AYV staff orientation ends

By Femi Coker & Alhassan Bah

Participants at the training workshop

By Femi Coker & Alhassan Bah

Africa Young Voices Group of Companies (AYV) has ended a two-day orientation training for members of staff at the Harry Yansanneh Memorial Hall, SLAJ Headquarters, 56 Campbell Street, Freetown.

According to AYV Managing Director, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, the purpose of the training was to enhance the capacity of the company’s staff “to meet the increasing demands of a very competitive media landscape in Sierra Leone”.

“I hope we will all take advantage of this opportunity and learn the necessary skills to enhance the quality of our products. As management, we will ensure that we keep our staff up to date with the changing nature of media work through periodic in-house training,” said Nasralla.

The training workshop, whose participants consisted of staffs of the various departments under AYV (AYV Newspaper, Ariogbo Newspaper, AYV Monthly Magazine and AYV Radio), was facilitated by Mr. Isaac Massaquoi- Head of Mass Communications Department, Fourah Bay College; Mr. Joshua Nicol- a lecturer of the same department; and Steve Douglas of Journalists for Human Rights.

The Director of AYV Radio, Mrs. Fatmata Kamara-Jalloh and AYV Head of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Mucktar Tejan Cole also facilitated hands on training especially for the radio staff.

The training covers broadcasting and radio formating, radio discussion programmes, phone-in programmes, interviewing, communications skills, elections reporting and electoral code, as well as basic ethical considerations.

Making a statement as head of AYV Radio and declaring the training open, Mrs. Kamara-Jalloh noted that FM 88.4, though new on the airwaves, was the best. She said AYV Radio was established to represent the voice of the young generation.

Mrs. Kamara-Jalloh said AYV Radio was a private, independent, and a non-political commercial radio station that would seek the truth and report fairly, with integrity and independence.

Furthermore, she promised that AYV Radio would provide its audience the very best in radio broadcasting, adding that they have already lined up series of interesting and educative  programs for listeners, including in-depth news reports  and analyses and sports and would target all sectors of society and shades of opinions.

AYV Radio is currently on test transmission but is expected to be officially launched next month.