Profiles

Dominic Santo: Returning Home, in Divided Sudan

It’s early morning at Juba International Airport and 42-year-old Dominic Santo is nervous. Today, after almost three decades, he will board a plane taking him home. Dominic is the station manager of Radio al Mujtama fi Kurmuk, a community radio station in Blue Nile State launched and supported by Internews. He is traveling to his home in Warrap State, which he has not seen for 27 years.more

Patrick Luganda – Supporting Africa’s Agriculture with Climate News

“Telling the climate change story, its causes and effects, and the ways in which we can contribute in the fight against it, remains a difficult task for any party involved, including the scientific community, governments, the media and NGOs”
– Patrick Luganda, journalist, media trainer, and farmer, Ugandamore

Q & A with Wangari Migwi – A young Kenyan radio journalist tackles local taboos

"There is a story I did on World AIDS Day. It was about men who have sex with men. I was looking at the angle of - whatever their actions are, they have a right to medical care just like everyone else. But you see, for a Kikuyu to understand – or for an African to understand that this person should be treated in the same way was very hard, even for some of my colleagues. They said, “'How can they be treated like a human being?'” – Wangari Migwi, a Kenyan radio presenter and journalistmore

Mary Wagura – From Poverty to ‘Peace Beat’ Reporter

"I used to arrive at the radio station every day at 8 a.m. and not leave until the evening. It didn’t matter that the sun was beating down against my head as I sat on the bench outside the reception door. This went on day after day until the management decided to hire me."

– Mary Wagura, reporter for a community radio station in Kenyamore

Q&A with Jean Fedner Chéry – Strengthening Community Radio in Haiti

"At the political level, radio meets my desire to fight against the rise of all forms of dictatorship and political farces—coups, corruption, electoral manipulation, impunity—and the desire to promote a just and democratic society."

– Jean Fedner Chéry, RAMAK Coordinator Generalmore

Q&A with Thepchai Yong – Holding Those in Power Accountable

"Commitment to serving the public is most essential for investigative reporting. Besides its fundamental duty to report accurately and objectively, the media also have an important role in promoting good governance and transparency." 

– Thepchai Yong, Managing Director for Thai PBSmore

Q&A with Tasneem Ahmar – Helping Pakistani Women Have Their Say

"You have to keep striving for a better and a more just society by continuing to work positively. Remember that equality is only possible when there is increased awareness, a transformation in attitudes, and a removal of unequal practices that are deeply rooted in society. For this reason you will have to communicate effectively that you are here to stay."  – Tasneem Ahmar, Director of Uks Research Centermore

“Between the Devil and the Ditch” Challenges—and Signs of Hope—for Media in Pakistan’s Tribal Regions

“Reporting on a region where the fate of the international ‘war on terror’ will be decided is not a job for the faint of heart.” So says Aurangzaib Khan, Manager of Media Development for Internews based in Peshawar, Pakistan. In the following interview, Khan, a respected journalist in his own right, discusses the many obstacles for local journalists based in and around Pakistan’s restive tribal regions—and shares some surprising signs of progress.more

Q & A with Gustavo Faleiros: On Geojournalism and Why Environmental Reporting Excites Him

Gustavo Faleiros is an environmental journalist at O Eco Online in Brazil and a Fellow in the Climate Change Media Partnership co-sponsored by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network. He has a special interest in “geojournalism,” the new practice of combining online mapping and satellite imagery with reporting to tell richer stories.more

Akram El Neis – Stepping up to the Challenge of Working in Yemen

Akram El Neis, Internews Network’s Project Director in Yemen, has worked as a journalist in some of the most difficult places in the world, including Iraq and in Cambodia, where he was ambushed and injured by bandits who killed his driver. Despite this history, El Neis says his work with Internews setting up a radio production unit in Yemen is one of his most challenging assignments.more

Nabeela Aslam – Speaking in Her Own Voice in Pakistan

“Women speaking about issues in their own voices is very powerful. We need more women on air!”   

