HIV/AIDS indicators for Malawi

Treatment Map
Adult HIV Prevalence Rate (%): 14.1%
No. Of People living with HIV/AIDS: 940,000
No. Of HIV Testing & Counseling Sites: 184
No. Of People in need of ART (Dec. 2006): approx. 170-180,000
No. Of People On ART (Sept. 2006): 70,000
No. Of Sites Reportedly Distributing ART (June 2006): 101 in the public sector; 28 in the private sector
No. Of People on ART Public Sector (June 2006): 57,366 in both the public and private sector; no further breakdown exists
No. Of People on ART Private Sector: see above
No. Of People on ART in Non-Governmental Programmes: counted in public estimates
No. Of People Expected to be on ART (2006 End) (Sept. 2006): 80,000
Front Line Drug Regimen (Dec. 2006): stavudine + lamivudine + nevirapine, also known as triomune
*PMTCT Regimen (Dec. 2006): The PMTCT regimen is Nevirapine for both mother and baby but Malawi is nevirapine but Malawi is considering combined ARV regimen for PMTCT and this is yet to be determined. ART is recommended for pregnant women who are eligible based on staging or CD4 counts.

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HIV/AIDS Fund Disbursements:
Total Funds Disbursed By The Global Fund as of Sept. 2006: US$49,793,160
Total Funds Disbursed By The World Bank Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Programme (MAP) as of Sept. 2006: US$35 million
Total Funds Disbursed By PEPFAR During 2005 Fiscal Year: nil

Sources: Government of Malawi, UNAIDS



Indicators
Demographics (United Nations Population Fund):
Population: 12,884,000
Population aged 15-59: 6,185,000
Urban population: 2,211,000

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Under 5 mortality per 1000 births: 184
Male life expectancy: 41 years
Female life expectancy: 41 years
Combined average life expectancy: 41 years
Combined average life expectancy 1975-1980: 43.8 years

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Education (UNESCO, 2004):
Males with secondary education as percentage of secondary school-age youths: 32 percent
Females with secondary education as percentage of secondary school-age youths: 26 percent

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Literacy rates (UNESCO, 2004):
Percentage of literate males aged 15 or older: 75.5 percent
Percentage of literate females aged 15 or older: 48.7 percent
Combined literacy rate for aged 15 or older: 61.8 percent

Contacts for HIV,AIDS information in Malawi

HIV/AIDS Organisations
Ministry of Health and Population
Contact person: Tel: +265 1 789 400
Location: P.O. Box 30377
Lilongwe 3, Malawi +265 1 788 849
Fax: +265 1 789 431
Email: health@malawi.gov.mw
What we do:

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National AIDS Commission of Malawi
Contact person:Dr Owen Kalua, director of programmes Tel: +265 1 727 900
Location: P.O. Box 30622
Lilongwe, Malawi Fax: +265 1 843 363
Email: okalua@aidsmalawi.org
mwaleb@aidsmalawi.org.mw
Web: www.aidsmalawi.org
What we do: Prevention work; strengthen the capacity of institutions, communities and individuals to stop the spread of the epidemic and mitigate its impact.

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Actionaid - Malawi
Contact person: Tel: +265 1 757 500/04/08
Location: P.O. Box 30735, Lilongwe Fax: +265 1 771 349
Email:
Web: www.actionaid.org
What we do: Prevention; care and support, advocacy, outreach; education; counselling.

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Family Health International (FHI)
Contact person: Dr Margaret Kaseje, country director Tel: +265 1 775 106
Location: House City Center
Arwa House, 3rd Floor/ North Wing
Lilongwe 3, Malawi Fax:
Email: mkaseje@fhi.org.mw
Web: www.fhi.org
What we do: Diversified programme of research, education, and services in family health and HIV/AIDS prevention and care.

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Malawi Network of AIDS Service Organisations (MANASO)
Contact person: Tel: +265 01 835 018/46
Location: P.O. Box 2916
Blantrye, Malawi Fax:
Email: manaso@Malawi.net
Web:
What we do: Networking; information sharing, training workshops; grants management aimed at building the capacities of community based organisations.

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Malawi Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS
Contact person: Victor Kamanga / George Kampango Tel: +265 1 773 727
Location: Private Bag 377
Lilongwe 3, Malawi Fax: +265 1 770 194
Email: manetplus@manetplus.net
director@manetplus.net
Web: www.sanaso.org.zw
What we do: Support groups; information; training programmes; conferences.

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National Association of People with HIV/AIDS in Malawi (NAPHAM)
Contact person: Kumbakani Black Tel: +265 1 791 943
+265 1 770 641
Location: Private Bag 355
Lilongwe, Malawi +265 1 776 343
Fax: +265 1 791 939
Email: napham@malawi.net
What we do: Home-based care; counselling; education; condom promotion; information; support; advocacy.

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Partners in Hope
Contact person: Tel: +265 01 727 155
Location: P.O. Box 302
Lilongwe, Malawi Fax:
Email: pihmalawi@bdsmw.org.com
Web:
What we do: Clinic with programmes for ARVs; HIV prevention; prevention of mother to child transmission; home-based care.

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Population Services International (PSI)
Contact person: Tel: +265 1 677 345
Location: P.O. Box 529
16 Leslie Road
Blantyre, Malawi Fax: +265 1 674 138
Email: chavasse@malawi.net
Web: www.psi.org
What we do: Uses social marketing to deliver health products, services and information that enable low-income and other vulnerable people to lead healthier lives.

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Southern African AIDS Training Programme (SAT)
Contact person: Tel: +265 1 774 422
+265 1 774 427
Location: Private Bag B325, Lilongwe 3, Malawi Fax: +265 1 775 351
Email: sat.malawi@satregional.org
Web: www.satregional.org
What we do: Supports community responses to HIV and AIDS through in-depth partnership; networking; skills exchange; lesson sharing in HIV prevention, HIV and AIDS care and support throughout the region.

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Salima HIV-AIDS Support Organization (SASO)
Contact person: George Kanyemba Tel: +265 262 821
Location: PL Bag 18
Salima, Malawi Fax:
Email:
Web:
What we do: Networking; information sharing, training workshops; grants management aimed at building the capacities of community-based organisations.

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Umoyo Network
Contact person: Tel: +265 621 022
+265 621 348
Location: Private Bag 254
Blantyre, Malawi Fax: +265 624 980
Email: umoyo@malawi.net
Web: www.umoyonetwork.org
What we do: Capacity building in reproductive health and HIV/AIDS of local NGOs in Malawi.

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UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS, Chair
Contact person: Mr Michael Keating, UNDP Tel: +265 1 773 329
Location: Lilongwe 3, Malawi Fax:
Email: Michael.keating@undp.org
Web:
What we do: Supports an expanded response and policy advice on preventing transmission of HIV, providing care and support, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV/AIDS.

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UNAIDS Country Co-ordinator
Contact person: Desmond Johns Tel: +265 1 772 603
Location: P.O. Box 30135
Lilongwe 3, Malawi Fax: +265 1 773 992
Email: djohns@unaids.unvh.mw
Web:
What we do: UNAIDS leads, strengthens and supports an expanded response aimed at preventing transmission of HIV, providing care and support, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV/AIDS.

