By Dorothy Otieno Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame is the most popular African leader on Twitter, according to the latest Twiplomacy analysis by the global PR firm Burson-Marsteller. The @PaulKagame

By Ida Jooste Media coverage in Kenya this World Aids Day has focused on the gains made in science on the hand AND the need to continue efforts to tackle stigma and discrimination. Media features in all of Kenya’s print dailies and on radio and TV have sketched t

  By Ida Jooste Some of us have never known a world without HIV. Some of us remember the shockwaves of dread, the frenzy to try to fathom it, the shudders and whispers of shame. It is the media that brought HIV into our homes – 30 years ago. It was cal

Rose Nyala is a 44-year-old mother of two who has been living with HIV for the last 11 years. A teacher at Bomondo Church of God Primary School in Nyamira, Kenya, she has never regretted going public about her status. Rose, who is on antiretroviral drugs, is in good health. O

  By Dorothy Otieno and Dolphine Emali p>Internews in Kenya and the National Aids Control Council have launched a month-long digital and photographic exhibition to mark 30 years of HIV in Kenya and the accompanying media coverage. Kenya has made tremendous str

By Ida Jooste Kenya’s Open Data Initiative (KODI) has ignited movement and innovation in several connected disciplines, including legislation, data literacy and the media. This datascience post challenges critics of Kenya’s open data movement to consider the gains

By Eva Constantaras Developing data journalism in the developing world: this article by Internews’ Eva Constantaras appeared in the American Journalism Review. Developing

  The Open Data Institute is celebrating innovation and excellence in the ways in which open data are used and published with its first-ever Open Data Awards on November 4 in London. Internews in Kenya is a finalist, along with Plantwise and UNHCR, for the Open Data Soc

  Internews has launched editorial guidelines for journalists and editors reporting on health. To know best practice and avoid pitfalls in health journalism, click here:

  The Kenya Accountable Devolution Program team is holding an interactive open data presentation by Internews who will share their experiences from training and mentoring journalists to turn data on the Kenya Open Data site into relevant and informative media stories.

  By Ida Jooste Internews wishes to correct media reports in Kenya that said Internews had closed down. Health Media Project is in the process of closing out, BUT in fact, we have two active programs, working with journalists to en

By Ida Jooste The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Status report on Road Safety for 2013 estimates that more than 8,000 people are killed in road traffic crashes in Kenya every year. Crash-related injuries number in the tens of thousands. These ar

By Ann Mikia Kamadi Amata had not been trained by Internews in Kenya, but he got to hear about the organization through colleagues. He requested to use the Writespot (Media Resource Centre) to do his first radio feature story on the dangers of the morning after pill for sch

  By Dorothy Otieno Data Dredger is an Internews site on data journalism practice. Unique in Africa, it is a tool built through the Health Media Project to provide content, which journalists and newsrooms can

  Eva Constantaras, Data Journalism Advisor for Internews, recently gave a presentation at the British Council in Colombo, Sri Lanka titled, “Open Data for Social Innovation,” that looked at how open data has created the possibility of discovering new connections

  The language of scientists is often deemed difficult by journalists, who often say ‘scientists are not media-friendly’. Scientists on the other hand think journalists sometimes misreport work of scientists due to ‘language incompetence’. There is however

By James Ratemo and Cyrus Kinyungu Across the world newspaper circulation is dipping as more and more readers migrate online for news as opposed to reading hard copy newspapers. In Kenya, when the Standard Media Group unveiled its Nairobian newspaper and Nat

By James Ratemo Unlike journalists, bloggers have been struggling to regain a respectable position in the Kenyan society. This is especially true because in the recent past some blogs in Kenya were associated with the murky business of sensational reporting and inju

By James Ratemo The work of Kenyan journalists who participated in the Internews in Kenya and National Geographic photo camp early this year has been featured in Nati