— Nabeela Aslam, Executive Producer, Meri Awaz Suno, Pakistan

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Fauzia Komora – Tragic End for Young Kenyan Journalist

Beaming with enthusiasm, 28 year old Fauzia Komora was a budding journalist who couldn’t wait to bring her newly-learnt skills to her radio stories. A trainee from Pwani FM on the Kenyan Coastal city Mombasa, Fauzia, was among 7 radio trainees of the Internews radio workshop held at the end of February. The theme was the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (of HIV).more

Close-Up with William Ingaga: HIV Chronicler and Cameraman Extraordinaire

"To be honest, HIV was like any other story to me. Internews offered me the break from news and boosted my confidence and ability to tackle features. The fact that the topic was HIV was a bonus – it opened my eyes to how big the subject is, and the joy of making an impact in peoples’ lives is indescribable."  — William Ingaga, Film Officer, Kenya News Agencymore

Mariane Pearl — The Challenge of Hope

Journalist and author Mariane Pearl came to international attention when her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, was kidnapped and beheaded by Islamic militants in Pakistan in 2002. She was five months pregnant at the time. Currently based in Paris, Mariane Pearl reports on women working for social change as well as culture, science, immigration, and politics.more

Imelda Abano – a Filipina Journalist Communicates the Urgency of Climate Change

Imelda Abano is a 31-year-old freelance journalist with an extensive background in environmental, health and development issues in Asia. She currently writes for the Science and Development Network based in London, the Inter Press Service, the Women’s International Perspective News Service based in U.S., and the Business Mirror in the Philippines. Abano is the Asian winner of the Global IUCN-Reuters Environmental Reporting Award in 2002. She was interviewed by Internews about her role as an environmental journalist.more

Does Lime Juice Prevent AIDS? “Princess Chi” Dispels HIV Myths on Air in Nigeria

"I had to learn the skills of a good reporter; I am still learning. I do not really know how I got here from being a graduate of Chemical Engineering to a journalist whose reports are winning free trips to different parts of the world. I owe all these to Internews. This is just the beginning for me. I am more determined than ever before to do more." – Uzomba Chinyere Joy, reporter and producer for HOT-FM in Abuja, Nigeriamore

Fabienne Viltis – A Young Radio Producer Shines from Haiti’s Most Dangerous Slum

Fabienne Viltis spent many a school day under her desk, dodging gun battles fought by gangs in Cité Soleil (Sun City), one of Haiti’s poorest, roughest, and most dangerous areas. It is one of the biggest slums in the Northern Hemisphere. “At times, the gang leaders would tell the students to leave the area but frequently nonstop gunfire would force us to stay in the classrooms for hours,” said Fabienne.  “If you had seen the walls of our college… full of bullet holes!”more

Kalaivani Saravani — Breaking Down Ethnic Barriers in Sri Lanka

Forgiveness was a difficult word for Kalaivani Saravani when she was growing up as a war orphan in Sri Lanka. But recently the 18-year-old Tamil university student, almost by accident, discovered personal healing. This happened when she was selected to participate as a trainee radio producer in a weeklong Internews cross-production workshop that brought together young, Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim journalists to cover stories that affect the lives of local communities.more

Tole Nyatta — Reaching Out to the Youth of Kenya

"Most of the people involved in the protests and destructions were the youth and they felt that we as a station were not supporting them because we were preaching peace and dissuading them from violence. But we continued with the campaign and now it is bearing some fruits..."  — Tole Nyatta, Journalist and Journalism Trainer at Pamoja FM in Kenyamore

Chris Turpin — Adventures of a Radio Trainer

"At Radio Grande in Tashkent, I asked the staff what kind of training they would like. The response: 'Teach us how to be Howard Stern.' Apparently pirated copies of 'Private Parts' were the hot ticket there. Preaching the gospel of news radio isn’t always easy."  — Chris Turpin, Executive Producer of NPR's All Things Considered, former Internews trainermore

Natalia Ligacheva – Watching the Media in Ukraine

“Ukrainian readers and viewers need and deserve professional journalism. Professional journalism, as I see it, is intelligent journalism based on honest intentions, based on facts and not on rumors or conjectures, that serves the citizens and not the government or publishers. Journalism should be devoted to one thing—the search for truth.” — Natalia Ligacheva, journalist, media critic and the editor of Telekritikamore