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Sources: - The Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
- The World Bank
- World Health Organization
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Country Profiles
- United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2005. “World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision.” New York.
- The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)

HIV programmes in Malawi

National Strategic Framework: 2005–2009

Epidemiological Assessment (UNAIDS):

Major vulnerable and affected groups
Young people 13–24 years old are particularly vulnerable to HIV, especially girls. The HIV prevalence is almost twice as high in urban areas (25%) as in rural areas (13%). High levels of movement among urban, rural, and mining areas facilitate HIV transmission. Mobile groups in Malawi, including truck drivers, sex workers, fishermen and -women and fish traders, migrant and seasonal workers, military personnel, prisoners and refugees, are also vulnerable to the epidemic.

Policy on HIV testing and treatment
The Government of Malawi, through the National AIDS Commission, undertakes to promote and provide high-quality, cost-effective, confidential and accessible voluntary counselling and testing services country-wide, in particular youth-friendly services and services that are adequate and accessible to other vulnerable groups. Voluntary counselling and testing is either confidential or anonymous. The government and the National AIDS Commission further promote and encourage couple counselling and the disclosure of HIV test results to partners, strive to ensure that voluntary counselling and testing services are staffed by adequate numbers of trained counsellors and coordinate and ensure the links between voluntary counselling and testing services and other services related to HIV/AIDS to provide a continuum of prevention, treatment, care, support and impact mitigation. The National AIDS Commission also ensures that HIV testing is routinely offered to all pregnant women attending antenatal clinics unless they specifically choose to decline. The delivery of quality community home-based care is promoted as an essential component of the continuum of care for people living with HIV/AIDS. A National Plan to Scale Up Antiretroviral Therapy has been developed, and antiretroviral therapy has been provided free of charge in the public sector since 2003. The prescription and sale of antiretroviral drugs is regulated to guarantee quality control and to reduce the risk of drug resistance developing through inappropriate use of the drugs. The national Essential Drug List is regularly updated to incorporate essential drugs for HIV/AIDS treatment in accordance with the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. Infections related to HIV/AIDS are treated according to the national Essential Health Package.

Critical issues and major challenges
As the demand for HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services increases, health sector capacity needs to be built up to scale up provision of services throughout the country. The greatest challenge facing Malawi is a human resource crisis, which has generally created a lack of capacity to deliver health services, especially in rural areas where primary health care is severely compromised. The scaling up of the Essential Health Package has been critically slowed, with only 10% of 617 facilities satisfying the human resource requirements for delivering the Essential Health Package (four professional or technical employees). Staffing is also inadequate to roll out antiretroviral therapy and other services related to HIV/AIDS, including voluntary counselling and testing, treating opportunistic infections and preventing mother-to-child transmission. Drug procurement and supply management systems need to be strengthened, as well as systems for monitoring adherence to treatment and drug resistance. Stigma and discrimination remain present. Nutritional support for people living with HIV/AIDS needs to be assured. Efforts need to be made to ensure greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS in the national response. Financial sustainability of the national programme is also a concern.

Study: In Malawi, money in girls’ hands boosts school enrolment

Small stipends paid directly to young girls have had a powerful impact on their school attendance in Malawi, reducing drop-out rates considerably and helping to protect them from HIV. That’s among the findings from a study, supported by the World Bank, of a two-year cash transfer programme targeting girls aged 13 to 22 that wrapped up in December 2009.

Stipends ranging from $1-$5 a month for the adolescent girls, in addition to payments to parents that ranged from $4-$10, reduced drop-out rates by approximately 40 percent.

And, for every extra dollar a girl received above $1, “enrolment increased by a percentage point,” says Berk Özler, a senior economist with the World Bank’s Development Research Group.

Özler and fellow researchers Sarah Baird of The George Washington University and Craig McIntosh of the University of California, San Diego, wanted to test the best way to use cash payments known as conditional cash transfers to boost school enrolment among young women in sub-Saharan Africa.

Drop-out rates are high among teenage girls in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Africa. One of the main reasons is the relatively high cost of secondary school. Another is that Malawian girls tend to marry at a young age, and “once a girl is married, schooling is over,” says Özler.

Keeping girls in school who otherwise would have dropped out may not only increase learning, but delay marriage and reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Adult HIV prevalence in Malawi is around 12 percent, according to UNAIDS estimates.

Staying in school is part of an effective ‘social vaccine’ with respect to sexual risk behaviour.

Patrick Brenny, UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Malawi
In another paper, researchers found that the onset of sexual activity was significantly delayed among girls who took part in the programme, and their likelihood of being married or pregnant after one year had declined.

Past studies have suggested that “just the fact of being in school may lead to these desirable outcomes but the evidence was scant,” Özler says.

These current findings reinforce UNAIDS’ evidence-based contention that girls continuing their education greatly lowers their vulnerability to HIV. For those who stay in secondary school, each additional year means they are more likely to develop the skills and experience needed to keep themselves safe from HIV.

According to Patrick Brenny, UNAIDS Country Coordinator in Malawi, the study underlines the critical necessity of a comprehensive approach to reducing young women and girls' risk and vulnerability to HIV infection in Malawi.

“Staying in school is part of an effective ‘social vaccine’ with respect to sexual risk behaviour,” said Mr Brenny.

Empowering young people to protect themselves against HIV is one of the nine priority areas in the UNAIDS Outcome Framework 2009-11.

Cash transfers boost schooling, nutrition

In countries without adequate safety net support, children’s nutrition often suffers, and children, especially girls, are taken out of school. In an attempt to counteract this trend, some 29 developing countries have put in place some type of conditional cash transfers programme to boost schooling and nutrition, with many others planning on piloting one.

The World Bank backs conditional cash transfers programmes in 13 countries. It provided $2.4 billion to such initiatives in 2009 during the global economic crisis. Studies have found that cash payments to the female head of household leads to better outcomes for children and families. In Brazil, for instance, the chance of childhood survival increases by 20 percent.

But the effect of cash payments made directly to girls versus parents had not been studied until now.

Support to girls ‘makes sense’

In Malawi, the researchers wanted to find out whether the monetary amount of the cash transfer would make a difference, and whether making the payment conditional on school attendance would have an additional impact. They also wanted to test whether making payments directly to girls would affect the outcome.

The study involved a sample of 3,805 girls and young women aged 13 to 22 in 176 urban and rural areas in Zomba, a highly populated district with high dropout rates and low educational attainment. According to a 2005 government survey, children drop out of school mainly due to financial hardship.

Of these girls, a randomly selected group of 1,225 were either offered stipends on the condition they attend school 80 percent of the time, or offered the same stipends unconditionally. The rest did not receive any offers and served as the comparison group for the study.

Girls getting the monthly stipend participated in a lottery where they picked a bottle cap out of an envelope to win an amount between $1 and $5 a month. Guardians were also randomly assigned a separate amount ranging from $4 to $10 a month. On average, girls received $3 and their parents $7, meaning that cash payments to both girls and guardians totalled an average of $10 a month, but ranged from $5-$15.

Each household received an informational sheet detailing the amounts and conditions of the offer, if there were any, and the contract was signed by the girl and her guardian.

Özler says that the condition to attend school at least 80 percent of the time did not seem to make a difference to schooling outcomes in Malawi, nor did increased total cash payments above the minimum of $5 per month. That’s in contrast to the CCT experience in Latin America, where the condition to attend school has been key to the programme’s success.

