the workshop incredibly useful and said that this was the first time an event of this kind had been organized. Contacts were exchanged, challenges were shared and an increased understanding of the media’s role in Ghana was established.

It’s precisely the kind of work jhr seeks to promote in its programs. Now, we look forward to seeing those connections being put to good use.

A note from Sierra Leone

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A jhr-hosted media roundtable in Freetown

With two journalism trainers in place, jhr kicks off the new year in Salone with a flurry of activities planned for 2011

By Jenny Vaughan

“This is a place that’s full of potential,” says jhr country director Stephen Douglas as we walk through a rugged, hollow building that used to house Sierra Leone’s state-run broadcster Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation. He was talking about the potential for the station, which is currently being transitioned from a government-run media house to a public broadcaster, modelled after the CBC or BBC, but the statement rings true for media houses and reporters throughout Sierra Leone.

Reporters are barely paid, true, and journalism education isn’t meeting professional standards, but there’s an unparalleled hunger among many journalists in Sierra Leone to produce standout rights media. That is precisely the sentiment that jhr’s two trainers are tapping into at two of the country’s biggest media houses. For the next five months, trainers Kimberly Johnson and Logan Campbell will be working in local newsrooms, alongside local reporters to produce human rights stories about localy relevant abuses, such as gender and environmental rights.

Johnson has more than 14 years of journalism experience in the US, having most recently served as business writer for the Associated Press. Prior to her AP stint, Johnson worked at the Denver Post covering business and technology issues. She also taught journalism at a local college there. Campbell is the former production and technical director at Metro TV Ghana and has worked as a multimedia manager at Black Entertainment Television, where he helped to launch BET.com

Notes from the roundtable about jhr's role in the Sierra Leonean press

In their first month, the trainers worked with Douglas to host a workshop to coincide with the release of the federal budget. They worked with an accountant and local media managers to deconstruct the budget, extract story ideas and prepare interview questions for the Minster of Finance. In the months ahead, the threesome will also be hosting media forums, granting reporting fellowships to reporters, blogging for jhr’s Field Notes site and, of course, producing rights media with local journalists.

“There’s a lack of effective news stories, and a lack of effective human rights stories that need to be brought to light,” Johnson says about the press in Sierra Leone. “jhr is an excellent way to accomplish both.” Johnson, who has been working as a freelance journalists in Sierra Leone for over a year says she’s looking forward to working with reporters to produce business and environmental stories relating to human rights. One story she’s hoping to tackle: the violations surrounding the widening of Wilkinson Road, one of Freetown’s main arteries. The street is being widened by the city to ease notorious Freetown traffic, but homes, businesses and hundred-year old trees have been displaced in the process. The story, she says, has been completely ignored by the media. Johnson is hoping that will change, at least among reporters at Premier News.

Like Johnson, jhr trainer Campbell recognizes the importance of human rights stories in a post-conflict country. “Rights-focused media is important to development, and I definitely want to be part of development in Sierra Leone,” says Campbell. He says he’s similarly looking forward to working with reporters to amp up newsgathering skills and in-studio know-how with daily on-the-job training and regular workshops. “I just hope to make SLBC a top notch media institution in Sierra Leone,” he says, adding that he’d like it to look like CNN or better. “I’m quite enthused, both professionally and personally,” says Campbell with an eager smile.

Meet our new interns in Ghana and Malawi

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In January 2011, Journalists for Human Rights sent 10 Canadian journalists to Ghana and Malawi, where they will spend the next six months working with local journalists in newsrooms and schools to produce stories about human rights. In addition to creating human rights media, our journalists will be chronicling their exploits for jhr’s blog, Field Notes, and for our blog site on thestar.com, Africa Without Maps. Read more about the contributors below and follow their blogs here.

Laura Bain

Laura Bain is no stranger to Journalists for Human Rights, or Ghana, for that matter.Before kicking off her placement at the African University College of Communications (AUCC), where she will be working with faculty and students to host workshops, develop curriculum and support campus media, Bain spent three months in Ghana last year with jhr as a radio intern in Kumasi. At Kapital FM, Bain helped to produce a weekly human rights radio program called “Know Your Rights.” She worked on stories about the rights of children and sex workers in Ghana, in addition to a piece about the maltreatment of prisoners in the country.

Before joining jhr, Bain studied Professional Writing at York University, where she was a columnist for community newspaper, Excaliber and an editor at an arts and literature journal, Existere.

