By Nelson Manneh/Kebba Secka
25 Journalists yesterday August 13th 2018, commenced one month training on Court reporting, at the University of the Gambia.
The project sponsored by Open Society Initiative for West Africa, is in partnership with the Gambia Press Union (GPU) and the School of Journalism and the University of the Gambia.
Speaking at the opening, Saikou Jammeh, Secretary General of the GPU, said the project aims to assist journalists in building their capacity on Court reporting and to encourage them specialize on the subject itself. Jammeh said the GPU realized there are not many journalists specialized on Court reporting and those doing it, have limited knowledge.
“We want to encourage journalists to have specialization. We want to have good Court reporters in The Gambia,” he said.
On his part, Dr. Henry D.R. Carrol, Senior Lecturer at the University of the Gambia, said journalists should know the terminologies and the processes of the Courts in the country; that there are punishments for journalists reports from the Courts that are inaccurately because they misrepresent the facts; that a Court reporter should have knowledge of the Gambian Legal system.
Nana Gray Johnson, the Dean of the School of Journalism at the University of the Gambia, said Court reporting is one of the most the important components in journalism; that journalists going to the Courts, should know Court processes and how to write or broadcast it. He challenged participants to fully take advantage of the training, in order to help them build their capacities, on Court reporting.
