Nine journalist trained, mentored; 10 stories produced

Nine Asian journalists completed the five-month intensive training on election reporting publishing 10 election-related reports developed and produced under the ANFREL Asian Media Fellowship on Election Reporting.

The media fellowship program ran for five months from October 2022 to February 2023. It provided media fellows training and mentorship opportunities with editorial and financial support for election-related stories.

The media fellows participated in intensive training sessions which helped deepen their understanding of how elections work and the importance of free and fair elections through the discussion of key electoral concepts and the issues and challenges that various electoral stakeholders face.

This round of the media fellowship program gave emphasis on the impact of disinformation on elections and how journalists could report on them. Fundamental election reporting skills were also part of the training provided.

The following are the topics covered and resource speakers invited to discuss them:

The stories shed light on the issues and challenges that electoral stakeholders face including women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and religious minorities; disinformation operations that undermine elections and those that cover elections including journalists; and the overall impact of disinformation on elections. Aside from English, several of the reports produced were available also in Filipino, Tamil, Tetum, Thai and Urdu.

The following are the stories developed and produced under the ANFREL Asian Media Fellowship on Election Reporting:

The program culminated in a capstone session where the media fellows shared the lessons they learned throughout including their experience in pursuing the stories they produced under the program.

The ANFREL Asian Media Fellowship on Election Reporting followed last year's pilot program in Southeast Asia which trained and mentored six journalists and produced election-related stories.