Journalists who underwent specialist training on development journalism this week have been challenged to report better on issues affecting the country.
President of the PNG Media Council Alexander Rheeney challenged 15 journalists from various media newsrooms in Port Moresby including one from Loop PNG who underwent the Thomson Reuters journalist training.
Speaking during the presentation of certificates to journalists on Friday afternoon in Port Moresby, Rheeney thanked the United Nations for funding the training as well as the trainers who ran the week-long Reuters foundation course.
The UN Resident Coordinator Roy Trividy said the UN was thrilled to support the media council in conducting training such as the Thomson Reuters journalist course which is usually world-class.
“We are pleased that Journalists found it useful. “You will be remembering this again and again some of the things you have learnt from these trainees” Trividy said.
The training covered areas of reporting on Sustainable Development Goals, children rights, environment, reproductive health, and gender based violence. Journalists underwent training on various practical skills they can use to collect information, analyzing story angles, constructing them into appealing and strong stories as well as analytical data interpretation for development Journalism.
The UN Resident Coordinator Roy Trividy and President of Media Council Alexander Rheeney presented certificates to each participant after the training.
The training was conducted by Michael Rose, a Canadian with 35 years journalism experience.
He was assisted by Lincoln Feast.
“It’s been a great group and we thank the UN for organizing such,” Feast who is one of the trainers said.
Rose has worked in major media organizations in Canada, the UK, France and Australia. He is currently Director of Research and Communications at the Australian Press Council, based in Sydney.
He has conducted training courses for working journalists in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, South Africa, East Timor, Thailand and Sweden.
He had travelled to more than 75 countries during his media career and he is the author of six books.
He has worked at a senior level for, among others, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, UPI, Maclean's Magazine, Radio France International, and The Sydney Morning Herald.
He is a former Chef sub-Editor on the World Desk at Reuters in London.