By James Ratemo Opening county health budgets, exploring the underlying causes of malnutrition in Turkana and corruption in Kenya's safety net program were just some of the projects that earned Internews in Kenya and its 2013 data journalism fellows recognition for its contribu

By James RatemoJeckonia Otieno, a journalist with the Standard Media Group and 2014 winner of the Media Council of Kenya Health Reporting award (print) believes data-driven journalism is the way to go. Also read:

By Callie Long Bubble charts have little to no traction with Kenyan audiences of print news. Bar charts on the other hand are generally considered more credible and “scientific.” But if you want interest and inferences drawn from the news y

(This blog post from the Huffington Post Impact discusses Internews’ journalism training program in Kenya.)

SaferJourno is a free and open-source curriculum guide for media trainers who teach students, pr

by Boni Odinga, Internews in Kenya Kenyan journalists working from the Internews’ Media Resource Center had a great time comparing notes with their Chinese counterparts thanks to a trip organised by Internews China. Six leading Chinese journalists were in Kenya as pa

By Agnes Rube, Internews in Kenya Paul Wafula, an Internews 2013 data journalism fellow has won the David Astor journalism award for his passion for investigative journalism. The award, which was founded in the honor of the late David Astor, a forme

By Eva Constantaras and Jimmy Makhulo Five Kenyan media professionals, including two print journalists, a TV journalist, a developer and a graphic designer, graduated as the first class of the Internews Kenyan data journalism fellowship. On February 21, 2014 fellows celebrated aft

  By Cyrus Kinyungu Journalists at the Coast had the rare opportunity of freely interacting and making friends with scientists during an event dubbed Science Buddies. In an exciting interaction in Mombasa characterized by candid discussions on how the two pro

By Paul Wafula I called him lead counsel Koracha. He called himself Ustadh Samorco. Data journalist Samuel Otieno Oracha was no saint. Infact he was just like the rest of us in most things. He loved his bee

By Cyrus Kinyungu, Internews in Kenya Despite what all along has been heralded as the era that marks the death of the Newspaper, it seems the Kenyan print industry is keen to defy the print media doomsday long prophesied with the coming of online media. To illustrate

In an effort to foster effective reporting of science, Kenya’s premier science journalists’ network, The Media for Science, Health and Agriculture (MESHA) has launched a mentorship program. According to the secretary of MESHA, Aghan Daniel, the new program aims to grow and ref

By Dolphine Emali, Internews in Kenya The rough terrain leading to the Naivasha maximum security prison is perhaps a precursor to the tough time that hardcore criminals face at the penal facility We go through the first gate and a line of modern houses are reveale

By Ann Mikia, Internews in Kenya. When the first cases of HIV were reported in Kenya in the early 1980s, fright was the first reaction to the virus and this did not exclude journalists. It was then referred to as the strange disease. Very little was known about HIV/AIDS a

By Boni Odinga, Internews in Kenya. The more things change the more they remain the same. That adage describes the Kenyan media situation if the proposed Media Council Bill, 2013 sees the light of day. Kenyan journalists out on the streets of Nairobi and throughout the country demonstratin

Failed healthcare promises, the human cost of abortion limitations and the need for access to contraceptive to prevent unsafe abortions were some of the big stories in the

Has it ever occurred to you that your health is your wealth? After reading appeals for health support from patients in need of kidney treatment, heart surgery or sorting medical bills, I have realised how lucky I am to have all my faculties functioning. As the adage goes “prevention is bett

By Boni Odinga, Internews in Kenya This is not the first time the Kenyan media finds itself in the eye of the storm. Media freedoms in Kenya, have been hard won and hard fought for since the dark days of single party rule with many lives lost  and many detain

Internews invites proposals for travel grants on HIV and or AIDS from journalists trained by Internews. Two travel grants will be awarded to journalists with a compelling proposal on a unique story idea within Kenya. The proposal should indicate where the story is, the people to be interv

