By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
To mark the 1st edition of the Inclusive Journalism Awards, the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG) has awarded three journalists with prize money from a total of nine applicants who participated in an Inclusive and Anti-conflict Journalism Award for 2023.
The three recipients, all reporters, are Mohamed Sahr from A-Z Newspaper, Cecilia Alice Sesay from SLBC TV, and Patricia Sia Gevao from Awoko Newspaper. The event took place at the 50/50 Group Hall, Tower Hill, Freetown on the 31 October 2023.
The theme for the event was “Raising Public Awareness of the Interconnections between Conflict, Migration, Climate Change, and Minority Exclusion” under the “Engaging Media and Minorities to Act for Peace Building (EMMAP) Programme.”
MRCG Project Officer, Patricia Christiana Sankoh noted that participation was opened to journalists from various media houses to submit already published articles or broadcasts focused on inclusive and anti-conflict journalism.
She said that at the end of the submission, three evaluators shortlisted five entrees from 25 that pitched for the award.
In her statement, President of Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL) who was part of the Evaluation Committee, Eastina Taylor stated that all of the stories they received were quite impressive. She said that during the evaluation process, a total of 16 stories were evaluated featuring articles, videos, and audio. She added that some journalists submitted multiple stories, with the understanding that the evaluators would process the most compelling stories from each of them.
She pointed out that the evaluation process was centred on five thematic areas; the originality of the story and the issues addressed, investigative work put into the story, the impact of the story, authentication and call to action. So she said the judges considered the uniqueness of the topic explored and the depth delved into issues.
Madam Taylor said the story by Gevao looked at access to good primary health care in Freetown and emerged as the overall winner with 500 Euros in prize money. She noted that the stories that did not make it to the top five have some shortcomings such as uninspired introduction, and insufficient inclusion of the minority persons.
Chairman of the MRCG Advisory Board who doubles as Chairman of the Independent Media Commission (IMC), Dr. Victor Massaquoi noted that they robustly scrutinized all the stories submitted. He said the contents of the journalists’ presentations represent hope for journalism in the country.
He reiterated that should the project continue next year, they will have more professionals applying for it. He said one of the central functions of SLAJ and IMC is to ensure that they develop the media landscape in the country.
In an interview with Politico, the overall winner, Gevao expressed joy after receiving the award. She said she was inspired by the EMMA course that teaches about Minority Groups from which she was able to receive information from people living in those communities. She encouraged other journalists not to be afraid of taking chances in what they want to achieve.
The other two awardees Sesay and Sahr were presented with the sum of 300 and 200 Euros, respectively.
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