This essay was submitted for “Internship Seminar & Fieldwork” course, in the context of a newsroom internship in Accra, Ghana.
During my stay in Ghana for the next few months, I will be interning under the XYZ* umbrella. More specifically, I will be working with their partner, XYZ Ghana, a local radio station, which creates its own productions, as well as channels transmissions from other nations.
Being a fairly new station, lacking the trust and independence of the larger networks here in Ghana, XYZ fits my amateur background in kind. I am just starting my track in journalism, and am interested in exploring the options broadcast has to offer.
Since XYZ is a young production here, I am excited at the prospect of being used in many areas of the news-making process (I am mostly to be aiding in the production of the 8 p.m. primetime news). This, of course, has its own ups and downs. Being in its youth, the station might be understaffed and might not have enough resources. As a result, since I am new, naïve, and working for free, I might be asked to do more than I have time for. This is a fear of mine that has been founded from multiple other internships and volunteer positions. Certainly, my inability to say, ‘no,’ does not help such situations. In other words, I expect to be faced with tasks that seem exceedingly urgent and I will be in over my head at times. But then again, that is journalism, or so I have been told.
Another related, and far more inconvenient barrier I expect is the language barrier. While English may be the national language, the thick accent is often hard for me to understand. Many locals also speak the native Twi. This is especially problematic because in news journalism, I am interested in speaking with locals about issues and opinions that concern them. And for many, Twi is the language of choice and comfort. Many ideas might become lost in translation.
In fact, I have already experienced the difficulties related to the language. My first day, I was tossed into the van of one of the reporters I was to shadow. Speaking in a Twi broken by flashes of English, their conversation was lost to me for about half of the ride. Every fifteen minutes or so I had to ask what was going on and where we were going. I felt childish asking, but it was necessary. The main point in journalism is to be in the know, and relate that information to others. So one can understand why I found the constant oblivion quite frustrating.
Later, when we returned to the newsroom, my senior reporter gave me a computer and assigned to me the job of writing the story. I had never written for television in my life! Plus, half of the interviews were conducted in Twi! Thankfully, my reporter was supportive and helpful during the writing process, but the experience forewarned me about the types of responsibilities and expectations the company had of me, as well.
Not understanding the style and language goes hand-in-hand with my ignorance of the culture. There is only so much a travel guide can tell you. Especially in the ever-changing world of news, you have to be up to date and on top of things. An understanding of the environment is key: how can you write a story on the upcoming elections without knowing the structure of the government; talk about the rape of a student if you don’t understand the education system? While I have made an effort to speak with, learn from, and understand the people here, it will take time until I can understand even the basics of what makes Ghana tick.
What’s more, I don’t have an excess of time here to dedicate to the culture; I am also here for school. But hopefully, everything will overlap and I will be able to understand how to assert my opinions and myself. Who knows, maybe being a foreigner here will have its benefits? Perhaps my insights and observations in ignorance will help highlight and point out potential stories or problems that senior reporters miss.
Which brings me to a more positive expectation. Since I am new and different, perhaps my fresh perspective will be able to enlighten or refresh the company. I bring with me experiences that other reporters do not have; ways of thinking that are different from there’s. I have an interest in topics like cooking, childcare, the visual and performing arts, the sanitation, inefficiency and consumption of this country. I expect that I could create some great stories if I dedicate the time and am given the appropriate resources and mentorship.
This kind of opportunity comes only once in a while. This opportunity to create, be apprenticed and be given almost a blank slate.
I have noticed this on my second day of internship. In total, the whole four hours was a bust. In its entirety, I was only given the task to copy and paste an introduction from one computer to another. No one needed me. It was then that I was able to reflect on the dated technology: they only had one printer, a handful of USB flash drives (some corrupted), and three of the ten computers were infected with viruses. I also stared at the slow, backed-up monitor and read over other stories previously written. They were very wordy. While I have never written for broadcast, I have watched it, and I knew that some of the things written were not colloquial. I had never heard such speech in Ghana before, nor did I understand the logic in some of the transitions.
Thus, I hope that I can go into the company and revive and modernize it. Ghana is a developing country after all, and so is XYZ. This is the perfect opportunity for me to test my skills, my ideas, and myself. Perhaps, I can edit for them, create stories, voice over’s, do make-up or even produce. All I need to do is take initiative, even when they do not give me work, and work on something, on my own, anyway. One I have their trust, even the language barrier, the fact that I am a young girl or an obruni, will matter very much.
These are my hopes, my fears and my expectations.
—Y. Ogale, 5 Sept. 2010
* Proper & company names have been censored for privacy.