In an era where breaking news increasingly falls within the domain of citizen-driven social media, data journalism levels the playing field for professional journalists. Rather than compete with information that is often a dime a dozen, journalists can tap into the growing demand for in-depth, ev

Introduction: Internews Kenya is calling for  applications for  the online and multimedia journalism training course scheduled for November 18-22 2013 at Internews Kenya, I&M Building, 12th floor, Nairobi. The multimedia and online jo

Nchangoma Ali has been reporting on weather and its effects on the community of Kwale, a small town at the tip of southeastern Kenya since 2011, when Kwale Ranet FM was first created by the meteorological department of the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources. However, there w

By Caroline Njoroge, Internews in KenyaKevin Mureithi of K24 Television, scooped the overall Storyfest 2013 award. He beat a crowded field of more than a hundred Kenyan journalists who also submitted quite riveting stories. The judges unanimously picked Kevin

As the judges filed in that Saturday morning, in their minds was just one simple task; finding out the winning entries And the magnitudeof it all sunk home when they got to judging the second category.  Led by Chief judge Ng’ang’a Mbugua, the Judges read, listened to and watched

By Cyrus Kinyungu, Internews in Kenya. When the usual lull at the Westgate mall in Nairobi was disrupted by gunshots, the social media immediately erupted

The African Story Challenge is a two-year pan-African project that seeks to challenge the media to expand coverage of fundamental issues that matter to Africans. Our goal is to contribute to the building of a strong media sector able to deliver content that matters to the African public. I

The African Story Challenge is now inviting applications for funding of great story ideas on health. Twenty projects shortlisted for the final prize will be awarded grants of up to $20,000 each to produce health narratives that use innovative journalistic storytelling techniques around the

By Dorothy Otieno, Internews in Kenya. She traces TB patients who default on treatment. Timpiyian Leseni’s work involves regular travel to remote parts of Kajiado County on the trail of the defaulters in order to bring them back to health centers so t

By Eva Constantaras, Internews in Kenya. If your biggest data-access problem so far has been extracting data from PDFs, just wait until we put you on a matatu (mini-bus) and send you to a remote Kenyan village to track down the tribal leader who records births and deaths

Kangema RANET FM is a local community radio station serving a rural community in Central Kenya. Before a workshop conducted by Internews, the journalists at the station thought their community was not ready to talk about HIV and AIDS. They said they didn't know anyone living with HIV in t

Internews in Kenya is announcing the ‘Internews Storyfest Awards 2013’. The deadline for the story submission is 9 September, 2013. The awards aim to celebrate creative, compelling, unique storytelling from Inter

Internews in Kenya has named five new health and data journalism fellows. The fellows from different media houses in Kenya include: Two print journalists, a TV journalist, a developer and a graphic designer. The recipients were chosen based on their strong commitment to health journalism,

By Ida Jooste, Country Director, Internews in Kenya. The media in Kenya has done some self-reflection on its role in the 2013 elections. In a series of articles commissioned by the Media Council of Kenya, practicing journalists and media analysts set out to answer the question: How respon

By Boni Odinga, Internews in Kenya. On their inauguration President Uhuru Kenyatta and deputy president William Ruto congratulated the media for a job well done. Many pundits however read much into it saying that the media should be wary anytime the government plays c

By Jacque Ooko, Internews in Kenya Meet the man behind the investigative segments on KTN, The Case-files and Inside Story. He brought you an investigative story on the 2004 seizure of cocaine haul worth Sh6.4 billion and how the Kenyan government handled,

About fellowship Print and TV journalists, infographics designers and developers interested in broadening their understanding of the emerging field of data journalism and retooling their storytelling skills are invited to apply for a health data journalism fellowship at In

By Boni Odinga, Internews in Kenya. The media could become part of the casualties in the ongoing protracted battle pitting the National Assembly against the Salaries and Remuneration Commission(SRC).Journalists have been asked to vacate the media center within the H

