African Media Initiative or AMI and General Electric or GE partnered to train 20 East African journalists on the energy sector in Africa to boost media coverage of energy and infrastructure issues.
In a statement on Friday AMI says the training on using sector data to tell impactful stories and enrich media content and better inform citizens, takes place from October 9 to 10, in Nairobi, Kenya.
It will explore the importance of covering the sector, weaknesses in infrastructure and energy-related issues coverage, the use of data and cutting edge technologies to craft and disseminate media messages for audiences across all platforms.
GE Africa Director of Communications Patricia Obozuwa says the initiative was part of their efforts to support developmental journalism through capacity building and that the media if properly harnessed play a key role in influencing development of societies.
She expresses pleasure to associate with the Energy and Infrastructure category of the prestigious CNN awards, believing that the training will ultimately help in the quality of entries for subsequent awards.
Ms Obozuwa says the workshop would be the first in a series of regional training events that GE will sponsor to create an Africa-wide network of journalists specializing in reporting on energy and infrastructure.
Journalists are expected to publish and broadcast stories that drive the development agenda and clearly outline the critical role that energy and infrastructure play in the growth of national economies.