Kunthy studied literature, education science and political science at different universities in Phnom Penh. During her studies, she also gained journalistic skills at the Cambodian Ministry of Information.

These days, Kunthy works for WMC Radio FM 102, which produces educational programs designed for all sectors of Cambodian society, especially women in rural areas. In this blog post, she gives us some insight into her work as a journalist in Cambodia.

1. Do you have a personal motto for your journalistic work?

Working from a woman’s heart for society and development.

2. Is there a situation, interview or story that has changed your life?

After having interviewed disabled people, my daily activities changed. I did not try very hard to reach my goals before, but the struggle of disabled people inspired me. Disabled people try very hard to overcome challenges in order to live their own lives.

3. What do you love about your work?

I have a chance to meet all types of people and learn about their real lives. Then I can broadcast their life experiences to educate people.

4. And what do you hate?

I hate journalists who use their skills wrongly. For instance, some use their skills to threaten people to get money.

5. Your journalistic dream would be…

…to be a famous female journalist in Asia.

6. Your most important tool is …

…a sound recorder and a laptop.

7. What do you still want to learn? Is there a question about your profession that you keep asking yourself?

I would like to learn more about the format of radio magazines and about multi-media and online journalism.

8. Do you have a blog or website?

No.

9. What is your favorite website?

Google.

10. Which website do you visit every day?

One website I use every day is CEN News.

11. How much time do you spend online every day?

A few hours every day.

12. Do you use social networks? Twitter, Facebook or others?

Facebook.

13. What makes social media special for you?

I get hot news through social media and I can connect to other people in the world. In addition, social media is a good place to express opinions and to share experiences.

14. If you could write a text message to the world, what would it be?

Press freedom in Cambodia

Media outlets should have an idea who's watching them (Photo by 'espensorvik' / flickr)

Today’s fast moving media environment requires a lot of flexibility from media workers. Multimedia skills are a must. Journalists need to be able to produce stories for radio or television, print or online. At the same time, digitization, the Internet and affordable equipment enables anyone who wishes to open a TV station on YouTube or at least run a blog site.

All this technical innovation offers tempting perspectives for hard working and talented journalists. But frustration and failure might set in when it turns out that hardly anybody is watching or reading.

Journalists can be very creative when researching stories which can serve as an eye opener for the audience. It’s said that good stories can literally be found on the street. But nevertheless, proper research, production and distribution to the audience also require solid funding. Thus, a successful media company will also need to think of how to attract financial backing either directly from the audience or from sponsors.

Here journalists could also use their creativity and research skills for understanding their audience. The new media realities also offer more choices for the audience. Times are gone when people would gather at a certain time around a radio or TV set to get the main news from the dominant broadcaster. Today, even the most remote communities are at least able to access different news providers via their mobile phones whenever it’s convenient for them.

Photo by EIFL / flickr

This new audience behavior requires re-thinking on the side of news producers. Along with journalistic skills, they also need a strong understanding of specific audience needs. A first important step is to define the target audience, i.e. for whom are we producing the reports? In case our client is another company, we should ask as well: what is their audience?

If we’re mandated to produce stories for students, our topics should focus on career development and urban life. On the other hand, sustainable land development and traditional music would be of greater interest to middle-aged viewers in the countryside.

Media producers should try to view daily life from the perspective of the target audience. This requires little efforts and costs. A small field trip to a student campus or the village market will most likely provide new insights about the target group. Just as with other research areas, we should try to answer questions such as: what are the routine tasks of our target audience and what information do they need to get it done better? What are their aspirations and dreams? What are their fears and frustrations? How do they access news? Finding the proper answers will enable us to produce stories that keep our audience interested in our work.

A media outlet that can anticipate the information needs of its audience or the target group of the client will maintain a stronger position on the market.

As part of a modernization drive, Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) has combined their radio and television newsrooms. In the future, reporters will be required to provide news reports in both media. It’s hoped that the convergence will allow the state-funded station to cut costs and do more with limited resources.

It was against this background that two DW-AKADEMIE trainers went to Bhutan’s high-altitude capital Thimphu to conduct a workshop with an enthusiastic group of 12 young BBS journalists. While several already had some radio production experience, many had previously only worked on the TV side of things.

Together, the group started with a review of the basics, such as news judgment and news writing for radio, before moving on to the interview and how to ask that all-important first question that will grab your listeners and keep them from turning the dial.

The focus was on the practical, and with every topic covered, workshop participants completed exercises that, while not exactly the real thing, got fairly close. Besides writing news, they gathered vox pops from people around town and grabbed interviews with some fairly prominent Bhutanese folk, including the coach of the national football (soccer) team and one of the country’s most famous actors. The group analyzed the interviews together and participants offered their colleagues their takes on the strong and weak points of each one.

