REPORTERS who participated in a five-day Mobile Journalism (MoJo) training course at the King Solomon Hotel last week commended the training as a timely for this digital era where people access news stories via their mobile phone devices.
The training which commenced on Monday and concluded on Friday with the presentation of certificates to the participants was jointly organized by the Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Media Action.
British High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, Thomas Edward Coward presented the certificates.
Mr Coward said what Solomon Islands journalists do is important and this was proven during the 2024 Joint Election.
“You keep us informed and you shared our stories and that is really important,” he said.
High Commissioner Coward said Solomon Islands journalists can bring the nation together despite its geographical scatteredness and cultural diversity by keeping citizens and residents informed.
He said he was happy to see some sample videos that reporters produced during their practical sessions of the Mojo training course.
Barava FM reporter Jimmy Nolan said the MoJo training course was timely for this digital era as people now use their mobile phones to access news.
“This training is suitable for the digital era that we are living in now where most people access news on their mobile phones.”
He said during the training, the participating reporters were able to learn how to use their mobile phones to capture stories. The stories are captured in the form of videos, specifically for social media audiences.
During the MoJo training course, the reporters also learned about Rule of third, shot sizes, camera angles, camera movements, crossing the line, how to film with a mobile without a tripod, how to use VN editing app, how to use open camera app, how to use filmic pro paid app, how to use Lumafusion paid app, how to use Davinci Resolve, how to use StreamYard, exposure triangle, how to do interviews and other mobile stuff.
Other reporters said they were happy to about Mojo just within a five-day period and vowed to put into practice what they have learned.
The training facilitator Bashar Sharaf from the BCC encouraged the reporters to use their mobile phones to tell their stories and stories in Solomon Islands so that other people will know what is happening in the country.
Sharaf is a multimedia journalist and trainer whose most recent work with the Thomason Foundation has been with open Media Hub projects as a multimedia video and mobile journalism trainer in the Middle East and North Africa.
He has produced digital stories since 2002 as freelancer and continued to use and perfect his digital skills working as multimedia news reporter and producer for BBC Xtra Arabic.
The MoJo workshop last week provided him the opportunity to travel to Solomon Islands for the first time.
He said this was a very special event and he has met the expectations of all reporters who joined the training.
He encouraged reporters to use their mobile phones to tell their stories and stories in Solomon Islands for other people to know what is happening in Solomon Islands.
“Please have your story told, and don’t let other people tell your stories. The world needs to know about this place (Solomon Islands),” he said.
Sharaf said he has learned a lot about Solomon Islands in just about five-days through the videos produced during the Mojo training.
He also encouraged reporters to tell other people about what is unique about Solomon Islands.
By LACHLAN SHYVES EDDIE
Solomon Star, Honiara