The girls, however, were demonstrably motivated by their stipends, which they mostly spent on personal items such as clothing.

“The study was successful in getting dropouts to come back to school and in keeping girls in school. Maybe it makes sense to directly support adolescent girls,” says Özler.

The researchers are now conducting follow-up tests and surveys in Malawi to assess, among other things, the impact of the programme on maths and reading skills.

The study was funded by the Global Development Network; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the World Bank’s Gender Action Plan, Knowledge for Change Trust Fund, World Development Report 2007 Small Grants Fund, Spanish Impact Evaluation Fund, and Research Group; and the National Bureau of Economic Research in the United States.

Building political tolerance at community level

Building 2009 polls on grassroots' communities
By Richard Chirombo
Mussa Paulo, DPP, nearly banged into an on-coming lorry ON august 27, 2007, as he attempted to duck Dyson Misomali, a United Democratic Front (UDF) director of youth for Blantyre- Kabula constituency.
Paulo, also from Kabula, is no stranger to politics, or politicians. Not merely because he currently serves as Democratic progressive Party constituency governor for youth; he has over the years been bodyguard to a myriad of notable politicians who, from an observer's point of view, have little in common other than the common string that is politics, and being Malawian.
Talk about Malawi Congress Party (MCP) President John Tembo, New Republican Party (NRP) president Gwanda Chakuamba, Stanley Masauli of the resuscitated Republican Party, and Steve Ching'ang'a, among other notable politicians- he has served them all as bodyguard- either as a single individual or part of a security detail.
"The reason I nearly got run over was political; many Malawians have a long-held view that people who belong to other political parties, other than their own, are their sworn in rivals, that there should be no interaction whatsoever. I might have shared in this misconception, but now I know (what politics is all about). Politics, in the developed world, means campaigning in the run-up to federal or national elections, and then holding hands for the sake of national development thereafter. Not in Malawi," says Paulo.
He defends his case by adding that a majority of Malawians have taken politics beyond its traditional meaning, perhaps because of its Chichewa translation of Ndale which, literally translated into English, comes to mean 'slashing one's legs at one go' (as in cutting of grass)-a martial arts technique that sees someone falling over himself from the sudden effect of a slash-like movement of the legs.
Yet, in his own words, he also reveals that on so many occasions, in his other life as bodyguard, he came to learn about the behind-the-podium-life of politicians. He saw his (former) bosses screech to resounding halts whenever they saw their perceived political 'enemies' embroiled in the delay-tentacles of an auto-mobile break-down.
After which, he says, they would agree on where they would meet for one-too-many, or beer, sessions. 'Why can't we learn from this, as we approach the May (19, 2009) general elections, that the polls may be peaceful, that in the end we will all agree to concentrate on development until one's term of office expires? There is a lot to be done to transform our lives, and all these things depend on purpose of unity".
Politicians do it at night.
A lot, it seems, needs to be done, and the signs were bounty recently at Namatete Primary School, in Blantyre, where constituency-level politicians drawn from various political parties met to discuss unity as we approach the May 19, 2009 general elections, equally expected by many a politician and political analysts to be the most challenging Malawi has ever braced since the advent of the Third Republic.
The primary school lies at a distance of 900 metres, East of Chirimba bus stage as one goes towards Blantyre City Centre. There, at Namatete, is a wall two-metres tall, that swallows linear-constructed, but dilapidated all the same, blocks christened classes. These walls also serve as classrooms. In fact, over six chalkboards cover every ten metres of this wall (sorry, classroom!) and, every school day, pupils sit down on stones facing this brown wall.
Every school day, teachers bid their homes bye saying 'we are going to school', yet it is a wall they mean. All they do, and know at this school, ironically constructed in one of Malawi's highly esteemed cities, Blantyre, is stand in front of the wall- the pupils, some can hardly afford soap, watch both the teacher and the wall. Of course they listen to the teacher and not the wall, but environments can also talk. The wall cries for help, in form of classrooms, enough teachers and quality education, on behalf of the pupils.
But, according to UDF's Misomali and Ephraim Pofera, MCP constituency secretary for Kabula, the school remains in such state because people are pre-occupied with politics: the opposition always against, the ruling party always dictating. People are the ones who suffer.
"They (innocent people) are denied their right to development. The problem affects children hard; in this case, pupils have to brace the rain, sometimes so heavy, wind, and the October sun. It's unfair, really. Tit-for-tat politicking, on every side, both the opposition and the ruling party, is retarding social-economic development," says Misomali.
This has largely been detrimental, he enthuses, as some people go about removing other parties' flags and political insignia. Where has sanity gone, when Malawi was supposed to be a boat? One boat.
In fact, in the words of Pofera, what has gone haywire with multiparty politics in Malawi, that it now means enemies to the point of shedding innocent blood? Multiparty politics were supposed to be at the individual person's discretion, whether to join this party or that, just as it happens with churches. He rightly points out that some are catholics, presbyterians, protestants, restorationists, muslims, hindus, among other religious affiliations. But they don't stone each other for their beliefs, they live in peace.
"After all, after all", exclaims Pofera, as if powered by the virtuoso of a newfound revelation, " were we not all members of one political party during the late Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda's regime. Were we not all MCP? The institution of a multiparty politics' system simply meant we now had a choice, and making one's choice doesn't mean violence or muzzling of other views. No, that is anathema to democracy," explains the MCP constituency secretary.
But all the three grassroots' political officials agree that the key to peaceful 2009 elections is not success on the voting day. Rather, the key rests in the processes initiated in the run-up to the same, and that this means political involvement of communities and their leaders. They say, at the moment, politicians only use people at the grassroot to propagate their political ambitions, mostly using violence against perceived political enemies. This is exacerbated by deep-rooted poverty, high illiteracy levels, lack of clearly spelt out ideologies and ignorance about world political systems among rural and peri-urban dwellers.
The future, however, is bright, the way MCP campaign director for the constituency Duncain Hora sees it. Hora says the first solution to any political impasse lies in the realisation that before politics and whatever it means, there was kinsmanship among all and sundry in Malawi; that brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts, grandmothers and fathers, even good neighborliness first lived before politics.
So, as we approach the 2009 elections, people should put these considerations first before thinking of politics. That way, Malawians will come to take politics and elections as only a process through which people who love each other tell those who have failed to impress and have failed electorates' expectations that "well, you will do better than this next time, from the experience you have, let us help the one we now want to fill in your weaknesses. Anyone who chooses someone, or allows themselves to be elected to fill the gaps in other people's weaknesses, is a friend in deed," says Hora.
Edward Chaka, executive director for Peoples' Federation for National Peace and Development (Pefenap), an organisation that has been holding discussions on civil and political rights in the districts of Blantyre and Thyolo, with much emphasis on freedom of assembly and association, says imparting knowledge on grassroots leaders and community members is one plausible approach to solving the probable problem of political violence during the 2009 general elections, among the country's political players.
Lack of knowledge is one weakness that has, for a long time, been exploited by politicians to use villagers as tools of political discourse. But with the requisite knowledge that comes from realizing that every citizen has a constitutionally-enshrined right to form or join a political grouping of their choice; that this right goes with the freedom to assemble as a means of achieving political ends, may be the genesis of much needed political tolerance necessary to achieve sustainable social-economic development.
"In the end, resolving political issues at national level should be a process that begins at community level; it is a local responsibility. It is at this level that people are exploited and engaged to be castigating political opponents," according to Chaka.