By Sammy Muraya, Internews in Kenya “I never thought that I would win a journalism award and I am very happy,” said Ali Maingu after he was declared the winner of the Best Election Story award at the Internews in Kenya TalkCheck awards. The Radio Sala

By Ida Jooste and Florence Dallu Internews in Kenya. Making numbers tell stories in a compelling way - that’s the challenge for journalists embra

Journalists working in print, broadcast, or online media (as well as affiliated freelance journalists) have a chance to win a 2-week study tour to the United States (US) and cash prizes as part of 3 regional competitions to recognise the best media coverage of immunisations. Stories published

By Florence Dallu and Trudy Mbaluku, Internews in Kenya. “If we started using data 60 years ago to inform our policies and programs, Kenya would be a developed nation now,” noted Bitange Ndemo, Information and Communication Permanent

Health Media Project (HMP) is a comprehensive four year multi-stakeholder partnership that will develop a coherent and sustained media response to public health for the wellbeing of all Kenyans. The vision for HMP is that it will provide a pivot and catalyst that links all constituents of the cou

Reporting to the Kenya Country Director you will be responsible for oversight and line management of the four Internews operational areas of Human Resources, Technical Resources Management, Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E), and Administration. You will maintain sound, reliable, effe

Reporting to the Operations Manager, the Technical Manager will plan, coordinate, direct and control both operational (internal) and program implementation (external eg journalism training) activities of the Technical Department to ensure quality, efficient and timely program delivery. Technicall

By Carolyne Gachacha Mucheru* Every year, 3,000 people die on Kenyan roads. Most of these deaths are entirely preventable. Financially, this toll translates into a cost conservatively estimated at $3.8 billion a year. This is according to a World Health Organizati

By Dorothy Otieno, Internews in Kenya. The reaction of NTV viewers to Blood Bet

By Florence Dzame, Internews in Kenya. Making health information available to individuals has many benefits. For one thing information allows people to take responsibility of their own lives. But how many of us ask their doctors questions when they do not understa

By Florence Dzame and Trudy Mbaluku “If we started using data 60 years ago to inform our policies and programs, Kenya would be a develop

After completing university Samuel Born often trekked from his home in Rongai to the city centre in Nairobi in search of work. The mass communication graduate spent months moving from one media house to another dropping his CV at the reception with the hope of clinching an interview for a

The gay and lesbian community recently recognized individuals and groups who have contributed to advancing their human and civil rights.   Internews in Kenya Broadcast trainer Patrick Rukwaro and three alumni were feted at a gala night organized by the National Gay an

By Dorothy Otieno, Internews in Kenya. Journalists and public health officials in Kenya have welcomed Internews’ new health journalism training program, Health Media Project (HMP), describing it as an opportunity to intensify their efforts to help

By Ida Jooste, Country Director, Internews in Kenya When results from trials in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa showed that circumcised men were only about half as likely as uncircumcised men to contract HIV from infected women, it was heartening.  Journalis

The new year is an ideal time to start new routines. Why not commit to telling better stories that will shake up the status quo and transform lives? This is a resolution that you can easily keep by taking advantage of the exciting new opportunities that Internews will offer journ

In this excerpted interview conducted at Ohio University, Ernest Waititu, program director of health and digital media at Internews in Kenya, talks about how journalism is changing and how reporters can adapt to the new journalism environment by using long-form and data storytelling and integ

A media content analysis and assessment recently conducted by AVAC and USAID in seven East and Southern African countries shows high quality health journalism can catalyze

By Callie Long and Patrick Rukwaro, Internews in Kenya. Imagine if someone told you that by stripping you of your rights as a human being, it would be the equivalent of receiving a gift. As unimaginable as this may seem, this is exactly what is happening in Uganda right n

By Florence Dzame, Internews in Kenya Renowned gay rights activist David Kuria was ecstatic when he received a letter informing him that he had been shortlisted for the 2012 HIV, Law and Human Rights award. “Even if I do not win, the fact that the l