Sarah Berman

Since entering journalism in 2006, Sarah Berman has built her resume to include stints at the Vancouver Sun, and a number of magazines, including Adbusters, Discorder and Megaphone. She’s now adding to the roster with her current placement at the Daily Times in Blantyre, Malawi, where she’ll be working with local journalists for the next six months to coproduce human rights stories.

Last year, Berman traveled to Thailand to work on a five-part online documentary about the social and environmental impact of shrimp farming, which featured on the Globe and Mail website. She also wrote and produced an independent doc about illegal advertising in New York City, which has been screened in Canada and the USA. Berman has a Masters degree in journalism from the University of British Columbia and an undergraduate degree in media studies from the University of Western Ontario

Denis Calnan

As a chase researcher for CBC Montreal’s morning show, Denis Calnan would wake up, arrive at work and finish a story before most people leave the house in the morning. He’s now shifted his schedule, and his city—he’s working as an intern at Capital Radio in the heart of Blantyre, Malawi.

In addition to working at CBC in Montreal, Calnan has freelanced for Canadian Geographic and worked for CBC in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador. Calnan says he “finds living in communities all over the world is a very satisfying way to live life.” He has hitchhiked across Canada and stayed in cities across Canada—all because he loves getting to know his “massive and diverse country.” He’s also worked in Ethiopia and Guyana with Youth Challenge International. Calnan has a journalism degree from King’s College in Halifax.

Sarah Feldbloom

A self-professed “culture junkie by nature,” Sarah Feldbloom says she was lucky to be born and raised in Toronto, a city inhabited by citizens from every corner of the globe. This setting only encouraged her to explore further, an urge which led her to Blantyre, Malawi, where she’s working for Star Radio.

Before heading to Malawi, Feldbloom worked as an editorial assistant for Global News Toronto and hosted and produced women’s radio shows for CHRY and CHMR. In addition, she collaborated on gallery, magazine and radio projects with community arts and media organizations including the Association for Media Literacy, Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre and For the Love of Learning.

Beyond her hunger to travel, Feldbloom wanted to work in Malawi to see how the medium she loved producing most was “made and absorbed in the continent where it is king.”

Atkilt Geleta

Born and raised in Ethiopia until he was seven, Atkilt Geleta spent much of his youth traveling—first to Japan, then to Canada, and then to Switzerland, where he lived for six years. He’s now landed in Ghana—for the second time—where he’s working at the Daily Guide newspaper to report on human rights issues. Geleta says he hopes to immerse himself in Ghana’s rich culture and looks forward to exploring the country in search of stories.

“Divinely guided” towards journalism, as he puts it, he got his introduction to the field with internships at Eye Weekly andSway Magazine in Toronto. “This opportunity combines my passion for journalism and development work,” he says. “It’s a chance to work with local journalists to shed light on issues that are often marginalized or forgotten about.”

Geleta has a degree in Political Science and International Development Studies from the University of Toronto.

Angela Johnston

Angela Johnston says that she loves getting to the “heart of a story by finding the everyday people involved,” which is precisely what she’ll be doing for the next six months interning at Citi FM in Accra, Ghana. Before arriving in Ghana, Johnston spent more than two years working for CBC in Saskatchewan as a reporter for radio and television. As a general assignment reporter, she covered a wide range of stories, including a piece about stalking victims pushing to change peace bond laws and a feature about 90-year-old farmers putting in another harvest for the year.

Johnston’s previous international experience includes interning for the CBC’s London bureau and working for a Canadian media program in Malawi. She is a graduate of Carleton University’s journalism program and has a Masters in media and globalization.

Katie C.H. Lin

For years now, Katie Lin has suffered from itchy feet. Since 2005, she has lived and worked in Sri Lanka, Mexico, Canada, England and today, finds herself in Blantyre, Malawi, working at the Malawi Institute of Journalism.

In 2010, Katie received her Masters degree in international multimedia journalism from Newcastle University in the UK, where she also trained with the BBC and the Press Association. She has since contributed stories, reviews and photographs to several UK-based publications, including The Journal, the Sunday Sun, and HotShoe magazine.

An avid photographer and media enthusiast, Lin is thrilled to have the opportunity to combine her passion for journalism, education and travel in her new role.

James Munson

Learning the way the world works first-hand drives James Munson‘s passion for journalism. After graduating from the University of King’s College in 2008, he headed west to Denver to work for the Hill Times, where he finagled a ticket to hear Barack Obama accept the presidential candidacy. His impulse then lead him north to the Yukon News in Whitehorse, where he cut his teeth as an investigative reporter and feature writer.