Greg Carr — Where the Buffalo Roamed

"Gorongosa Park is a world treasure of biodiversity. Many of the thousands of species present have not yet been studied or named. Moreover, at one time Gorongosa had the largest density of lions in the world and we hope to restore those numbers. Many people don't realize that lions in the wild are an endangered species because their habitat is disappearing."  — Greg Carr, Director, Carr Foundation; Board Member, Internews Networkmore

Hoang Quoc Dzung – Veteran Environmental Reporter in Vietnam

"The most challenging thing in investigating this issue is my loneliness. All of my colleagues who were involved in the case with me at the beginning have now given up due to the sensitivity of the issue...The reward for me is that I dare to do what the others dare not."  — Hoang Quoc Dzung, Vietnamese environmental reporter more

Rachel Jones - Training Journalists in Uganda how to Report on Gender Based Violence

"Westerners take communication and access to information for granted. Westerners need to understand what a day-to-day challenge it can be to live in extreme poverty, with the threat of war looming or actual war going on around you—and not know where the danger lies, where the landmines are, where troop activity has been seen." – Rachel Jones, Internews trainer in Uganda more

Nighat Hunzai - Highlighting the Issues of Women in Pakistan

In the aftermath of the October 2005 earthquake centered in Northern Pakistan, which killed 73,000 and displaced 3.5 million, women reporters who were prepared to cover the lives of women devastated by the tragedy were hard to come by in the conservative region. Nighat was the only female graduate who volunteered to join the Internews-initiated Pakistan Emergency Information Program (PEIP). more

Bashir Osman – Striving to Get the Message out about HIV/AIDS

It’s one thing to believe you have a position on HIV/AIDS but it’s quite another to actually meet someone living with the virus. So many journalists in Ethiopia report regularly on the epidemic and its consequences that it’s surprising how many do so without ever meeting a person living with HIV (PLHIV). This is the story of a conversion, of a journalist who came to Internews with firm opinions about people with HIV but who went away a changed man.more

Mohammed Ataya – Working toward Peace Through Media

The Ramallah-based Wattan TV has been a force for positive change in Palestinian media. This past September the station received a grant from Internews Network to support the development of five new programs and has participated in several of workshops and in-house trainings. Kevin Nolan, Grants Manager for Internews Network in the West Bank/Gaza, sat down with the Marketing Manager for Wattan TV, Mohammed Ataya, to discuss the relationship between the station and the local community.more

Abeer Kilaney – Providing Local News for Palestinians

Abeer Kilaney is the station director of Gama TV, the president of the West Bank-wide Sada TV network and is a coordinator for Miftah, an NGO based in Jerusalem that promotes transparency, accountability, and the uninhibited flow of information in Palestinian society. In addition, she is a mother of six. Kevin Nolan spoke with Abeer this week, and asked her to tell him about her background and daily life.more

On the Beat with Kenyan Health Reporter Sylvia Chebet

"Before the training, it would have scared me. How and where would I find the stories to fill such a slot? But now somehow my eyes have been opened. Now I have so many stories, my only fear is I won’t have enough time to do them all!”
— Sylvia Chebet, Citizen TV, after participating in the first group of TV trainees at Internews’ Local Voices program in Kenyamore

Freshta Shikhany – One of Pakistan's Pioneering Women Journalists

"With radio, I can give my community a voice," says Freshta Shikhany, aka “DJ Malaika." Shikhany is a study in determination. She fled Kabul in 1992 at age 9 when “rockets were flying all over the city” and sought refuge in the border town of Peshawar in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province. more

Liu Jianqiang – Exposing Environmental Issues in China

“The environmental crisis in China gets more and more serious every day, making environmental reporting one of the most important categories of reporting in China today.” — Liu Jianqiang, environmental reporter, China more

