By: Aja Musu Bah-Daffeh
The press club of Kalagi Upper and Secondary School paid a courtesy call on Foroyaa newspaper on Friday 20 November, 2021.
The students, who aspire to take up the field someday, engaged the management of Foroyaa on the required hands-on journalism which they intended to disseminate back to the school and also practicalize it at the level of their press club activities.
Speaking to them on the role of journalists, the Managing Director and Chief Editor of Foroyaa, Mr. Samuel Sarr, said the key objective of a journalist is to gather information, write news pieces and present the news in an honest and balanced manner. Hence, he said, journalists should be ethical and know relevant issues that will benefit people if reported.
He asserted that a good journalist should have the passion for the profession and s/he must be able to write well, adding that journalists should be aware and equally know their rights in order for them not to be trampled upon because they should stand firm in holding the authorities accountable.
Chief Editor Sarr urged the students to start active writing at their early stage so that they can have the spirit of writing inculcated in them.
“In The Gambia, journalists are not well paid because wealthy men and women or even high-level companies are not ready to invest more into media,” Sarr revealed to the aspiring journalist students.
Nonetheless, Mr. Sarr encouraged the students to attend their tertiary education at Media Academy for Journalism and Communication (MAJAG) which he said is one of the best journalism schools in The Gambia.
He also took turns explaining to them the background of Foroyaa; how it is structured, the technical format as well as how the process of printing the newspaper is made.
A Teacher and Coordinator of Kalagi press club, Modou Sowe, said it has been five years since they formed the press club and their aim is to have an objective journalistic group. He added that there are many media houses they could have gone to, but they came to Foroyaa because they are ethical in what they do, committed and produce accurate news.
Sowe also said the visit will broaden the knowledge of the students on journalism and they will put the knowledge gained into best use at their school level.
Mariama Camara and Demba Tamba, both grade 12 students at the said school, said they aspire to become good journalists in future and that they will follow all journalism ethics. They raised their hats to Mr. Sarr for giving them an in depth overview of what journalism is all about.