Malawi warned of imminent floods

Malawi's Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services has issued a warning that floods will hit some parts of the country. The warning comes after some parts of the country including Thyolo, Chikhwawa, Neno, Mwanza experienced drought that has scorched maize in the filed.
On the other hand Salima, Mzuzu, and Rumphi have experienced hail storm while Karonga and Chitipa were hit by an earthquake respectively.

In a statement this year, the department said due to prolonged dry spell that occurred, some parts of Malawi are likely to experience above normal rainfall with persisting El Nino conditions until April this year.

The department said the floods will be due to compensatory effects for the deficiency that has occurred so far in Malawi.

“The projected rainfall for the country during the second half of the season will be characterized by some high intensity storms likely to cause floods in some areas,” said the department.


The department’s Deputy Director Grey Munthali warned that the floods are more likely to occur in low lying areas and his office has since alerted relevant departments on the forecasts.

On her part Commissioner for Disaster Preparedness in the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) Lillian Ng’oma said her office has disaster desks manned by officers in all the districts across Malawi to respond in times of disasters.

Mass Media Writing Course Outline

1. PROGRAMME : Diploma in
Journalism
2. COURSE TITLE : Mass Media Writing
3. YEAR : 1
4. NUMBER OF LECTURES
PER WEEK : 2
5. NUMBER OF TUTORIALS
6. PRACTICLES PER WEEK : 2

7. METHOD OF ASSESSMENT : 40% course work
60% exam
8. COURSE DESCRIPTION :
The course introduces students to general principles of news writing for print and broadcast. It introduces students to constructive and descriptive writing.

9. AIMS
The aim of the course is to equip students with reporting and news writing skills.

10. OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course students should be able to:
• Gather information for news stories
• Identify potential news sources
• Generate stories from events, readings and observation
• Write news stories for print, radio and television.





WEEK
TOPIC
ACTIVITY
REMARKS
1 The reporter-characteristics of a reporter
news and news values
• The audience determines what reporters write. Discuss
Mencher M, (2006) News Reporting and Writing
Chapter 3

Severin Werner etal, (1988)
Communication theories,methods,uses
2 Sources of information-documentary, observation and human sources
A story is more interesting when human sources have been used been used. Discuss Mencher M, ibid
Chapter 11

Manning Pual, (2001)
News and News Sources: A critical Introduction

3 Information gathering-
The interview
Anonymous sources
• How and when can anonymous source be used? Mencher M, ibid
4 The press conference • Why do journalists take notes even when they are recording the interview?
5 Writing the story-
finding focus-5ws and h inverted pyramid
• Why do journalists use the inverted pyramid?

• Practicing the inverted pyramid
6 The lead/intro
Hard news and soft news
Side bar
• Distinguish hard and soft stories.
• Writing leads.

7 The main body
backgrounding Writing news stories

8
Fine tuning the story-using S-V-O pattern,
Quotes
• Writing news stories.
• Adverbs and adjectives are crutches of an inadequate writer. Discuss
9 Word usage Test
10 Attribution
• Word usage and attribution exercise/writing stories
11 Rudiments of a news story - • Looking at stories which have all the rudiments. What is the importance of each story rudiment?
I2 Writing for radio • Writing news for radio
• Writing for radio is the same as writing for print. Discuss Andrew Boyd, Techniques of Radio and TV News
13 Writing for television Andrew Boyd
14 Writing for television News writing/revision

PRESCRIBED BOOKS

Mencher M,(2006) News Reporting and Writing, MacGraw-Hill

ADDITIONAL READINGS
Fedler, Fred et al (2005) Reporting for the Media (8th Ed); Oxford University Press, Oxford
Manning, Paul (2001) News and News Sources: A Critical Introduction; Sage Publications; London
Boyd Andrew, Techniques of Radio and TV News
Julian Haris et al (1984) The Complete Reporter, New York, Macmillan
Dobson Chrisopher (1998) The Freelance Journalist: How Survive and Succeed. Oxford, Focal Press.

Briefs on gays and lesbians in Africa: Crackdowns on gays make the closet safer

NAIROBI— More than two-thirds of African countries have laws
criminalizing homosexual acts, and despite accounting for a
significant percentage of new infections in many countries, men who
have sex with men tend to be left out of the HIV response.

"[They] are going underground; they are hiding themselves and
continuing to fuel the epidemic," UNAIDS executive director Michél
Sidibé told IRIN/PlusNews recently. "We need to make sure these
vulnerable groups have the same rights everyone enjoys: access to
information, care and prevention for them and their families."

IRIN/PlusNews has compiled a short list of human rights violations
against gay Africans:

Malawi - On 28 December 2009, soon after a traditional engagement
ceremony, Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were arrested and
charged with "unnatural offenses", which carries a maximum prison term
of 14 years, and "indecent practices between males", which carries
five years.

The men deny that they have had sexual relations, but the state
prosecutor has applied for them to be sent to hospital to prove they
have had sex, which rights activists and their lawyers say would
violate their constitutional right to dignity. The trial has been
postponed until 25 January 2010.

Uganda - In October 2009, David Bahati, parliamentary representative
of the ruling party, tabled the Anti-homosexuality Bill (2009), a
private member's Bill. It proposes, among other things, the death
sentence for the crime of "aggravated homosexuality" when an
HIV-positive person engages in homosexual sex with someone disabled or
below the age of 18.

Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and punishable by a maximum
sentence of life in prison.

AIDS advocates and human rights groups have strongly criticized the
Bill as violating the privacy of gay people, and after pressure from
several international leaders, President Yoweri Museveni has distanced
himself from it, reducing the likelihood that it will be passed in its
current form.

Nevertheless, a local tabloid, The Red Pepper, routinely releases
lists of alleged Ugandan homosexuals.

Tanzania - In May 2009, a local newspaper, Ijumaa, featured a
photograph of two men in bed together with the headline, "Caught
Live!" A report by several gay rights groups noted that the
accompanying article included derogatory and discriminatory language
about men who have sex with men.

An Ijumaa reporter, accompanied by three policemen, had followed the
men from the street into a private hotel, where they had invaded their
room and taken the photographs that later appeared in the newspaper.

According to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission, more than 40 gay and lesbian activists in Tanzania were
arrested on charges of debauchery in 2009.

Burundi - In April 2009, President Pierre Nkurunziza signed into law a
bill criminalizing homosexuality for the first time in Burundi's
history. Anyone found guilty of engaging in homosexual activity faces
imprisonment for two to three years and a fine of up to US$80.

Paradoxically, other articles in the same legislation take steps to
protect human rights, including abolition of the death penalty and the
outlawing of torture, genocide, war crimes and crimes against
humanity.

Senegal - In December 2008, the Senegalese government arrested nine
men involved in providing HIV prevention, care and treatment services
to the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The men were later sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of
"membership of a criminal organization and engaging in acts against
the order of nature", but in April 2009 an appeals court overturned
this verdict.

