The Multi-stakeholder Forest Governance and Accountability Project (MFGAP), working in partnership with the Liberia Media Center (LMC), has completed a two-day Regional Media Needs Assessment involving 16 journalists from Rivercess, Sinoe and Grand Bassa counties.
The exercise brought together reporters and media managers to examine the key challenges facing journalists in rural areas and to identify priority support needs ahead of the implementation of MFGAP Phase II.
Closing the assessment, LMC Executive Director Victor A. Mayue thanked participants for committing time and effort to the process.
He commended journalists and media managers for setting aside their professional responsibilities to engage in what he described as important and timely discussions.
Mr. Mayue explained that the assessment aimed to collect firsthand input from journalists on how LMC and MFGAP can strengthen their interventions in the next phase of the project.
He expressed hope that recommendations emerging from the group sessions would be carefully considered and reflected in future project activities.
He also encouraged participants to share the knowledge and insights gained with fellow journalists in their respective counties, stressing that information sharing is key to improving journalism practice beyond the training room. Mr. Mayue further expressed optimism about continued collaboration between LMC and journalists in the region.
Representing the participants, journalist Zahn Dayougar praised the organizers for what he called a highly impactful engagement.
He said journalists from the three counties benefited from refresher sessions on basic journalism principles, with particular emphasis on balanced and ethical reporting.
Dayougar noted that participants put forward several recommendations, including the need for grant support and stronger engagement on national forestry and environmental agreements.
He expressed hope that these suggestions would be taken into account as LMC and MFGAP move forward, while encouraging colleagues to apply the lessons learned in their daily work.
The Regional Media Needs Assessment forms part of MFGAP’s wider initiative to enhance media involvement in forest governance, transparency and accountability in Liberia’s forest-rich regions.
