In 2004, the Mozambique-based NSJ Training Trust launched a training programme that seeks to optimise skills transfer and the exchange of information between media professionals in the region, while keeping costs to a minimum. Since then, dozens of journalists and news outlets have participated in the programme.

The NSJ exchange programme operates as such: participants spend up to 8 weeks at a media outlet in another country. They receive their regular paycheque, whereas NSJ refunds half of their travel costs to the host country as well as provide the journalist with a daily stipend.

It is interesting to note that 8 weeks was supposed to be the maximum period allowed. Almost all participants opt for the 8 weeks, says Ransford Antwi, director of the programme. The programme also aims to reduce xenophobia in the region. Consequently, participants do not stay in hotels. Instead, they live with host families to share cultural experiences and to help create a platform for the appreciation and understanding of different cultures.

Journalists can also can request specific training placements. We currently have an exchange programme participant, Dennis Moyo, from the Tanzania Press Club, engaged in the training of staff at Zambia Information Services in the use of computers, and in particular, using the internet for research and newsgathering.

Media outlets have also benefited from the programme. In Swaziland, a visiting journalist from Zimbabwe was able to negotiate with the Department of Tourism to pay for a weekly full-page supplement in his host newspaper for one year.

Antwi believes the programme has hit the right approach to best match up the placement with the needs of the participating journalist: The exchange programme is not reciprocal. The concept of exchange is at the level of ideas, knowledge, or skills transfer. It is not based on one-on-one exchange because we base the selection and participation on need. We match the needs of participants, and host institutions ensure a neat fit in order to make or optimise the training experience and to avoid frustration on either side. Using a literal exchange may be counterproductive in that respect.

Ongoing challenges to the programme include finding the host families to provide accommodation for participants, and finding enough host organisations to meet the demand of journalists who would like to participate in the programme. Journalists and media organisations in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia are the biggest participants in the programme.

RAP 21 spoke to a participant and host of the programme about their experience.

Alfonce Mbizwo, business and online editor with The Chronicle:

RAP 21: What were your responsibilities while with Reuters?
Alfonce Mbizwo: I wrote regional news and also did a couple of trade stories.

RAP 21: What sort of training did you receive while with the agency?
Alfonce Mbizwo: I was introduced to Reuters house style, their approach to treating international news, and generally how to produce a compelling read.

RAP 21: What did you benefit from the most from your time spent with Reuters?
Alfonce Mbizwo: The exposure of writing for an international audience, the experience of the people working with me, learning new interviewing techniques and the confidence to actually go out and do it.

RAP 21 In what ways have you been able to apply in practice back in Zimbabwe what you learned at Reuters?
Alfonce Mbizwo: At The Chronicle I mainly write business news, at Reuters I wrote just about everything except sports. And I enjoyed it! I have tried to transmit the same values to my colleagues back in Zimbabwe regarding both writing techniques, the approach to news and different ways of making interviews.

RAP 21: What was the biggest difference in management style at Reuters compared to your newspaper in Zimbabwe?
Alfonce Mbizwo: At Reuters there is a large degree of independence for the reporter, despite having many senior personnel in the newsroom. At the Chronicle, there is a hierarchy, which has to be followed. At Reuters, the atmosphere is relaxed, allowing you to perform at your utmost.

Manoah Esipisu, Reuters Southern African Bureau:

RAP 21: What sort of hands-on training did Reuters provide for Mr Mbizwo? Manoah Esipisu: In many instances everything Reuters does and the way it does it, appeared new to Alfonce - so that was his primary hands-on training. Listening or participating in daily editorial meetings, learning to discuss news ideas with people below one’s rank or station in the newsroom, learning sharper interviewing skills to get the right answers out of reluctant contacts, learning to be aggressive enough to tap interviews out of reluctant officials, learning to use the phone only when necessary despite the fact that you have dozens of telephone lines open to your use at all times, learning to do cross-border stories by interviewing officials/contacts in several neighbouring countries on a story one is working on - that type of thing.

RAP 21: In what way do you feel the participating journalist most benefited from his placement with Reuters?
Manoah Esipisu: Just being at a big Reuters bureau is a benefit. The environment is different from as typical African newspaper newsroom, the work ethic is different, the orientation is different, the resources are different, the interactions are different. To tap into all these things can have a lasting impact on any journalist. Additionally, on Alfonce’s own admission, the message that one voice is seldom enough for a news story, appears to have become embedded in his journalistic thinking.

RAP 21 What was the greatest challenge of being a host to a journalist from another country and news outlet?
Manoah Esipisu: The only challenge is one of assuming responsibility for an individual visiting your bureau to learn. Ensuring that he does not leave with nothing is something constantly on the host’s mind.

RAP 21: In what ways did Reuters benefit from being host to a journalist from another country and news outlet?
Manoah Esipisu: We had someone that many claim to understand his country better than we do and usually has first hand information as a citizen and as a professional. It meant easier access to some contacts during a busy time in the run-up to parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe, Alfonce’s native country.

RAP 21: Why did Reuters decide to get involved in the exchange programme?
Manoah Esipisu: It was an opportunity for Reuters to contribute to the uplifting the standards of the journalism profession in the region. Reuters believes in maintaining the highest standards in journalism and, when it is possible, will help other journalists working to achieve that goal. Already the Reuters Foundation runs numerous courses annually in fields such as writing business and international news and reporting HIV/AIDS, and an exchange programme really falls in the same frame of training.

RAP 21: Is there anything you would change about exchange programme?
Manoah Esipisu: Two months is far too short to make a lasting mark. Three months should be the standard.

RAP 21: Would Reuters participate in future exchange programmes with NSJ Training Trust?
Manoah Esipisu: Yes. However we require the candidate be innovative, like Alfonce was.

How the NSJ Exchange Programme works in practice:

  The participating journalist must be nominated by his or her media outlet, and be willing to spend up to eight weeks with the host organisation.

  The host media is requested to provide a supervisor to monitor the work of the participant and to provide guidance whenever needed. It is also expected to provide a workstation to enable the participant to operate as any other staff member.

- NSJ does not offer any financial incentive to the host organisation, neither does it request any from them.

  To participate, the sending media outlet must agree to continue paying the salary of the participant throughout the duration of the programme. This is to ensure that the participant continues as a staff member of the sending institution.

Visit www.nsjtraining.org http://www.nsjtraining.org/ for more details about the NSJ training trust programme.

Would you be interested in hosting a journalist from another country, either in your family or at your media outlet? If yes, contact RAP21@wan.asso.fr