Somalia is one of the most hostile environments in the world in which to be a journalist – or to talk to the media. But building trust between journalists and community groups can have great results in helping to provide relevant, reliable news and information to the people they serve.
Journalism Training Editor Nick Raistrick reports from a recent training session in Hargeisa, Somaliland.
"We will never speak to journalists. They are bad people. You cannot trust them," says my trainee. "Some of them work for al-Shabab so it is dangerous. They will kill you," she adds, whilst gesturing across her throat with a cutting motion.
Given that I'm here to help this trainee and her colleagues build better links with the media, and we are about to hold a joint session where they will be interviewed by the 26 journalists in the training room next door, it's not a great start.
What makes it worse is that the woman speaking is the leader of the group.
The trainees are from an umbrella group whose mission is to advance the dignity of Somali women and increase the possibility of peace in Somalia.
The women include nurses, a midwife, teachers and women who run small businesses – helping others to do likewise. They will not just lead on building bridges with the media, but also teach others how to do it.
"Fast forward five days and it's a different story. To celebrate International Women's Day the women are holding a news conference for journalists – and the journalists are listening intently."
Needless to say if none of them ever speak to a journalist, it does not bode well.
A different story
Fast forward five days and it's a different story. To celebrate International Women's Day the same women are holding a news conference for the same journalists – and the journalists are listening intently.
As well as inviting questions, and answering them fully and articulately, they've performed a drama designed to illustrate traditional attitudes to female genital mutilation (FGM). At one point they unexpectedly burst into a song about the unity of Somali women.
The fact sheet they produced on the topic has been emailed to all 26 journalists, and the Chair of the event briefs journalists on how interviews can be arranged.
Building trust
It's a remarkable transformation, and one which highlights the benefits of bringing journalists together with people who need to work with the media in order to help their communities.
From an editorial point of view it can be a very difficult balance to strike. It is after all a BBC training session: we don't want to tell the journalists what they should cover, and we're not here to 'coach' interviewees.
"The course emphasises the importance of building up a trusting relationship with journalists to ensure the safety of interviewees"
The course instead emphasises the importance of building up a trusting relationship with journalists to ensure the safety of interviewees.
To help build that trust, during exercises which mixed journalists and media skills trainees there was a clear distinction between interviews which could be broadcast and those which were deemed a potential risk to participants (the latter were deleted in front of participants after playback).
Journalists also described the problems they encounter doing their job in al-Shabab-controlled regions.
Sessions on editorial values and best practice touched on topics like impartiality, news values and fairness, and straight dealing which are all core BBC values.
We also discussed specific solutions for the Somali context. For example, whereas most press releases would include contact details for a press officer, when the women put out the fact sheet on FGM as part of International Women's Day, they decided to keep it anonymous.
Desire for peace
Sessions with the women revealed a unanimous desire for peace and stability in the region and an understanding of the role of the media in achieving it.
Perhaps my favourite session featured journalists pitching to 'editors' for a fictional Somali Woman's Hour programme.
It forced the journalists to think about the women in their audience, and gave the women present a chance to step into the shoes of people who make decisions about what goes on air.
Their questions included: "What's the news peg for the story?", "who would be a good speaker on this topic?" and "how are you going to make this interesting for the audience?"
In other words, just the kind of questions that community groups should be asking when interacting with the media.
"We've never heard this on the radio before."
All groups voted for their favourites. Among the strong stories pitched, a feature on the problems associated with arranged 'video marriages' between Diaspora men and Somalia-based women and a report on the Hargeisa street girls who dress as boys to avoid attention from men.
The landslide winner, however, was an idea for a piece on how commuting for several hours a day in Mogadishu and other areas without public transport affects women and family life – not the story I would have chosen.
When I asked the women why it worked for them, the answer was both simple and a lesson for all programme makers:
"We've never heard this on the radio before."
Photo: Nick Raistrick / BBC WST
