Penplusbytes schools journalist on social media strategies

The International Institute for ICT Journalism-Penplusbytes has successfully implemented its social media training and policy project in the country.

The capacity building initiative, designed with support from Free Press Unlimited, is aimed at improving the quality of programme content as well as viewership of news media channels by actively engaging the target audience through interaction on all social media platforms.

News Generation team at Multi TV successfully undertook the maiden training programme. The 2-day interactive workshop took participants through: Introduction to Social Media in the newsroom, Legal and Ethical Issues, Social Media Tools and Platforms, Writing for Social Media/Web, and Social Media Policy.

Participants also went through Social Media Policy Development for the newsroom, Team Focus Group Discussion with audience participation, Training of Trainers and Training Workshops targeted at ensuring effective utilisation of social media in the news generation process.

Speaking at the ceremony held to award certificates to participants, Kwami Ahiabenu II, President of Penplusbytes said: “We are excited to work with News Generation Team at Multi TV on the social media capacity building project and we are confident the social media skills and knowledge of team members are now strengthened, thereby putting them in a better position to leverage social media in news generation process.”

News Generation programme for young people in Ghana was established in 2011 in order to inform children and offer them their own media platform.

The News Generation programme is Ghana's first youth news bulletin, produced by Multimedia Group, with support from Free Press Unlimited which works to ensure that reliable news and information are and remain available to people across the globe.

According to Efua Acquaah-Harrison, a participant at the training and News Generation anchor, "this training has helped open my mind to the ways we are not using Social Media and have a new priority to evaluate its use in improving and enhancing content for broadcast for news - traditional and new media"

Penplusbytes - a leading pan-African, not for profit organisation seeks to empower the media through the use of ICTs to promote high quality journalism while at the same time working in good governance and technology, new media and innovations, as well as oil, gas and mining.

B&FT Online | Ghana