Journalism Course to kick off in September 2008

In a press briefing at the head offices of Media Agenda on Wednesday May 28 2008.Journalists were informed of a journalism course to kick off by September of this year. The training is jointly being organized by Media Agenda and Insight Training Center.

Madi Ceesay the Director of Media Agenda informed journalists that his organization have been working with Insight Training Center to wards a journalism programme for the past six months. A technical committee was set up tasked to write a syllabus and to put other logistics in place for the course. In that committee is people like Swaebou Conateh a veteran journalist, he is the editor   of the Gambia News and Report Magazine, Alieu Sayang of Information department, Cherno Jallow a media consultant, and Amie Bojang Sissoh a broadcaster are the other members of the committee.   This technical committee is the ones serving as lecturers.

Ceesay went on to say the course will cover Newspaper and Magazine Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, Photo Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations and Communication theories.

Talking about who is eligible for the courses, Ceesay told the journalists, the grade nine graduates who are interested in the certificate course must have credit in English language, or the interested candidate must have five years experience as a reporter with one of the local papers.

For the diploma course, a candidate must be a certificate holder in journalism or grade twelve graduates (12) with a pass in English language. For candidates who are interested and do not neither have a grade 12 certificate, nor do they have a certificate in journalism must have ten years experience or more as a reporter with one of the local newspapers. This category is treated as matured candidates.

The fee for the certificate course is twelve thousand (D12000.00) and the Diploma is fifteen thousand dalais (D15000.00).