Journalists urged to tell comprehensive stories about the economy

Economics journalists from seventeen Commonwealth countries attending a three day training programme on reporting international trade, finance and regional cooperation have been urged to be complete and comprehensive in their reporting of the subject.

Speaking on the first day of the workshop, 22 February 2009, in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, the country’s minister of trade and commerce, Felix Mutati said that for the journalistic work to have impact on audiences, it needs to be grounded in context and background.

“Stories should not be told in isolation of the environment in which they are happening. It is important for example, that while reporting the global financial and economic meltdown, comparisons and statistics and the impact of the crises are conveyed to your audiences,” Mr Mutati said.

Mr Mutati said it was crucial for the media, especially in Africa to communicate to the population the real impact the economic crisis is going to have on them.

“Our people need to know that the crisis is no longer a ‘Western’ issue, but that it is a real local issue, and that Africa is indeed going to be affected,” he said.

Organised by the Communications and Public Affairs Division (CPAD) of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the objective of the workshop is to equip journalists with practical skills in covering trade negotiations, financial markets, regional integration and globalisation.

“With the current economics and financial crisis which will inevitably affect African economies, one of the key questions that will be asked is: why were we not told? Where was the media when all this was happening? And how could the media have covered the story better,” said Manoah Esipisu, deputy director of CPAD.

“ We would like journalists from different Commonwealth countries to share experiences about how the story has been told in the respective countries, look beyond and behind the mainstream media headlines, and produce stories showing how international trade rules, global financial crises and regional integration affects the lives of ordinary citizens,” he added.

Professor Nixon Kariithi, a distinguished scholar and author on economics journalism who is leading the training said economics journalism is finally gaining recognition as the mainstay of Africa media.

“There is little doubt around the world, and in Africa, that economics journalism needs to be taken seriously by all media,” he said. “A media house without a major strategy on how to report the economy would be failing in its duties to serve its society.”

Professor Kariithi challenged African journalists to broaden coverage of the financial crisis to include its impact on the continent’s poor. “They matter because they are worst affected; our coverage is incomplete without reflections on their lives.”

Key Links:

• Country Profile: Zambia
• Economics