Houda Malloum, Creating Radio for Refugee Women from Darfur

“As a woman, I feel as if it were me who had lived through those moments. It’s difficult. African women suffer a lot. If there is a possibility to help them, to give them everything they need to help them avoid those risks….” — Houda Mahamat Malloum, host, reporter and producer at La Voix du Ouaddaï, a community radio station set up by Internews in Abéché, Chad more

Rosemary Ejirika's Radio Clinic

“A good radio program should be able to inform and lead the listeners to an informed decision. This is what motivates me when I plan for my programs. If the people do not learn anything and are not moved enough to do something useful for themselves afterwards, then a radio program is a waste.” — Rosemary Ejirika, radio producer and host, FRCN, Nigeria more

A day on the job

Mortar blasts, machine gun fire and rebel forces aren't things generally associated with the profession of accounting, but for Diane Dobbs they were just a part of the job. Dobbs, program accounting manager for Internews Network, was on assignment last month in Abéché, Chad, helping to set up accounting systems for one of the three radio stations Internews is building to fill a vital need for Darfuri refugees when rebel forces attacked the city.more

Sara Farid — Reaching Women through Radio

“I want [my radio show] to be a role model. That when women listen to it, and even men, they get to know that we are doing all the technical stuff as well as going into the field and doing recording – it should be an inspiration to all the women out there. And they should feel so good about it that they will want to be a part of it.” — Sara Farid, producer for Meri Awaz Suno, a women's radio program in Pakistan. more

A Courageous Journalist Tackles Corruption in Cambodia

“We have a role as the watchdog. We are the bridge between the people and the government, because the government doesn’t know some problems of the people. We are also the educators.” — Sam Bunnath, Cambodian journalist who wrote an investigative report tackling corruption in Cambodia. more

Jacki Lyden's Afghan Diary

“By putting microphones in their hands, by teaching them how to create radio, I feel I am empowering them to tell their own stories again and again, long after I am gone.” — Jacki Lyden, National Public Radio senior correspondent and alternate host for All Things Considered. After working for Internews training Afghans in radio production, she shared her impressions. more

Anna Politkovskaya, Russian Journalist, 1958-2006

"The courage of a journalist…consists in giving information to the people, much against their will, and making them think about the tragedy that the country is going through, think that this must be stopped." — Anna Politkovskaya, who was killed on October 7, 2006 more

Omololu Falobi, Nigerian Journalist/HIV-AIDS Activist, 1971-2006

"All of us have to choose to respond to the challenges of our own times. For me the challenge is HIV/AIDS.” — Omololu Falobi, executive director of Journalists Against AIDS in Nigeria, who died October 6, 2006 from wounds sustained during an armed robbery in Lagos, Nigeria"more

Providing Vital News After Indonesia’s Earthquake

“I feel I have something to contribute to help alleviate the suffering of the earthquake victims. In the meantime, I’m also learning about humanitarian issues working in Radio Punakawan. We can make a difference in the lives of the earthquake victims, and that keeps me going every day despite the long working hours." more

Pakistan, One Year After the Earthquake

"After witnessing the destruction, I quickly began working at Jazba-e-Tameer. Although the earthquake has shattered me, meeting and filing stories about affected people who remain hopeful about the future has helped to heal my wounds.” more

Binsar's Story: A Photographer in Aceh, Indonesia

“I just want to master photojournalism, not only as personal satisfaction, but also it is my pride to be able to explain facts to the public through photographs.” His body is relatively small, but his working spirit is extraordinary. His camera is always with him wherever he goes. more

Ann Mikia – A Radio Producer Changes Attitudes about HIV/AIDS

“I remember once when a studio operator started recording and then took off in the middle of the interview on realizing that the person I was interviewing was HIV positive. Most of my colleagues keep on asking me whether I was HIV positive because of my interest in producing this program.” more

Irakli Miqiashvili – A Georgian Teenager Reaches Across Borders

“Producing this program gives me a good chance to get acquainted with young people not only in my own country, but in Azerbaijan and Armenia as well. Their problems have become our problems. We are sure that broadcasting both their ideas and our ideas makes us grow closer to each other.” more