I heard about the Media for All Project two years ago when Mitrovica TV became a part of this programme. When I learned about the opportunities it offers, I then believed it would be a good thing for me personally and for the media outlet in which I work. At Mitrovica TV, I am the coordinator of the Engaged Citizens Reporting programme and I think that this is one of the best experiences I have had during my several years of working in the media.
I have attended many training sessions that the project has offered during these two years, and I believe this has been the biggest support for me. I have learned a lot and am continuing to learn also in the online courses offered through the programme. I have tried not to pass up any opportunity or activity offered within the project because I see it as something very valuable for my personal and professional development.
I was also part of the mentoring programme. I had not heard of such an opportunity before. It was an extraordinary experience for me, for which I am very grateful to Media for All. I believe it was something very necessary; I benefited a lot from this programme.
From the many training sessions I have attended, I have become much more aware of gender issues, discrimination, misinformation, the importance of multimedia content production, the importance of research and fact-checking, inclusiveness in reporting, ethical issues, the safety of journalists and much more.
Personally, I have benefited a lot; new opportunities have opened up, I have got to know many experts, professionals from different fields, women and girls from the media in Kosovo and the region; we had meetings, discussions, we talked about the possibility of networking, I started to get involved in regional collaborations and cross-border stories, and all this happened thanks to the Media for All project.
As for the media outlet, I think the biggest benefit is staff training, and we had this support from Media for All. I believe that this was a great benefit because the more professional the journalists of a media outlet are, the better the journalistic production will be, and consequently public trust in the media itself will increase.
On the other hand, use of the ECR tool was another advantage in this programme, which we had not practised before. This not only increased citizens’ engagement with television, but also made the reporting better. Citizens began to share with us the concerns they had in the communities where they live, be it about waste, the environment, the economy and the other issues they face in their daily lives and for which they are looking for solutions. ECR gave the opportunity to the citizens of Mitrovica to become part of the reporting.
Personally, I think that, beside the training, the most rewarding aspect of this programme was the mentoring. I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity.