UoN to offer financial journalism course

By Samwel Doe
@samweldoe

Kenya’s financial journalism standards have recorded significant improvement on the back of rise in executive training programmes targeted at mid-career professionals.

The country’s top universities have also begun incorporating financial journalism units to related courses in efforts to bridge gaps in data journalism. Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA) country programme coordinator for Kenya, Dr Samuel Siringi attributes the improvement to two successful media executive programmes held in the country last year.

Siringi, also Associate Director, University of Nairobi’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications, says some of the students from the first cohorts have improved their writing and understanding of financial journalism.

“Some journalists joined the programme when they were just writing county news but after the training. We have received positive feedback both from editors and read their stories in newspapers, listened to them on FM radio and watched their reports on TV and they are doing great journalistic work.

That is evidence that the training is bringing enough impact to journalism in the country,” Dr Siringi said. He spoke during the official launch of Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA)-Intake three of the Kenyan executive training for the advancement of financial journalism at Strathmore Business School recently.

University of Nairobi, Director School of Journalism Dr Ndeti Ndati said the institution is considering adding Financial Journalism to boost financial and business reporting. “Already two beneficiaries of the BMIA programme are working for Bloomberg, an international a news network,” he said.

The programme is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies led by Michael Bloomberg of US, with support from the Ford Foundation. The two have partnered with the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs), the University of Nairobi’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Strathmore University.

Other partners are Rhodes university of South Africa and Lagos Business School of Nigeria. The aim of BMIA is to accelerate the development of a globally competitive media and financial reporting industry and to enhance the contribution of the media to accountability, transparency and good governance.

Mid-career journalists and journalism students will take part in a fellowship programme, including “educational offerings, coaching, peer learning, collaborative projects and networking opportunities”.

First published in the People Daily