One of the big events in December and January was the purchase and delivery of a used printing press machine to Dili. ICFJ’s Antonio Soares traveled to Jakarta where he and an independent inspector procured the 1986 Heidelberg Offset Press, along with accessories.

Once everything was packed into a huge crate, it was shipped by tractor-trailer halfway across Java to the port city of Surabaya – where the press was given a tune-up and paint job before being loaded onto a ship for delivery in Dili.

While the press and accessories were being procured and shipped, renovations began in Dili on the building that will house the printing press shop. The printing press itself weighs more than four tons, so the floor of the building had to be more than two feet thick. That’s a lot of concrete!

The printing press will be operated by three independent newspapers, with ICFJ providing technical and financial training as well as mentoring. ICFJ, with funding from USAID, will also provide salaries for the printing press staff for a period of three months.

This will be the first printing house in Dili to be established by a group of independent newspapers. It is likely to profoundly improve the prospects for sustainability of Timor-Leste’s independent media sector, and it will strengthen press freedom because one of the main objectives is to support independent media outlets unable to afford the prices and terms of the existing commercial printing houses.

In December, ICFJ administered the first formal basic competency exams to the participants of the Journalism Training of Trainers Program. The exams tested a variety of basic skills – from interviewing and accuracy of quotes to story structure and story interest. The competency results will help ICFJ to design training programs to fill in knowledge gaps for JTOT’s.

Renovations began in December in the mountain town of Maubisse on a building that will house a community radio station and a media house. ICFJ, in partnership with the community of Maubisse, will set up the facility and train the staff. The radio station/media house will be located along the main thoroughfare – and just a short distance from the town’s very busy market. It’s an ideal location in that it will mean citizens can easily get to the station and take part in its activities.

ICFJ staffers Ivan Lopes and Bendita dos Santos, as part of a partnership with ARKTL, conducted community radio assessments in several eastern districts. The team is assessing problems at the stations as well as community involvement in each of the stations. The results will help ARKTL and ICFJ develop a handbook on community radio. The data will also be helpful when ICFJ and the community of Maubisse establish a community radio station this year.

US Ambassador Hans Klemm visited the Ermera Media House in mid-January and then walked upstairs to Radio Café – ICFJ’s Media House partner. At Radio Café, Ambassador Klemm took part in an interview with the station. It was the ambassador’s first visit to the Ermera Media House.

The Oecusse Media House continues to attract a huge number of customers to its internet café. The Media House has the fastest internet in the enclave of Oecusse, and during the last quarter of 2009 it took in more than 1,100 USD – the most of any of the five existing media houses. The coordinator in Oecusse is Filomena Sila.

ICFJ’s IT manager Oscar Selly hit the road to Oecusse in January after a strong wind misaligned the VSAT that supplies internet to the media house. Oscar traveled to Oecusse via ferry boat and the seas were anything but calm during the trip. It takes eight hours each way, and Oscar was reportedly looking a bit pale when he stepped off the dock …

ICFJ Washington staffer Mario Scherhaufer arrived in Dili on January 22nd to have a look at ICFJ-TL’s financial records and provide training and guidance to Finance Manager Natalina Aparicio.

January kicked off with a new edition of Meet the Press – a monthly discussion on timely topics. ICFJ’s Saul Amaral assists the five journalism associations in organizing the event. In January, the program, hosted by ICFJ’s Frances Suni, focused on the importation of fresh vegetables. A spokesman for farmers argued that such imports hurt local farmers.

Two new staffers joined the ICFJ-TL family in January. Miquel Alves, who formerly worked at the International NGO Land O’Lakes, works as a translator/interpreter. Clementino (Tino) Pinto Amaral, who has just returned to Timor-Leste from his studies in Surabaya, Indonesia, is the new National Media House Coordinator.