He won the 2010 Ma Murray award in environmental writing for a story about the premier’s hand in suppressing the advice of scientists who recommended protecting the Peel watershed from mining. He also exposed the premier’s negotiations to sell the Yukon’s public power utility in 2009. James and the premier are no longer speaking.

His experience in northern Canada has prepared him for the rigours of Tamale in northern Ghana—he thrives on living in a strange places in strange times doing exhilarating work. He’s looking forward to working at Diamond FM where he hopes to focus his work on politics and governance issues.

Angela Pereira

Angela Pereira’s current position at the Malawi Institute of Journalism in Blantyre marries her longtime passion for media, international development and social justice.

While earning a Bachelor of Journalism at Carleton University, she interned at print and online publications including the Ottawa Citizen and University Affairs Magazine. But she never managed to remain on Canadian soil for long; she travelled to Central America with Development and Peace, a Canadian NGO, and was a journalism intern in Botswana. Upon graduation, she worked for Canada’s International Development Research Centre as a writer and media relations assistant.

This is Pereira’s second time in Malawi, where she worked for a year as a media and communications advisor for a local HIV/AIDS organization from 2009 to 2010.

Robin Pierro

Robin Pierro has somewhat of a habit of dashing off to foreign countries to get the story. Before landing her internship at TV Africa in Accra, Pierro travelled to Kenya, Ghana and Peru to produce three independent documentaries. In Kenya, Pierro spent weeks living and working in one of Africa’s largest slums, working on her film The Voice of Kibera.

Pierro’s current role at TV Africa is driven by her belief that journalists have the ability to empower, educate and evoke change through the stories they share.

She graduated from Ryerson University with a degree in journalism and was honored with the Joe Perlove Award for the best student journalist in their graduating year.

The Death of Newspapers, Africa-style

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Newspapers for sale on the streets of Blantyre

Well before I left for Ghana in June, I was tired of all the talk of all the talk of the death of newspapers in Canada. As a young journalist, I was disheartened to be working in an environment where so many of my colleagues were consumed with predicting the death of our profession.

It was a great relief to come to Ghana and find a press that was not dying. Far from it, in fact. As discussed in a previous post, the press in Ghana is a thriving, robust beast, closely followed by Ghanaians of every social class. Every morning, the newspaper stands are crammed with dozens of newspapers—tabloids and broadsheets, in both English and Twi, the local language, and often sold out by mid-afternoon.

I thought I might find the same when I went to Malawi. But there were some distinct differences. The press is followed closely, as here in Ghana, and papers frequently sell out, another similarity, but the main difference lies in the variety of papers available. In Malawi, there are only three national newspapers, and one has such a low circulation that it is often overlooked.

“There used to be 20 newspapers, there are half now,” Brian Ligomeka, editor of The Daily Times, told me one afternoon on a drive though town. “There are more universities now,” Ligomeka continues, “we were expecting that as people were graduating, as the economy was growing, then the circulation of newspapers would grow. This has not been the case.” Newspapers dying? It sounded all too familiar. Ligomeka has made it the focus of his Masters thesis, and explained why he thinks there are so few surviving newspapers in Malawi. “Is it the impact of new media?” he pondered. He guesses that Malawians are increasingly accessing their news online, as opposed to in print, as is happening in the west.

I found this hard to believe, however, based on what I had gathered about internet in the country—the connection is often slow and access is sporadic, since most cannot afford to pay to log on in internet cafes. In fact, according to the World Bank, only 2.1 percent of Malawians have access to the web.

After a couple of weeks learning about the media in Malawi, the picture became clearer. There are only two printing presses in Blantyre, where most media organizations are located, and starting up a new printing press is expensive. This harsh economic reality has shut out anyone who has tried to edge in and publish their own papers. This means the country’s two main papers, The Daily Times and The Nation enjoy a monopoly over the printing press.

But things could be worse. Both papers are officially independent; free from political influence and towing party lines, which means the news coming from both is generally reliable and credible. The main impediment to producing unbiased news is the reliance on the government for advertising dollars, which can make editors weary about publishing anything too critical of the ruling party. The Nation got a bitter taste of this reality when all government advertising was cut from its pages a few months ago, leaving it scrambling for ad money from private companies and NGOs posting job vacancies.

