We all need stronger voices to challenge us

It was past 8pm on Monday July 28, 2025. In the heart of the city nicknamed ‘The Oxygen City’, Ho, the capital of the Volta Region. The group of journalists, journalism students and PR practitioners sat in a circle – about 20 individuals, including the convenor at Pleasure Gardens . It was past closing time for The Journalism Hangout that started around 4pm, 30 minutes past the scheduled start time. But the time felt too quickly gone. No one was in a hurry to leave.

The conversation was all-rounded and engaging – on ethics, storytelling, fact-checking, how to pitch a story, cultivate sources, and independent reporting. But what hit the participants harder was the realization that their journalism was largely event-driven. It’s what they have been trained to do, it seemed, and independent reporting looked a distant possibility. But that was the reason for The Journalism Hangout, to let journalists know it is possible to break the glass ceiling and do world class journalism, by going out there to dig for information – independently.

“We all need stronger voices to challenge us. I’m going back to resurrect an abandoned project,” says Rustum Senorgbe, a broadcast journalist with Volta Premier radio.

While The Journalism Hangout is conversational, most participants took copious notes. An indication that they are learning a lot from the conversation.

We all need stronger voices to challenge us. I’m going back to resurrect an abandoned project.

Joyce Dzidzor of Global FM, had this to say: “My experience at The Journalism Hangout was great. I have been enlightened. Now I know I have to look beyond what I hear or what I am told at events.”

She adds, “A true journalist is one that fact-checks information before putting it across.”

Divine Bugonu, a first-year communication and applied media technology student at the Ho Technical University who was grateful for the opportunity, had this to say about The Journalism Hangout: “My experience was an impactful one. I’ve learned to be ethical, bold, courageous and stand out in my practice of journalism.”

My experience at The Journalism Hangout was great. I have been enlightened.

For Elikem Kofi Ablorde of CMG-Ho FM, “The Journalism Hangout was an exciting hands-on educational experience, and it will go along way. I’m grateful to Mr Dogbevi for impacting the next generation of journalists.”

Kofi Gamor was candid. Inspired and motivated by the four-hour interactive session, he said: “It’s a rare opportunity having to sit under the tutelage of iconic practitioners who have blazed the trail in the practice of journalism, for free. It’s indeed rare,” adding with a hint of expectation he said, “I hope nuggets shared with us by Mr Dogbevi will go a long way to sharpen our individual skills and help improve our practice of journalism.”

It’s a rare opportunity having to sit under the tutelage of iconic practitioners who have blazed the trail in the practice of journalism, for free.

Without any doubt, the main mission of The Journalism Hangout is to inspire and guide journalists by sharing information on best practices to motivate them to aim at improving their journalism.

“The informal training sessions seek to transfer skills in practical ways and to motivate journalists to put the knowledge to work,” says Emmanuel K Dogbevi, the convenor and lead trainer of the programme.

As Senorgbe said, that stronger voice has stirred in the participants a desire to aim to do better journalism than they are doing now.

By Peter Quarshie

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