Arrests for homosexual activity are not uncommon in Senegal; in August
2008 two men were arrested at their home in Dakar and charged with
"homosexual marriage" and acts against the order of nature. According
to rights groups, a total of 30 men were arrested on charges of
homosexuality in 2009.

Egypt - In May 2008, a court in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, convicted
five HIV-positive men of "habitual practice of debauchery", a phrase
that encompasses consensual sexual acts between men.

The convictions were part of a crackdown on people living with
HIV/AIDS, during which 12 men suspected of being HIV-positive were
arrested; while in custody, they were subjected to HIV tests and anal
examinations to determine whether they had had sex with other men.
Earlier in the crackdown, in January 2008, four HIV-positive men
sentenced to one-year prison terms for debauchery.

Gambia - In May 2008, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh gave gay people
24 hours' notice to leave the country. He promised stricter laws on
homosexuality than in Iran, and threatened to behead any gay people
discovered in the country.

Jammeh's statements were thought to have been in response to a number
of Senegalese gay men fleeing across the border into Gambia to escape
persecution in their own country.

South Africa - In April 2008, Eudy Simelane, the openly gay star of
South Africa's Banyana Banyana national female football squad, was
found murdered in a park on the outskirts of Johannesburg. She had
been gang-raped and brutally beaten before being stabbed to death.

Rights groups said the attack was likely to have been an incident of
"corrective rape", in which men rape lesbian women on the pretext of
trying to "cure" them of their sexual orientation.

Since then there has been a spate of similar attacks on lesbian women
in the country, but few ever reach the courts. According to a 2009
report by the NGO, ActionAid, there have been 31 recorded murders of
lesbian women since 1998, with just three cases reaching the courts,
and only one conviction.

Cameroon - In January 2008, a Cameroonian court sentenced three men
accused of homosexuality to six months' hard labour. Homosexual acts
are punishable by up to five years in prison, and gay men are
routinely imprisoned.

Although the penal code does not give the state the power to arraign
someone unless the person was caught in flagrante delicto, rights
groups say people suspected of being gay are often arrested in public
restaurants and bars.

Nigeria - In August 2007, 18 men - all allegedly cross-dressers - were
arrested in Bauchi State, a predominantly Muslim state in the north of
the country; they were charged with sodomy, the charges were later
changed to vagrancy or idleness. The men were eventually freed on
bail, but in March 2009 the case was still pending

From the UN News Centre: UN urges reviews to surmount obstacles to HIV/AIDS treatment

Executive Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidibé (right) with Sheila Tlou of Botswana
18 February 2010 – With progress uneven towards meeting this year’s goal of universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care, the United Nations today called on countries and regional bodies to convene review meetings to identify obstacles and plan better strategies.
“Universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support is about achieving equity,” UN Joint Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) Executive Director Michel Sidibé said on an official visit to Botswana, noting that some countries are exceeding some of their targets but not reaching others in the programme launched in 2006.

“This is a groundbreaking global movement that is saving millions of lives. However progress has been uneven so now we need to take stock of what’s working and what is not and to link future national progress in AIDS to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” he added, referring to the targets set by the 2000 UN summit to slash a host of social ills, including HIV/AIDS, all by 2015.

In 2006, UN member states signed a political declaration to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010, with countries affirming their commitments by setting ambitious national targets.

UNAIDS urged countries to undertake an open and inclusive consultations, bringing together governments, development partners, civil society, networks of people living with HIV and community groups to review progress in reaching country targets.

It will help convene these reviews, which will use data collected this year in country progress reports to identify barriers and strategies to meet their targets this year and beyond, and set up an international advisory team to analyze them and make recommendations on how to redouble progress towards universal access.

Mr. Sidibé is on a visit to Southern Africa, which began with a trip to Swaziland, the country with the highest rate of HIV prevalence in the world with more than one in every four people infected.

UNAIDS has praised Botswana for progress towards achieving universal access targets. Despite having one of the highest prevalence rates in the world, it has been able to provide antiretroviral treatment to more than 80 per cent of people in need. It has also made significant strides in preventing mother to child transmission of HIV, achieving over 93 per cent coverage in 2009. Botswana was one of the first countries in Africa to adopt universal access targets.

World Cup to stretch adoption system

Magistrate Esmie Tembenu of Blantyre Child Justice Court sits quietly in her office behind Soche Police, unlike a normal Tuesday morning.
Tembenu has never been known to be an enthusiastic soccer fan. Tell her about children, and you get all her attention.
“I have great passion for children,” said Tembenu.
No wonder, she knows pretty well why the eldest son is so often the first one to leave parents’ home. It’s not like the first born is escaping or disowning the family; it’s just that any great economic upheaval or orphanhood alters normal patterns and the oldest son begins to develop doubts about the capability of his parents to fend for the family. They then leave home early, out of necessity. They must find jobs quicker and quicker, different from the current generation.
That is Tembenu’s meal, everyday. Not this Tuesday, October 6, 2009: The child magistrate is thinking about the World Cup coming to South Africa in 2010.
Africa is happy that, for the first time in history, it will play host to the world’s largest soccer fiesta. Tembenu is happy, too, because she realizes the greatness of the event.
She is also worried.
“The World Cup will exert more pressure on the justice system, and I think the child justice system will be one of the most affected. Malawi should expect more adoption applications, most of which will not be in good faith. There will be people coming around, pretending to adopt our children for a better life when, in fact, they want to use them for sexual purposes,” Warns Tembenu.
She has observed the signals flashing back and forth, and wants Malawian parents and guardians to be on the lookout. The problem is that most people know little about adoption.
Other challenges include lawyers deliberately misinforming parents and guardians that their children would come back after growing up and attaining higher education. Some NGOs also cheat the courts, claiming parents or guardians have consented to adoptions when they have not.
That is where social welfare officers come in, to ascertain the truth. Those found on the wrong side of truth lose their adoption applications, and the children.
Child rights activists have called for amendments to the Adoption of Children Act, saying current provisions are replete with ambiguities and loop holes. At the moment, the main bone of contention is the provision that addresses the issue of ‘residence’.
“Is it merely the question of a foreign citizen coming to Malawi and booking themselves a room at an up market hotel, or the purchase of an old house in Nthalire?” The question of Maxwell Matewere, executive director for Eye of the Child.
Chief Justice Lovemore Munro did something to clear the air on the question of ‘residence’ in a Supreme Court ruling that went in favour of Pop star Madonna. Madonna’s efforts to adopt toddler Chifundo Mercy James were earlier thwarted by a High Court ruling that questioned her credentials as a resident of Malawi.
However, says Tembenu, most magistrates are yet to lay their hands on copies of that ruling.
Chances are that, with requisite amendments long-coming and the ruling poorly circulated, the World Cup may become just another big hole for child traffickers.
“We need to put our house in order well before the World Cup. Not only the World Cup, but in time for more international adoptions. We can see them coming really hard and exerting unnecessary pressure of our adoption system,” said Matewere.
Even Justice Edward Twea, a High Court Judge and Chairperson for the National Juvenile Justice Forum, knows the tangible benefits of locking the doors before the thief arrives pretty well. He offers three suggestions:
“There is need for the ministry responsible for children affairs to establish a national registry for children that can be adopted. This will serve as our adoption list and help prevent cases where foreign nationals come here and choose children they want to adopt; this time, it will go according to the Ministry’s registry.
“We also need to ratify the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption. This will help us monitor Malawian children adopted by foreign citizens, and our social welfare officers will be able to liaise with their counterparts. The last suggestion is that, due to the complexity of international adoption processes, I think it would be better if such cases were handled by the High Court,” said Twea.
The courts are currently seeking direction from the Office of the Chief Justice on whether international adoption cases should be handled by the High court only, or not.
Currently, adoption applications can be filed at subordinate courts or the High court. Only those who are 21 years or older can adopt children, though a single man or woman can not adopt a girl or boy child, respectively.
Twea acknowledges that most people know little about the implications of adoption. He cites Malawians who adopt foreign children. When the children become problematic, the locals complain to the natural parents they will send the children back! Back where?
“This contravenes the definition of adoption because this is a legal process of transferring natural rights from parents or guardians. If you were the mother or father, it means you are no longer the legal parent of that child,” he said.
Then, there is the case of a Malawian woman who married a foreign national. They took the wife’s children with them and crossed the borders, hoping the marriage would survive everything but death. The unexpected happened when the marriage collapsed, and the wife came home.
She has been struggling to have the children back. Ratification of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption would have helped, perhaps. Without it, her children are as better as lost.
Now the World Cup comes, in less than a year from now, without Malawi ratifying the Hague Convention. Fears are that it may turn out to be another hole through which children go and never come back.

