BY RWENZORI DAILY
KASESE — When a journalist in a rural newsroom becomes better equipped to report, investigate and explain issues affecting their community, the impact can extend far beyond the newsroom.
That is the philosophy behind the work of the Rwenzori Media Development Foundation (RMDF), which has spent years investing in the skills, tools and professional development of journalists and community media practitioners in the Rwenzori region.
“When you strengthen the journalist, you strengthen the media. When you strengthen the media, you strengthen the community,” says Martin Kibaba, Executive Director of RMDF.
For Kibaba, the statement captures more than the organisation’s approach to journalism training. It reflects the connection between a journalist’s ability to produce reliable information and a community’s ability to understand issues, demand accountability and make informed decisions.
RMDF was established in 2009 after its founders identified a persistent challenge in rural newsrooms: many people working in journalism had passion for the profession but limited access to formal training and professional development.
A 2018 study conducted by RMDF found that about 70 percent of workers in the radio stations studied had no formal journalism training.
Many had entered the profession after Senior Four or Senior Six and were working as reporters, presenters, producers, editors or programme managers.
For RMDF, the finding raised an important question: what happens to the quality of information reaching communities when the people producing that information have not received adequate professional preparation?
“That question has shaped RMDF ever since,” Kibaba said.
From the journalist to the community
The organisation’s argument is that journalism capacity should not be viewed simply as an investment in individual reporters.
A journalist trained to verify information, conduct stronger interviews, understand evidence and investigate public-interest issues can influence the quality of an entire newsroom.
That newsroom, in turn, can influence the quality of information available to its audience.
For communities that depend heavily on local radio, the consequences can be significant.
A reporter may be the only journalist attending a local council meeting. A health reporter may be responsible for translating complicated medical information into language ordinary people can understand. A radio presenter may be the person explaining a new government programme to listeners.
In such situations, Kibaba says, the journalist carries a significant responsibility.
“Information does not become useful simply because it is broadcast,” he said. “It has to be accurate, understandable, relevant, ethical and trusted.”
That is why RMDF’s work has expanded beyond basic journalism training to include institutional strengthening, mentorship, equipment support, practical tools and partnerships.
The organisation’s approach is based on the belief that sustainable community media requires both competent journalists and strong institutions.
Building journalists through practice
At the centre of RMDF’s work is its School of Journalism, created to address the professional training gap identified in rural newsrooms.
The school uses a practical apprenticeship model covering reporting, writing, editing, news anchoring, radio and television presentation, production and basic ICT skills.
Kibaba says journalism cannot be fully learned from theory alone.
“You can teach someone the definition of a news lead. But until that person has actually sat down and written a lead from a real story, the lesson remains theoretical,” he said.
The same principle applies to interviewing.
A journalist can learn interviewing techniques in a classroom, he said, but the profession becomes real when a reporter has to interview someone who is angry, evasive or more knowledgeable about the subject than the journalist.
RMDF therefore exposes trainees to practical reporting, broadcasting, newsroom environments, media houses and community assignments.
“We want them to graduate with more than a certificate,” Kibaba said. “We want them to graduate with confidence, judgement and a body of work.”
The organisation says it has trained more than 300 journalists.
Kibaba views each trained journalist as a potential channel through which better information can reach communities.
One journalist may improve a newsroom’s news bulletin. Another may produce a stronger health programme. Another may learn to investigate environmental destruction, while another may become an editor who mentors younger reporters.
The impact, he argues, multiplies.
“So when we talk about training one journalist, we are not really talking about one person,” Kibaba said. “We are talking about everyone that journalist will eventually reach.”
Why the Rwenzori needs strong environmental journalism
The connection between journalism and community wellbeing is particularly visible in environmental reporting.
The Rwenzori region faces environmental challenges including deforestation, pollution, land degradation and flooding.
These issues rarely fit into a single category.
A polluted river, for example, can become a health story, an agriculture story, an economic story and a governance story.
That means journalists covering environmental issues need to understand more than the event itself. They need to understand science, data, policy and the experiences of affected communities.
With support from UNESCO, RMDF partnered with Makerere University’s Department of Journalism and Communication on a project to strengthen environmental and climate reporting.
The project trained 30 journalists from 15 community radio stations, including reporters, editors, presenters and programme managers.
The objective was to help journalists make climate change and environmental issues relevant to their audiences.
Instead of simply reporting that a wetland has been destroyed, for example, journalists can ask what the destruction means for farmers, who is responsible, what laws protect the wetland, whether those laws are being enforced and what evidence exists.
Kibaba says those questions help move journalism from simply describing events to producing public-interest reporting.
