By Japonicah Jabu
Chairperson for Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi Chapter, Golden Matonga has expressed satisfaction with the recent training programme that equipped journalists with skills for effective use of TikTok, a popular social media platform.
The five-day training held from July 21 to 25 was aimed at enhancing journalists’ content creation and audience engagement abilities, particularly in preparation for Malawi’s forthcoming September 16 General Elections.
In an interview with the Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Monday, Matonga underscored the growing necessity for journalists to leverage platforms like TikTok to expand their professional reach and bolster their careers.
“The need to build journalists’ capacity could not be overemphasised. We wanted you to understand how effectively we could use this TikTok platform to support our career and in our upcoming elections this September,” Matonga said.
Matonga, however, urged participants to be proactive, share their newly acquired skills and transfer the knowledge to other journalists in their respective media houses.
Ellen Munthali, a participant from the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), concurred with Matonga, disclosing that she had gained a lot from the training.
Munthali, therefore, shared her newfound understanding of TikTok’s importance for the journalism profession, especially concerning storytelling techniques.
“Personally, I have understood how TikTok is important, especially to my profession in terms of storytelling techniques that will also help me in covering more credible stories in the coming elections and beyond,” she stated.
Munthali, however, noted that the training provided valuable insights into audience engagement and strategies for reaching a younger demographic, stressing the programme’s role in equipping journalists to combat misinformation and disinformation, thereby building credibility when creating content.
“This training has equipped me with how I can clear misinformation and disinformation and build credibility when creating content. This format will help me to balance up with the fast rate of technology,” Munthali said.
