Journalists asking pointed questions of government officials is a common occurrence in the United States, where a free press is considered crucial to democracy. A group of SIUC journalists is helping export this brand of journalism to countries where the news media only recently gained the freedom to question their leaders.

The group, led by associate professor Jyotika Ramaprasad, visited the east African countries of Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya this past July to hold workshops for journalists, journalism teachers, government officials, and leaders of social welfare groups. The aim was to foster cooperation among these parties as their countries struggle for open governments and more-democratic societies.

The trip last summer was the second in a series of planned exchanges funded by a three-year, $240,300 grant from the U.S. State Department.

"Prior to the 1990s, all three of these countries' media were controlled by one-party states or some other significant government control," says associate journalism professor James Kelly, a member of the SIUC team.

The senior journalists they met with in Africa often had, at great personal risk, pushed for more openness in government. With more freedom won, the reporters wanted training in the operation of an independent media.

With the journalists, the SIUC faculty focused on basic reporting techniques, such as getting multiple sources—including nongovernmental sources—for their stories. Government press officers learned more about the operation of a free media and how their relationship with such might work, while social welfare groups, such as those focused on HIV/AIDS prevention, learned how to work with media to publicize important information.

There's a long way to go. Ironically, the workshop in Ethiopia had to be canceled due to recent anti-media actions by the government there. But team members were still able to meet with journalists and educators at Addis Ababa University.

—by Tim Crosby, Media & Communication Resources