By Vanessa N. Majwega
One might wonder what the media challenge initiative is all about. Well, this is a media academy or a media space created with the aim of providing media students a platform to get hands-on practice through mentorship and experiential learning.
The Media Challenge trainers, Antonio Kisembo and Ali Kakembo, along with their entire team, had a three-day training at the Uganda Christian University and enabled students to take part.
Students were also taken through different stages of coming up with a story and a script. This involved a framework of understanding different backgrounds of different storylines and the execution of a certain conditioned story based on a particular story needed.
“This is basically brought out by the credibility of the story, target audience, different formats of broadcasting and its visuality.” said Kisembo.
This also involved treatment of a script which involves guide lines, data mining, and questions intended to be asked.
Huda Nasoozi, a journalism student, says that she has been studying and never tried out. Therefore, the Media Challenge Initiative has given her the opportunity to get her hands on.
Nasoozi also got to know that when studying journalism, one has to be creative in order to gain a desired audience.
Nathaniel Simbilyamo, says that he gained skills in radio and TV. He was able to report during the auditions, which was a milestone. The knowledge of knowing how to record using a phone made him understand that to accomplish something you always have to be part.
This is also in the same line as Charlotte Nalule, who was able to beat her stage fright as she was able to participate in the auditions as a news reporter.
This three-day practice involved students taking home assessments, and each of them was to find a story idea within the university. The students were tasked to record a video using their phones, which made it more practical.
Dismas Nuwaine, also says that it was a real revolution for the students of journalism and mass communication because it was instrumental in the way that they learnt television news writing and reporting.
This media challenge initiative also gave a boost to some of the students. Students were given a platform to participate in the three categories, and critics were given by the judges.
It’s important to note that students from the different categories will be selected to compete with other universities in October in the inter-university media challenge by the media challenge initiative.
Mariam Jumoney says after standing in front of a big crowd, she believes that she will turn out to be a good public speaker.
This whole visit was summed up by auditions, which involved three categories: news anchoring, both English and Luganda; reporting; and one minute of fame.