Is climate change Malawian? Zachimalawi dives into the big question

Malawi, like the rest of the world, was once regulated by the sun;
everything- time, animal and plant life- revolved around the sun.
Time when the earth was an integral part of man, and man a loving part
of it. The perfumed flowers were man’s sister; the deer, the horse,
the great eagle- his brothers. Humming insects evoked holy memories
and experiences in people, just as rocky crests, juices of the
meadows, the body heat of the pony and warm worms- all belonged to one
family.
Before the famed Dziwe Lankhalamba on Mulanje Mountain turned violent
and started swallowing human souls, shining water moved peacefully in
such rivers as Linthipe, Shire, Mudi, Lilongwe, and lagoons like Chia
without causing floods. The water was not just any other liquid to the
then caring people of Malawi- it was the blood of our ancestors.
Mid-day ghostly reflections in the clear waters of the lakes- Lake
Malawi, Chiuta, Kazuni and Chilwa- told of memories and forthcoming
events in the lives of the people.
The water’s murmur was the voice of our ancestors, and the rivers and
lagoons were our brothers and sisters because they quenched our
thirst, carried our canoes and fed fish to our children. The Akafula,
or Abathwa, the early inhabitants of Malawi, then gave the best
treatment to the rivers, the sought of kindness you would give to your
only brother or sister.
The earth and its people were connected like blood which unites one
family. Whatever befell the earth befell the sons and daughters of
earth. It is as simple as that and a web: man did not weave the web of
life; he is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the web, he
does to himself.
For a long time, this realization remained the settled conviction of a
larger group of people, at least until the formation of independent
nation states of people begun to take effect because, not long after,
things went haywire.
Take language vocabulary, for instance. It is a fact that the British
word ‘scheme’ quickly translates to the American ‘plan’ or ‘proposal’.
Yet the two countries were once one, when Britain was an unmistakable
colony of the United States of America.
They say the world has conflict built into it; a factor that continues
to haunt the modern world.
December 2009 will go down the annals of our world story as a month
when world leaders, both from developed and developing countries, as
well as experts from different fields, met in Copenhagen, Denmark,
under this carpet of on-going confusion, disagreements and conflict.
They gathered under the United (?) Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) 15th Conference of Parties (COP 15) to draw
the way forward on tackling climate change and its associated impacts.
Issues tackled included land use, changes in land use, forestry and
rising global temperatures, all manifestations of man made
concoctions. Malawi’s president, Bingu wa Mutharika, did not make it
to the high level meeting as he wanted to serve the country’s drying
foreign currency reserves. Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental
Minister Grain Malunga wore his shoes.
However, Mutharika was home talking about climate change. He went to
Chiradzulu and planted two trees when the country launched the
National Forestry Season on December 15, 2009.
He remembered his good ole days, when the rains honoured their
Southern region promises early November, keeping those (promises) for
the Central and Northern region for somewhere between late November
and early December, respectively. Always, before the word ‘excuse’
crept into the language of the rains.
“The story is different now. We have prolonged dry spells, which have
already started affecting districts like Chiradzulu. These are the
effects of climate change,” said Mutharika.
Mutharika felt so sorry that, as the children of ‘ancient’ Chiradzulu
and Thyolo used to run and bathe in the rains on days like December
15, there was nothing but the sun and a dry spell for children of
modern-day Chiradzulu and Thyolo!
Sentiments echoed by Natural Resources, Energy and Environment
Principal Secretary, Dr. Denis Kayambazinthu. He bemoaned that
climate change was fast becoming part of the warm-heartedness that is
Malawi.
“The country has experienced a number of adverse effects of climate
change. The most serious have been dry spells, seasonal droughts,
intense rainfall, river line floods, flush floods and unpredictable
rainfall patterns,” said Kayambazinthu.
The scary part of it, he said, is that these are impacting negatively
on food security, water quality, energy and sustainable rural
communities’ livelihoods.
Malawi is at a crossroads. Some of the events attributed to climate
change include the severe drought conditions of the 1991/92
agriculture season and extreme flood events in 2000/01.
An Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change report reveals that
Malawians cut an average 70, 000 trees each year and that, while more
trees are planted during the National Forestry Season, only 60 per
cent survive.
While climate change and global warming are global phenomena, a US
National Environmental Trust report indicates that Malawi is paying an
exorbitant price for the activities of rich nations such as USA,
China, and Britain. The report says Malawi emits less than a quarter
of a million metric tones of carbon equivalent a year, as compared to
over 1,500 million tones emitted by the USA in 2002 alone.
Yet, this is no time for finger pointing, enthuses Elina Mkululanga-
Head of Public Weather Services in the Department of Climate Change
and Meteorological Services at the Meteorological Services Department.
“We are really seeing the effects of climate change, but this is no
time for finger-pointing It’s time to bear responsibility and act,”
says Mkululanga.

Global Hope Mobilisation in Malawi film project

Global Hope Mobilisation, in conjunction with Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN), will be hosting a Canadian firm, Terida Systems Inc, to discuss how Malawi would manage to fight HIV/Aids using information, communication and technology infrastructure.

According to MHEN Programme Director, Caleb Thole, Terida Systems Inc is expected to meet government officials and other stakeholders in the health sector from November 24 to 25 this year.

Terida Systems is an institution working on ICT infrastructure innovations to reduce HIV and Aids, and tuberculosis around the globe. The work of the Toronto-based ICT giants has proved helpful in HIV and Aids treatment as well as care.

Thole said the goals of the meeting are to show how ICT infrastructure is working in other countries, how Malawi could benefit from ICT programmes to mitigate the pandemic and to find ways and means of replicating such programmes in Malawi.

Since the 2001 call for universal access to HIV and Aids treatment and care, there have been a lot of innovative discoveries in the fight against the pandemic.