“We want them to ask: Why did it happen? Who is affected? Who is responsible? What does the evidence show? What does the law say? And what happens next?” he said.
Strong journalists also strengthen accountability
For RMDF, strengthening journalists is also about strengthening the ability of communities to hold institutions and people in positions of power accountable.
Kibaba says journalists should not approach stories with predetermined conclusions.
“A journalist’s job is not to campaign for one side,” he said. “A journalist’s job is to seek truth, verify information, hold power accountable and give the public the information it needs to make informed decisions.”
If evidence reveals wrongdoing, he said, journalists should report it. If evidence shows an accusation is false, they should report that too.
That approach is particularly important in communities where local media can provide some of the only sustained scrutiny of public institutions and local issues.
But accountability journalism requires journalists who have the skills, resources and professional support to do the work.
The pressure on rural media
RMDF’s work comes against a backdrop of financial and institutional difficulties facing many community media organisations.
Kibaba identified limited financial sustainability as one of the biggest challenges.
Some stations struggle to generate enough revenue, retain qualified staff, maintain equipment and invest in new technologies.
Others face inadequate newsroom computers, digital recorders, reliable internet, studio equipment and electricity supply.
Professional development is another challenge.
Many journalists have learned through experience but have had limited access to specialised training in investigative journalism, data journalism, media law, digital reporting and safety.
At the same time, audiences are changing.
People are increasingly consuming information through social media and other digital platforms, forcing rural media organisations to rethink how they produce and distribute journalism.
For RMDF, that transition means rural journalists must develop new skills without losing the fundamental principles of journalism.
The journalist of tomorrow
Kibaba says the journalist of tomorrow cannot think only in terms of radio, television or newspapers.
One story may now need to become a radio package, written article, podcast, short video, photographs and social-media content.
Artificial intelligence is also changing the profession. But Kibaba argues that technology does not eliminate the need for journalists. Instead, it increases the importance of verification.
“When everybody can create and distribute information, we need professionals who can distinguish fact from fiction, evidence from rumour and journalism from propaganda,” he said.
The future journalist therefore needs technological competence alongside strong ethical judgement.
For rural journalists, that means adapting to new platforms while continuing to serve audiences that depend on them for credible local information.
Journalism, peace and the public interest
RMDF’s work also extends into peace and conflict-sensitive journalism.
Kibaba said the history of political, ethnic, cultural and social tensions in the Rwenzori region makes responsible reporting particularly important.
Careless reporting can reinforce stereotypes or inflame tensions, while responsible journalism can help communities understand events without journalists becoming part of the conflict.
In 2022, RMDF organised the Rwenzori Peace Journalism Awards as part of a wider programme that benefited 100 journalists and social-media influencers across the region.
The organisation’s message is that journalists should not become megaphones for conflict but should help communities understand one another.
This again connects back to RMDF’s broader philosophy: strengthening the journalist can strengthen the community’s ability to understand difficult issues.
Protecting trust in journalism
For Kibaba, however, one of the biggest challenges facing journalism is the erosion of public trust.
Journalism depends on credibility, he said, and audiences can lose confidence when journalists are perceived as repeating rumours, serving political interests or producing sensational stories simply to attract attention.
Artificial intelligence could make that challenge more complicated by making it easier to create convincing false content.
Kibaba says the response should not be to fear technology but to strengthen professional journalism.
“Verification. Ethics. Evidence. Accountability. Transparency. Professional standards. Those are going to matter more than ever,” he said.
That responsibility does not belong only to national news organisations.
It also applies to community journalists whose audiences may depend on them for information about their immediate surroundings.
Investing in people
Despite the challenges facing the profession, Kibaba says young journalists remain a source of hope.
RMDF continues to meet young people who want to learn, ask questions and tell stories, including some who have never previously worked in a newsroom.
For him, the transformation of those journalists is one of the most rewarding aspects of the organisation’s work.
A young person can arrive with a dream but little confidence and eventually learn to write news stories, conduct interviews, work behind a microphone, question officials and investigate public-interest issues.
Former RMDF trainees are now working as reporters, editors, presenters and programme hosts, according to the organisation.
For Kibaba, those people represent the longer-term impact of journalism development.
“The people who become better journalists because RMDF existed,” he said, are a more meaningful measure of the organisation’s work than the number of workshops conducted.
That is why he believes investment in journalism should be understood as an investment in communities.
A trained journalist can strengthen a newsroom. A stronger newsroom can provide better information. Better information can help communities understand the issues affecting them and participate more effectively in decisions that shape their lives.
And that is the idea at the centre of RMDF’s work.
“When you strengthen the journalist, you strengthen the media. When you strengthen the media, you strengthen the community,” Kibaba said.
