Society

Research recommends need for journalists to up skills in health, crisis reporting.

by Deric
10 Feb 2023 08:20
1292 views

Ebane Kome Slesor with members of the panel after her defense

A journalism and mass communications researcher has recommended the need for journalists in Cameroon to up their skills in health and crisis reporting. This, the researcher stated, will help minimise the challenges faced in reporting the Coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The recommendations are contained in a dissertation carried out by Ebane Kome Slesor of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, JMC, University of Buea, UB.

Ebane Kome who doubles as Divisional Delegate of Communication for Meme Division, defended the Master’s Degree dissertation recently.

Her study was titled: “Newspapers coverage of the Coronavirus pandemic in Cameroon: a comparative analysis of public and private dailies; Cameroon Tribune, The Guardian Post and Le Jour newspapers”.

The researcher in the study, content analysed the coverage of the global health pandemic in Cameroon by some of the nation’s leading newspapers both in the private and public sector.

The study also took into consideration the bilingual nature of the country.

It was Professor Ta-Mbi Nkongho who chaired the defense session while Professor Ngwa Gideon served as examiner.

Her thesis was supervised by Professor Kingsley Ngange, with Dr Nangieh Lizzie as co-supervisor.

The candidate’s brilliance earned her the admiration of the panel, who awarded her an excellent score.

Speaking to the press after her defense, Ebane Kome said her focus was on how the media covered the outbreak of COVID-19 in Cameroon from March 2020 to February 2021.

The results, she said, challenged the media to do better despite the challenges brought about by the outbreak of the pandemic.

“…results of the study show that newspaper coverage of the Coronavirus outbreak in Cameroon was lacking, unprofessional in the beginning and characterised by elitist reporting as the newspapers mostly quoted government officials,” she said.

Ebane Kome added: “This was because of accessibility and the fact that the government was the one manning all campaigns against COVID-19 at the beginning”.

On the way forward, the senior journalist advised her peers to seek specialization, while calling on the government to organise trainings for journalists on health and crisis coverage.

“…I advise journalists to specialise in health reporting because my research shows that there are still many lapses in health reporting in Cameroon, especially in the print media. The government should organise trainings on health and crisis reporting,” Ebane Kome concluded.