Bhubaneswar: UNICEF Odisha in collaboration with South Asian Women in Media (SAWM) India, a network of women journalists in South Asia has launched the Young Women Journalist Mentorship Program 2022. To mark the occasion, a two day orientation workshop was held in Bhubaneswar on September 3 and 4 on the theme ‘Working Women and their Children’.
The workshop aimed to empower young women journalists, build their self-confidence, hone their reporting and writing skills, and connect them with mentors for guidance. As many as 16 young women journalists from tribal, rural, and underprivileged communities across the state have been selected as mentees to be mentored by four senior journalists of Bhubaneswar under this initiative. The young journalists will be supported with guidance and financial aid to travel to remote districts and report on stories from the field.
The workshop was graced by guests MSME Department’s Principal Secretary Ranjana Chopra, Sambad Group’s Radio Television and Digital Wings Head Tanaya Patnaik, OTV’s Co-founder and MD Jagi Mangat Panda, independent journalist Monideepa Banerjie, formerly with NDTV, and Swati Bhattacharjee, President SAWM along with four senior women journalists of Odisha as mentors. Radhika Srivastava, Communication and Advocacy Specialist UNICEF delivered the welcome address.
Ranjana Chopra said, “This is a welcome step taken by SAWM and UNICEF. Women are excelling in all fields including media. Across all sectors, there is a need of much stronger representation of women. The mentees in the programme will have a great opportunity to interact with senior journalists and learn from them and make a mark for themselves in journalism in Odisha.”
Tanaya Patnaik said, “Journalism is a demanding yet challenging job. Hats-off to those women who have chosen journalism as their career. It can be a very rewarding job and young women journalists should step forward to learn, go to the field and grow”.
Sharing her experience and encouraging the young women, Jagi Mangat Panda, Co-founder and MD of OTV said, “Every career has its own challenge so is in journalism. But you need to be focused on your goals and should not be distracted by any means. Being a journalist, you should always bring both sides of the story with strong narratives.”
Enlightening on the guidelines while reporting on children, Radhika Srivastava said, “While reporting on children, every journalist should follow the ethical guidelines and cover children issue with sensitivity. Through their stories, journalists can ensure voices of children, especially from poor, tribal, underprivileged and marginzalised families are heard”.
Monideepa Bannerjie shared her experience in journalism and the hurdlesshe has come across to be in the profession for 40 years. She talked about the unequal job conditions the women journalists are facing these days and risking their lives for this profession.
In this workshop, the young women journalists shared their experiences and challenges they are facing in the field.
