June was another busy month – Australian journalists helped mentor Timorese reporters, ICFJ launched its mobile media house, and the new monthly ‘Meet The Press’ series got under way.

Six Australian journalists – representing all forms of media – arrived in mid-June for a two day visit to mentor six local journalists. After a welcoming dinner, the Aussies and Timorese reporters were paired up by ICFJ Training Coordinator Paula Rodrigues. The goal was for the teams to arrange an interview with Timorese President Ramos Horta and for the Australians to shadow the Timorese reporters as they worked the story.

The President agreed to have lunch with the twelve reporters and then invited them to his residence later that evening. The following day, the teams worked together to complete their stories on a variety of topics, including government funding for the elderly and the closing of the largest IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp. The stories appeared in Diario Nacional and Timor Post.

On June 3, ICFJ’s Country Director Chuck Rice briefed the Steering Committee on recent happenings and program plans for the future. Eight of the nine committee members were present. This was the first meeting with all the new Committee members, including the presidents of the five journalism associations.

Students who are taking Joana Saraiva’s writing class at the National University UNTL got some practical experience on June 5th. Armed with new digital cameras and tape recorders, purchased by ICFJ, the forty students were given a field assignment. They were divided up into ten groups – with a Journalism Trainer assigned to each group. Their assignment: cover the government-required Friday trash pickup campaign in Dili. The following week, Joana took a second group of 40 students on a similar field assignment. Among those interviewed during the trash pickup campaign was the TL Vice Minister of Finance.

ICFJ launched its mobile media house training on June 22 in Baucau. Journalism Trainer Carlos de Jesus trained journalists from the eastern region of Timor-Leste as part of a two week seminar. Other ICFJ specialists were also involved: Natalina Aparicio taught accounting, Antonio Soares conducted a seminar on advertising and marketing, and Emanuel Braz taught classes on management and how to develop work plans. Similar trainings are planned for Ermera, Oecussi and Suai.

On June 30, ICFJ debuted “Meet the Press” – formerly called ‘The Monthly Lecture Series’. The new format allows for more interaction between the journalists and the guests. Previously, there had been one guest speaker who lectured for about one hour and took a few questions. In the new format, there were three guests. The topic was Corruption in Timor Society. The guest included the Vice Prime Minister, a member of the opposition party, and the head of an NGO that tracks corruption. More than 40 journalists attended the event.

Six female journalists from the districts continued their TV training in Dili during June. Knight Fellow Gabriela Carrascalao-Heard worked with the journalists each Saturday on the basics of journalism, script writing and voice training. The journalists also received refresher courses on how to use digital editing software and how to shoot with a camcorder. On Sundays, the reporters work with a native English speaker on their language skills. Eventually, these trainees will begin producing TV news packages for http://www.timortoday.com/.

Knight Fellow Carrascalao-Heard continued working with other journalists at ICFJ five days each week on the production of a weekly 30-minute radio program. The program is broadcast on 15 community radio stations and on state-funded Radio Timor-Leste. This program can also be heard each week on www.timortoday.com Carrascalao-Heard also reviews all TV scripts for video program that are placed on http://www.timortoday.com/".

ICFJ conducted a five-day Wall Newspaper training at two high schools in Maliana in mid June. There were 27 participants. Journalism Trainer Basilio da Costa conducted a basic training program, including a brief history of media. The students produced two wall newspapers during the training, with stories focusing on a wide variety of topics: HIV/AIDS cases reported in Maliana; the difficulty of transport in the village; lack of teaching materials in the high schools; tetanus immunization campaign in Maliana; choir training for the ordination of a new bishop; and how students are punished for arriving late for class.