“These range from awareness to treatment and care, while other innovative ideologies include discoveries of scaling up the use of, and improving, Nevirapine and ARVs, in addition to clinical research and trials on HIV and Aids vaccines being conducted globally,” said Thole.

Research has also shown that adherence to ARV treatment stops HIV from reproducing. However, when patients skip their dose of medication, the virus reproduces quickly and increases their viral load, thereby putting the patient at risk of suffering from HIV and Aids-related conditions and even death.

The researchers have found that optimal suppression of the virus requires 90 to 95 percent adherence. But providing ART in resource constrained countries with limited human resources presents a living challenge to balancing the demand for treatment and maintenance of improved standards of care.

MHEN National Coordinator, Martha Kwataine, says even for those suffering from other diseases, health workers find it difficult to follow up on patients due to poor record keeping since patients’ records have been known to sometimes go missing.

“There is need to use and apply advanced technological innovations for health workers to ably keep information pertaining to their patients,” said Kwataine.

She added that if Malawi wanted to register positive change, through reduced HIV and Aids prevalence rates, new technological interventions needed to be applied, and quickly.

Terida Systems Inc is currently implementing a programme in Trinidad and Tobago, where a five-year long National HIV and Aids strategic plan has been developed.

The Guardian.co.uk writes about Malawian gays: Malawi launches operation against high-profile gay and lesbian people

Fears of backlash across Africa as US evangelists accused of spreading religious zeal behind homophobic campaigns:

Police in Malawi have launched an operation to hunt down and arrest high-profile gays and lesbians in the southern African state.

Fears of an anti-gay backlash across Africa are intensifying after the prosecution of the first gay couple to seek marriage in Malawi, and thousands of Ugandans demonstrated this week in support of a bill proposing the death penalty for some offences involving homosexual acts. Last week five men were arrested at an alleged gay wedding in Kenya.

Dave Chingwalu, a spokesman for police in Malawi, said a 60-year-old man was arrested yesterday and charged with sodomy. Chingwalu said he received a complaint from a young man that he had been asked to undress by the older man and was then sodomised. Police investigations had uncovered a network of high-profile people involved homosexual acts, investigations were under way "and we will arrest them all", Chingwalu said.

Malawi has been criticised by international groups for the prosecution of Steven Monjeza, 26, and 20-year-old Tiwonge Chimbalanga, jailed in December for holding a wedding ceremony. The men were charged with unnatural acts and gross indecency and could be imprisoned for up to 14 years if found guilty.

A 21-year-old man was recently sentenced to two months' community service for putting up pro-gay rights posters, and a senior minister expelled a woman from her town even after a court acquitted her on charges of having sex with two girls.

Campaigners in Malawi say homophobic legislation is driving gays and lesbians underground, making them hard to reach with information that could protect them from Aids."In Malawi it's a complete witch-hunt that denies the people the right to self-determination," said Phumi Mtetwa, executive director of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project, based in South Africa. "We are deeply concerned about this spate of homophobia across the continent."

Mtetwa said the recent series of incidents was no accident but rather the work of US evangelical Christian groups. "It's very well calculated. It's exploding at the moment but it's been happening for a year and a half. We have proof of American evangelical churches driving the religious fundamentalism in Uganda."

The Ugandan parliament is considering a bill that would impose life imprisonment as the minimum punishment for anyone convicted of having gay sex. If the accused person is HIV positive or a serial offender, or a "person of authority" over the other partner, or if the "victim" is under 18, a conviction will result in the death penalty.

Members of the public are obliged to report any homosexual activity to police within 24 hours or risk up to three years in jail.

The legislation has earned international condemnation - Barack Obama described it as "odious" - but has received vocal backing within Uganda. Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Jinja, about 40 miles east of the capital, Kampala, in the biggest demonstration against homosexuals since the bill was introduced.

Okware Romano, a protester, said: "I have a verse in the bible in Leviticus 20 verse 13. It says that homosexuals should be put to death ... yes."

Last week police in Kenya said they had arrested five men whom they believed were homosexual in Kikambala beach resort near Mombasa. District officer George Matandura said two of the men had been found with wedding rings, attempting to get married.

"It is an offence, an unnatural offence, and also their behaviour is repugnant to the morality of the people," Matandura said.

The other three men were turned in to the police by members of the public. Two of them had reportedly been beaten.

Gay sex is illegal in 36 countries in Africa. Only South Africa has legalised same sex marriage, and even there campaigners say the fight against bigotry is far from over.

Link to story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/16/malawi-operation-against-gays-lesbians

Sorry guys; I am sick today

Sorry guys; I am sick.

My back is giving me problems; can't sit on the computer.
Posts tomorrow.

Malawi parliament rises today

The Malawi Parliament rises today after three weeks of deliberations.

Today's question: Will President Bingu wa Mutharika lean on a walking stick during his engagement to Callista Chapola-Chimombo on February 14, 2010?

The likely answer is:

February 14, 2010!

Why? Because it's the only date we will know.

But we know, the 14th being Valentine's Day, that Bingu will on that day be in romantic mood- call it romantic excellency if you want.
Congratulations, Sir.

Diploma in Journalism Course with Zachimalawi: Mass Media Writing

WHAT IS NEWS
On the surface, defining news might seem easy.
There is no specific definition of news. Different people have defined news differently. One of the oldest definitions of news is “when a dog bites a man it is not news but when a man bites a dog its news.”

Other definitions of news:

• It is a break in the normal flow of events, an action or statement so important or unusual that is worth sharing with others.
• It is material that the public must have because it’s important.
• News is deviation from expected.
• It is anything that will make people talk.
• News is an account of what is happening around us.


Determinants of news

What makes news worth writing about?
Journalists use certain elements to judge whether an event or happening is worth writing about. These elements are called news values/ news determinants. Some of these determinants have been spelt out in the above definitions. For example, unusualness and importance.

There are a numbers of news values but the basic ones include:
Impact, unusualness and prominence.

a) Impact
impact means importance or significance. What is the
result of a news story? If many people are affected,
the story is important. ( e.g. fuel crisis)
b) Unusualness
This means the interruption in the expected. Something that makes you stop, stare and wonder- How did it happen? (e.g. a man bites a dog, giving birth to a stone)
c) Prominence
People in big positions and widely known are
prominent. They are news makers. People are interested in whatever they do, small or big. (e.g. presidents, musicians )

Other determinants

d) Conflict
People battle each other. They have different ideologies, they fight things like hunger and diseases. Other examples of conflicts are wars, political campaigns, demonstrations. These are all conflicts and people are interested in reading them.
e) Proximity
Proximity means how close you are the event, emotionally or geographically. If something happens near us we are more interested in it than something that takes place away from us.
Proximity has another meaning. People feel attached to those with whom they share common interests/ characteristics. For example Africans are interested in the presidency of Obama because he has an African origin.

f) Timeliness
The latest is what makes news. News has a short lifespan. What makes news today has greater impact than what happened two weeks ago. However some situations are always interesting and this leads us to another determinant of news which is currency.
g) Currency
People have continuous interest in matters that affect their daily lives. These include issues concerning health, education, money.

Good reporters are good listeners. They go to places where people, observe and listen-they discover news.











THE REPORTER
CHARACTERISTCS OF A REPORTER
Journalists have certain characteristics that help them to handle assignments thoroughly and accurately. They develop stories out of the ordinary. The following are characteristics of reporters.

