Press Releases

‘Mtanzania Jumapili’ Editor For Print Journalism Training In The US

January 27, 2006

Mtanzania Jumapili Editor, Badra Masoud, is leaving for the United States on Monday, January 30, for a three-week training on “Print Journalism”, organized by the US Department of State.

A press release from the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam said that Ms Masoud and 18 other journalists from various countries around the world will visit Washington, D.C.; New York; and Columbia, Missouri. The participants will then split into groups that will visit either Scottsdale, Arizona; Denver, Colorado; Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; or San Diego, California, before reuniting in Tampa Bay, Florida.

According to the press release, the goals of the project are to examine the standards, practices and institutions of print journalism in the United States, and to explain the rights and responsibilities of journalists in a democracy.

Moreover, the training will provide opportunities for the participants to interact with working US journalists and media specialists from a variety of large and small mainstream and alternative publications.

Among activities that the participants will do during their training, is to visit organizations dedicated to first amendment rights and promoting best journalistic practices domestically and internationally.

Through meetings with press staff in the federal government and congressional staff, they will examine government–press relations and the importance of the media in maintaining communication between citizens and their government. They will also meet with a variety of journalists and editors at national newspapers to review current domestic and foreign policy issues receiving wide coverage in the press.

Commenting on her upcoming trip, Ms Masoud said that she will be able to see and discuss many aspects of print journalism at several locations in the United States and compare them with practices here in Tanzania. She said she looks forward to applying some of the practices that she observes in the U.S. to her work here.

This project is part of the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Programme run by the US State Department on behalf of the American people, and intended to facilitate personal and professional contacts between the people of the United States and Tanzania.