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Press Releases
Tanzanian to participate in ‘Edward R. Murrow Programme’
April 4, 2007
A features writer with The Citizen Morris Mwavizo Msavia leaves for the U.S. on Friday, April 6, 2007 to participate in a three-week “Edward R. Murrow Programme for Journalists” which runs from April 9 thru April 27, 2007.
Msavia will join 18 other journalists from Botswana, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan and Zimbabwe. This programme is part of the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) run by the U.S. State Department on behalf of the American people. The programme is intended to facilitate personal and professional contacts between the people of the United States and Tanzania.
The goals of the programme are to give journalists the opportunity to examine the rights and responsibilities of a free press in a democracy; observe operational practices, standards and institutions of the media in the U.S.; gain an insight into the social, economic and political structures of the U.S.; and take part in academic seminars and professional development symposium highlighting current trends and challenges in the media profession.
According to American Embassy statement, Msavia and the other participants will begin with a tour of Washington D.C., followed by briefings on the U.S. political system and the dynamics of U.S. foreign policy formulation. They will also meet with officials from State Department and key members of Congressional international affairs committees, think tank analysts and university professors to discuss the foreign policy decision-making process and a highlight will be remarks by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Named after the renowned journalist and former director of the then United States Information Agency, (USIA) Edward R. Murrow, this programme emphasizes many of the democratic principles that guided Mr. Murrow's practice of his craft: integrity, ethics and courage, and social responsibility.
From Washington D.C. the journalists will travel to Lexington, Kentucky for a one-week integrated seminar with Faculty of the University of Kentucky, professional journalists and students of journalistic principles in a democratic society. The group will explore issues of particular interest to Africa including Darfur and refugees; agriculture/rural journalism and the community; resolution of conflicts and HIV/AIDS. They will also learn more about exercising editorial leadership, alternative media and computer-assisted reporting.
Programme participants will also visit Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico to highlight media coverage of state and local politics; media in educational outreach and programming; independent media; media’s involvement in social justice; media relations; grassroots activism and social and economic challenges. The group will also visit a public radio station run by volunteers from the community serving in the public interest. The role of media in promoting transparency and good governance in the legislature will be covered. Community involvement in planning for its shared future, land use, environment and local economy will be addressed in a roundtable discussion with representatives of three federal, state and local projects that are underway.
The group will return to Washington D.C. to participate in an ‘International Symposium for Journalists’ arranged by the Department of State in cooperation with the Aspen Institute. The symposium will address U.S. media and international affairs; role of the journalist; accuracy or activism; government/press relations in reporting international news; and new media’s impact on journalism. The participants will highlight media ethics and responsibility, the role of the media in informing the public; balance in news and analysis and diversity of opinions and contemporary challenges facing media professionals.
Commenting on the program, Msavia said, “The opportunity offered to me by the U.S. Government to be part of the study tour for the Edward R. Murrow programme for journalists will not only expose me to the different ways that the U.S. media operates but will also open my eyes and give me an insight into the social, economic and political structures of the United States.”
He said, “At the same time, it will give me a chance to examine and analyze the rights and responsibilities of a free press especially at a time when Tanzania is debating on what should be included in the Information Bill,” He added that it will be a good opportunity to look at the cultural differences and similarities that exist between our two countries.