Curiosity
Reporters ask questions. They are so curious. They look beneath the hippo’s nose. They have nose for news.

Creativity/ingenuity
Curiosity leads to creativity. When there is no breaking news, a reporter comes up with story ideas after observing, listening and reading.
One way of showing your creativity is spotting trends. E.g why are students interested in journalism?

Deadline
No matter how knowledgeable or creative a reporter is, he/she will be of little use if he does not meet dealines. Meeting deadlines is one of qualities the a journalist should have. While working towards deadlines, a reporter should make sure that everything he/she writes is accurate.

Commitment
Journalism is a profession that needs commitment on the side of the reporter. He/she serves the public.
Integrity
Journalists are faithful to facts no matter what the consequences. He/she should not create stories that have not happened.

Dependability
A reporter should be dependable. He/she should do assignments that are given to him/her.

Discipline
A reporter disciplines himself to write all the time.

Objectivity
Objectivity is important because it allows the reader to have facts without the interference of the reporter’s opinions, feelings and conclusions.
The reporter must be close enough physically and emotionally to his/her subject to understand what is being observed. But at the same time the reporter maintain a certain distance to keep things into perspective.

NOTE.The profession of journalism requires a lot of reading and writing.


.

The Fresh Air Fund NEEDS host families for the Summer of 2010

In 2009, The Fresh Air Fund's Volunteer Host Family program, called Friendly Town, gave close to 5,000 New York City boys and girls, ages six to 18, free summer experiences in the country and the suburbs. Volunteer host families shared their friendship and homes up to two weeks or more in 13 Northeastern states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.

The Fresh Air Fund relies on donations to provide memorable summers to NYC children.

The Fresh Air Fund needs hosts for the summer of 2010.

More than 65% of all Fresh Air children are reinvited to stay with their host family, year after year.
Thanks to host families who open up their homes for a few weeks each summer, children growing up in New York City’s toughest neighborhoods have experienced the joys of Fresh Air experiences.

Fresh Air Fund Host Families

"It is rewarding to see the smile on our Fresh Air child's face as she enjoys the simple things we take for granted..."

Friendly Town host families are volunteers who live in the suburbs or small town communities. Host families range in size, ethnicity and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Hosts say the Fresh Air experience is as enriching for their own families, as it is for the inner-city children. There are no financial requirements for hosting a child. Volunteers may request the age-group and gender of the Fresh Air youngster they would like to host. Stories about real Fresh Air host families and their New York City visitors are just a click away!

Click here to learn more about becoming a host or call (800) 367-0003!



Fresh Air Children
"We made s'mores and hot dogs over the fire. I've never cooked outside before!"
Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for either one or two weeks. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many enjoy longer summertime visits, year after year. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine and making new friends.

The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open outdoor play spaces. Concrete playgrounds cannot replace the freedom of running barefoot through the grass or riding bikes down country lanes.

Fresh Air children are registered by more than 90 participating social service and community organizations located in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City. These community-based agencies are in close contact with children in need of summer experiences in rural and suburban areas. Each agency is responsible for registering children for the program.

What do Fresh Air children enjoy?


Playing in the backyard


Laughing in the sunshine


Catching fireflies


Riding bicycles


Learning to swim


Running barefoot through the grass


Gazing at the stars on moonlit nights


Building sandcastles


Making new friends


Simple pleasures of life away from the inner-city








You can give a child the experience of a
lifetime with your gift to The Fresh Air Fund!

Every year, The Fresh Air Fund gives thousands of inner-city children the priceless gift of fun – and opens the door to a lifetime of opportunities.

Whether it's a two-week trip to visit a volunteer host family, or a fun-filled and educational stay at one of our camps, our programs make for unforgettable memories – and open a world of new friendships and fresh possibilities.

We are a not-for-profit agency and depend on tax-deductible donations from people like you to keep our vital programs flourishing.

Donate online now





On March 21st, the Fresh Air Fund-Racers will take to the streets at the NYC Half-Marathon! Thank you to the Fresh Air Fund-Racers and their supporters for participating in this world class event. You are making a huge difference in the lives of thousands of Fresh Air children!

We have limited availability for this amazing race. If you would like to run, please register here right away.

Link to Fresh Air Fund: http://freshairfundhosts.com/

From the Fresh Air Fund: What has Sara to say?

Hi Richard

I know it's still winter time but the countdown to Summer 2010 has begun and The Fresh Air Fund is again in need of host families. If you could help get the word out on Zachimalawi it would really go a long way in helping to place these children into a loving host family home for a fresh air experience they will never forget.

I've put together a new social media release to make it simple to repost, so please feel free to use any of the images, graphics, banners, or copy:

http://freshairfundhosts.com

Please let me know if you are able to post or tweet and if you have any questions. Your efforts can help a child have an experience that will change their life!

Thank you so much,

Sara

Something about Centre for the Development of People (Cedep)

Welcome to CEDEP: The Centre For The Development of People.

CEDEP is a registered human rights organisation dedicated to addressing the needs, improving the lives, and providing support for some of Malawi's most neglected minority groups through civic education, training, capacity building, networking and research.

We believe that improving he welfare of minority groups, including prisoners, sex workers, and those in same-sex relationships, is crucial to the health and well-being of all peoples.

To learn more, please visit our Programmes page.

Zikomo.


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Latest News: CEDEP defends gay couple's marriage.

Tiwomge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were arrested after publicly declaring their love for one another in an engagement ceremony in Blantyre on Saturday 26 December. They have been charged with gross indecency according to Section 156 of Malawi's penal code.

CEDEP director Gift Trapense defended them in The Daily TImes saying, " Unless the suspects were caught in the act, the law cannot take charge against them in the absence of evidence that they are involved in a sexual act. what these two people have done is expression of their legal rights. It is another way of testing our law which is silent on such matters. Here are two individuals who are expressing their sexual orientation as human beings. Therefore I do not see any reason why the government should intrude in such an issue."

To voice your support for Chimbalanga and Monjeza, please visit our Contact page.
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Attention!
CEDEP administrator Dunker Kamba has been arrested on charges that CEDEP's HIV education materials are pornographic. Such an accusation can only be retaliation for CEDEP's support of Chimbalanga and Molanje. Mr. Kamba is expected to appear in court on 6 January, and your support is very much appreciated. To contribute to the defense fund for these three men, please visit our Donate page.

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CEDEP develops healthier people living better lives.

Inclusion of men who have sex with men (MSM) in the national HIV prevention action frame work 2009-2013.


Host of a national conference for 70 participants attended where a task force was formed to push for the health and human rights of Malawi's most at-risk populations.


Evaluation of the HIV prevalence, determinants of HIV infection, and Human Rights Contexts of men who have sex with men (MSM) in Malawi.


Dissemination of the MSM HIV sero-prevalence research results at the Malawi National annual HIV/AIDS Research and Best Practices Dissemination Conference and International Aids Conference in Mexico in 2008.


Publication of the MSM HIV sero-prevalence study in a reputable science journal called Plos One which can be accessed here.


350 MSM were better informed of the modes of HIV/AIDS and STIs transmission and means of prevention.


20 Peer Educators trained on HIV/AIDS and their roles as peer educators.