Thankfully, the commitment to editorial integrity remains intact, despite the unwelcome reliance on politically-charged ads. “The media should not have to depend on government advertising,” Ligomeka says, adding that “journalists just have to be courageous anyway.”

Media Matters

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Having finally reached Ghana last Saturday, I was eager to sink my teeth into the local media here in Accra. What I discovered is that the press here is as powerful, far-reaching and robust in Ghana as I expected based on my time working as reporter in Uganda last year. Journalism matters here, and people pay close attention to the day’s news.

Days after arriving, I visited one of our local media partners, Critical TV, an affiliate of TV Africa, which is one of the country’s most established television stations. Gabriel Quacoopome took me to the office where all the editing is done for Critical’s acclaimed Tuesday night program, International Assignment, hosted by Jefferson Sackey.

Gabriel Quacoopome, General Manager of Critical TV

As we got out of the car near the television station, Gabby turned to me and said, almost out of nowhere, “journalists are important here,” with a slight smirk that suggested he knew he held a certain power because of his line of work. Gabby explained that police officers, soldiers and politicians know better than to abuse their power in the presence of a journalist. If they do, their name will be on air or in the next day’s paper, almost unfailingly. What’s more journalists face little censorship here too. If a reporter is muzzled, neighbouring media houses will surely speak up against it.

“It’s that ‘freedom of speech’ thing,” Gabby replied when I asked him why journalists face fewer restriction here than in Liberia, for example. He said it so nonchalantly that at first, it sounded as if it wasn’t something to be taken seriously. But that wasn’t it. His tone suggested that it is something that is engrained in journalism here; freedom of speech is not some obscure right spoken about here, it’s expected and frequently exercised.

But for some, that freedom can be taken too far. “Journalists are now misusing the pen,” an executive at TV Africa told me. We were on the topic of a hot story that broke in Ghana last month. While being interviewed at a radio station, a teacher compared Ghana’s President Atta Mills to a chimpanzee. Within hours, he was arrested by police. One local paper, The Daily Guide (which also one of jhr’s media partners), spoke to a human rights lawyer who said journalists must exercise their right to free speech “with a sense of responsibility and decorum.”

The TV Africa exec I spoke to told me, “we’ve come along way” in Ghana, especially compared to some neighbourhing countries where the press is far from free. But he’s disappointed when media push boundaries to the point of losing credibility.

He added that Ghana’s media track record isn’t perfect when it comes to political biases. “Many media houses are very politically aligned,” he said. This influence might only be subtle in the editorial content, he said, but it can create an environment of self-censorship.

So we’re not quite there, but inching closer. And the more these issues are confronted in newsrooms across the country, the closer we’ll be to achieving a truly independent and professional press in Ghana.

Goodbye Canada, hello Africa!

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This blog post will be decidedly less glamorous than the posts to follow, which I will be writing from sweaty internet cafes in Ghana, Malawi, and, eventually, Liberia.

Nonetheless, I’d like to introduce myself here, and explain why I’m lucky enough to get the opportunity to travel to all those countries. I am jhr’s new overseas program coordinator, which means I am the face of jhr in Africa and, along with the help of head office staff, I am on the continent to ensure that our programs are running smoothly and that our staff on the ground are able to do their best work.

I will be working closely with the journalists that jhr sends to work in newsrooms in Africa and also with our media partners on the ground, and I cannot wait to relate their stories here on Jenny’s Dispatches, where I’ll be blogging regularly from Africa starting next week.

Though leaving my life in Canada behind isn’t altogether easy, I am brimming with excitement about being stationed in Ghana and working for jhr, an organization I have been following for years. Though I’ve only been in the position for a couple of weeks now, I feel as though I’ve been preparing for the job for years—I have an undergraduate degree in African Studies and am close finishing my masters in journalism from Ryerson University.

Last summer, I worked at a national newspaper in Uganda, which taught me to not only be a better journalist because of the enormous challenges we faced on the job (one phone for a newsroom of 20 journalists, shaky internet connections and general mistrust of the press by government sources) but also opened my eyes to the intense importance of the media in developing democracies. Every night, the bars in Kampala are packed with Ugandans talking about the day’s headlines. Journalism matters there—I witnessed firsthand the power of the press to hold politicians accountable, expose injustices and educate communities.

That power is not lost on us at jhr. In fact, it’s what drives us. And I can’t wait to start writing about how our programs on the ground help us achieve that, one human rights story at a time.