Then the workshop tackled the radio feature and for many of the journalists, it was the first time they had learned about how to use natural/ambient sound in a radio reportage to evoke a sense of place for listeners and paint mental pictures that can turn a recitation of facts and opinions into a lively, almost “visual” piece, despite the absence of a screen.

For Kuenzang Choden, a producer in the English department at BBS, natural sound was something entirely new. She was excited about the possibilities, as she explains in this short clip.

Toward the end of the two-week workshop, the participants were divided into two groups and each was tasked with creating their own radio magazine program. Both ended up being thematic: one group chose to make a youth program; the other a soccer/football show.

The journalists used their new skills in presentation, interviewing and report production to put together two lively magazines. Reporters for the soccer show, called Druk Kangtsey, went to the training pitch to catch the national team in preparation for a tournament in India.

Convergence, not phase-out

As BBS continues its convergence drive, management was quick to point out that the merger is not a takeover, with radio being the loser. While television recently got brand-new studios and continues to grow in popularity (TV broadcasting was only allowed in the kingdom in 1999), radio is still the dominant medium for many people in this mountainous country.

Many Bhutanese live in remote regions without electricity where newspapers arrive late, if they arrive at all. A battery-powered radio is often the only link to the outside world.

Kesang, who heads the BBS radio department, is playing a key role in the convergence process, but in this video clip he insists radio will not go the way of the dodo.

Journalists’ special role

Besides the late introduction of television in this country of around 708,000 people, democracy was also a late arrival. Until a few years ago, the country was governed by an absolute monarchy.

In 2005, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, adored by his people and seen as a very benevolent monarch, shocked the nation by announcing major democratic reforms. He also proclaimed he would pass the crown to his son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, in order to give him time as head of state in the run-up to the transition to democracy.

Bhutan’s elections for its first parliament and the ratification of its first constitution were completed in 2008.

This major change has put a special responsibility on journalists’ shoulders, according to Thinley Dorji, the managing director of BBS since summer 2011. In the following video he talks about that as well as a government that might not be used to dealing with criticism from the media. He also addresses the country’s changing media landscape and what that means for the broadcaster.

By Kyle James

But researchers like Kalinga Seneviratne say that labor migration from Asia has many hidden problems.

Kalinga Seneviratne

Mr. Seneviratne is the head of research at the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) based in Singapore.

At the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum in Bonn this summer, Kalinga Seneviratne and other experts discussed how the media can tackle issues pertaining to labor migration.

Talking to Deutsche Welle reporters, the award-winning journalist explains some of the problems migrant workers face, the challenges journalists encounter when reporting such stories and how the media can play a major role in promoting human rights.

Interview with Kalinga Seneviratne

Ramesh Jaura

Ramesh Jaura is the executive president of the Global Cooperation Council in Berlin. He agrees that the media can and should find ways to continuously inform the public about migrant and minority-related matters. Jaura is of Indian descent and has worked in Germany as a journalist for many years .

In this interview he describes some of the underlying social aspects of labor migration. And he names the challenges the media must overcome both in the West and in Asia to address them.

Interview with Ramesh Jaura

One example of how media can creatively distribute and channel migration issues into the mainstream more effectively is a theme-based audio network called Radio 1812.

René Plaetevoet

This international project started in 2006. It draws its name from International Migrants Day, which is December 18th.

So far, 243 radio stations from 50 countries in four continents have participated. They range from community radio stations to national and international broadcasters.

In an interview with Deutsche Welle, the director of the project, René Plaetevoet, describes the main objectives of Radio 1812, which is currently trying to expand its network and broadcast more frequently.

Interview with René Plaetevoet

By Gabriela Degen/Deborah Friedman
Interviews conducted by: Anggatira Gollmer, Deborah Friedman and Mariya Ruettinger

What does it take to produce a successful radio program? And how can you motivate the people in northern Vietnam's Quang Ninh Province to tune in? That's what the radio staff of Quang Ninh Radio & TV and DW-AKADEMIE are exploring at the moment in cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Vietnam's Academy of Journalism and Communication.

This week, DW trainers and QTV radio journalists drew up plans for a new morning radio show. It will be called "QTV Rush Hour" and will run between 6:30 and 7:30 every morning. The show will include music, information and audience participation elements.

On Thursday, March 31^st, the Vietnamese journalists recorded a pilot for the new morning show. If all goes well, the show will start airing live next month.

Text and pictures: Thorsten Karg, DW-AKADEMIE trainer