Dili Media House

More than 60 people turned out on the last day of March for the official opening of the Dili Regional Media House. Although the Media House has been operational for more than three years, ICFJ had not, until now, formally opened it.

USAID Country Director Mark White urged the two dozen or so journalists in the audience to make good use of the facility, while AusAID’s Darian Clark challenged reporters to strive to do their best work.

The Dili Media House, which will also serve as the National Media House, attracts journalists from the nearby regions of Manatuto and Liquica. Students from the National University’s Social Communications degree program also regularly use the Media House, as do Dili-based reporters from most media outlets.

On average, the Dili Media House gets about 80-90 visits per month from journalists.

The Dili Media House is similar to the four other regional media centers that opened in 2009: journalists have free access to computers, high-speed internet, scanners and printers, and training opportunities. Each computer in is equipped with a webcam – allowing users to make video calls. The Dili Media House also serves as the main training center for ICFJ’s successful ‘Journalism Training of Trainers’ program, and English classes are offered twice a week.

After the ribbon cutting ceremony, guests were given a tour of the ICFJ compound. There are two training areas in the compound – and it’s also home to www.timortoday.com.

ICFJ has now opened five media houses across Timor-Leste: besides Dili, there are facilities in Suai, Oecusse, Ermera and Baucau. In May, ICFJ plans to open a sixth Regional Media House in Maubisse.

Media Law

Media Lawyer Sarah Harmelink was busy in March, after the Council of Ministers passed a media policy document that would require journalists to be licensed. Another troubling aspect of the policy is that it calls for the creation of a media council. The policy is vague on what the structure of the council would look like – although journalists have expressed concerns that it would involve the government. The policy also provides for a government-built journalism institute.

Before the policy was passed, Sarah met with members of KOLKOS, journalists and the presidents of the five Journalism Associations to discuss how the policy would affect journalists. Those in the meeting asked Sarah to draft a petition letter urging the Council of Ministers not to approve the policy. The petition was signed by nearly 30 journalists and presented to the Council of Ministers. The Council was also given a copy of the Article 19 analysis of the policy – which noted that while there are positive aspects to the policy, there are also several areas that would have a negative impact on journalism in Timor-Leste.

After the policy was adopted by the Council of Ministers, Sarah held a strategy session with the five Journalism Associations. The discussion focused on self-regulation and the need to develop self-regulating guidelines. The Associations also agreed that all journalists need to unite to ensure their rights are not taken away.

Sarah held two trainings in March focusing on the Constitutional Right of Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Press. One session was held in Dili and involved media lawyers; the second training session, in Baucau, included broadcast and print journalists.

Following Sarah’s training, Budi Setyo held a two-day training at the Baucau Media House, focusing on basic and advanced journalism skills.

Trainer Matt Crook conducted a three day journalism workshop at the Suai Media House in late March that attracted 18 participants – most of whom were women.

TOT Training

ICFJ is continuing to conduct TOT (‘Training of Trainers’) trainings twice a week in Dili. The curriculum is based on findings from the competency exams conducted in December 2009. In March, the trainings focused on lead writing and news value.

TOT’s also receive report cards each week from the Media Analysis Team. MAT reviews nearly two dozen stories in the papers each week – measuring the quality of the lead, background, balance and accuracy. The objective is to help the journalists improve the quality of their stories.

Meet the Press

On March 4th, ICFJ, in partnership with the five Journalism Associations, organized the monthly discussion program, Meet the Press. The topic: Breakdowns in the Justice System. The guest speaker was Member of Parliament Fernanda Borges. ICFJ’s Frances Suni was the moderator.

Social Communications Degree Course at UNTL

ICFJ is continuing to provide instructors and curriculum advice to UNTL, the National University of Timor-Leste, for its Social Communications degree program. ICFJ, in partnership with UNTL, is developing a four year Social Communications curriculum. Until the curriculum is in place, ICFJ instructors are developing their own curriculum based on international standards. ICFJ trainers are currently conducting two classes: ‘Introduction to Social Communications’ and ‘Media and Its Role in a Democracy’. A third course, ‘Journalism Writing II’, had been taught by an ICFJ instructor, but UNTL changed it to a Portuguese grammar class – which is not part of the Social Communications program. UNTL is providing its own lecturer for this class.

Printing Press

Two forklifts were needed to move the printing press. A giant one was needed to lift it from the container to the front door and then a smaller one was used to scoot the press into position.

The printing press has finally arrived at its final resting place – a building in suburban Dili. The press, and its accessories, had been stored in a shipping container for nearly two months; but with the completion of the building site, the equipment could finally be moved to its new home.

A huge forklift was brought in to lift the nearly five ton press, but the ground was so moist that the wheels sank and then spun in the dirt. ICFJ’s site supervisor, Julio Mantelvao, suggested pouring a concrete driveway. Two days later, after the concrete had hardened, the forklift returned and lifted the printing press into the front of the building.

Since the giant forklift couldn’t drive inside the building, a smaller forklift was used to help scoot the printing press into its permanent position on the floor of the structure.

During April, the printing press will be finally set up and test-runs will begin. An expert from Surabaya, Indonesia, will train the local staff on how to maintain and operate the equipment.

The printing press will be operated by three independent newspapers: Klaak, The Dili Weekly and the Timor Post.

World Press Freedom Day Fundraising

Special Projects coordinator Frances Suni, in partnership with the five Journalism Associations, has begun raising funds to support World Press Freedom Day activities set for May 3rd. In March, Frances got commitments from three privately-run businesses to provide free hotel rooms for the guest speakers from Indonesia, free meals for the participants, and free use of a conference hall to host the event.