After Poynter, fellowship enters the homestretch

I spent the last week before departing to The Poynter Institute, Florida, at the Op-Ed section. Though I was anxious to meet my colleagues and AFPF staff on June 8, I managed to write two editorials that week. One, on June 6, featured a world summit on food organised by the Food Agriculture Organization in Rome where, I argued, leaders missed a chance to address the shortage of food, which threatens to drive about 1 billion people to hunger. The other (June 4) was about Zimbabwe where President Mugabe was harassing opposition leaders ahead of a run-off election on June 27.

In the same week, a feature about a Kenyan woman, Rosemary Bichage, who had been a victim of a terrorist attack targeting the U.S. embassy in Nairobi in 1998 – losing her leg and some internal body parts – was published at the features section, FYI.

Meanwhile, another soccer showcase, European Cup, was underway in Austria-Switzerland. The sports section picked a team of reporters to do previews and I was lucky to be part. I was asked to write about Group D of the competition, a report that was published on June 6.

Then I flew to The Poynter Institute. Here, I found men and women who offered unrivalled training on news and feature writing, interviewing, coaching of reporters and leadership. Their wide knowledge of skills was presented in a condensed, yet effective format.

At the end, I left The Poynter wishing for more but feeling confident with the knowledge I had acquired. I now feel adequately prepared to employ the skills learnt both in my host newsroom and back at my home newspaper upon returning in September. It was simply a well-thought out program whose timing, the mid-term of the fellowship, was just right.

Thanks to all those who made the training possible.

I am now back to my desk at The Star as my fellowship enters the homestretch.