By Jimmy Makhulo and Florence Dzame, Internews in Kenya

By Florence Dzame, Internews in Kenya Seven Internews in Kenya alumni triumphed at the fourth Children's Rights Media Awards. Internews fellow I

By Ann Mikia and Patrick Rukwaro On Boxing Day in 2004, one of the worst global natural disasters happened: The Indian Ocean tsunami that took with it 230,000 lives. Originating in Indonesia, its effects were felt in the East Coast of Africa, thousands of kilometres away.

by Rose Odengo, K-HUG In Kenya the social media is a raging storm with no restraint and it is increasingly being used to rally Kenyans to go into the streets to protest. Just last week it was used to rally the masses to protest outside Parliament Building in Nairo

by Sammy Muraya, Internews In Kenya. "I had never done a feature before the training. I used to think that features were supposed to be done by veterans,” says Valerie Imai, a radio presenter at Sheki FM in Mombasa on the Coast of Kenya. Val

By Benjamin Kiplagat, Technical manager, Internews in Kenya Standing at the entrance of The WriteSpot at Internews in Kenya offices, I close my eyes as the sounds wash over me. I hear the soft clatter of keyboards, the occasional tapping of a foot, and a soft s

By Dolphine Emali, Internews In Kenya

by Florence Dzame and Benjamin Kiplagat, Internews in Kenya

by Dorothy Otieno, Internews In Kenya Is there a future for long-form storie

by Ben Murigi, Internews In Kenya

By Patrick Rukwaro, Internews in Kenya. If elected to the Senate next year, David Kuria Mbote will become the first openly gay Kenyan to hold a key elective office. “I wish people of Kiambu look at what I have to offer in terms of skill …. I really hope they

By Ann Mikia, Internews in Kenya. The launch of health segments in various media houses in Kenya is one of the major achievements by alumni of Internews in Kenya health journalism training. The Health Assignment, a segment that was developed by Internews

By Dorothy Otieno, Internews in Kenya.

by Ann Mikia, Internews in Kenya. In the centre of Suswa town in Narok sits a unique shop that doubles up as the location of Ol Toilo Lemaa community radio station. The outlet, whose name means the voice of the Maasai, lacks studio acoustics, computers an

by Florence Dzame,Internews in Kenya American author Gay Talese who wrote one of the most memorable magazine pieces: Frank Sinatra has a cold, once said that journalists rely too much on technology. He even confessed to not owning a phone. “Maybe shutting o

Sexual exploitation of children is a sensitive topic that poses a dilemma. Journalists wrestle with the n

By Florence Dzame, Internews in Kenya I am Mary is the story of a lesbian woman who was gang raped to ‘correct’ her sexual orientation. Months later she found out that she was HIV positive and pregnant. Corrective rape is a hate crime where men force th

By Florence Dzame, Internews in Kenya.

“Where's my Seat?” is the title of a video post on the new youth online platform K-HUG (Kenya Health User-Generated Content) . The post, by Violet Otindo, explores the government’s push to ensure that public transport vehic

By Ann Mikia At the recent International AIDS Conference scientists for the first time used HIV and cure in the same sentence leading many journalists to ask: What remains to be told about a virus that has been around for 30 years? This is the question Internews

Six journalists attending the Africa Science Journalists Conference in Nakuru witnessed the challenges residents of the remote Eremit village in Kajiado county face in accessing healthcare. “Accessing health services here is a nightmare. You have to visit a place like this to apprec

By Florence Dzame, Internews in Kenya.

By Florence Dallu, Internews in Kenya. What can the laboratory rat tell us about being human? Not much unless you can interpret the very detailed, specific, and often jargon-laden information in science reports. For many years science journalists have played the r

By Florence Dzame, Internews in Kenya. It was an award ceremony like no other on Friday after KTN journalist Anne Soy walked away with two gold trophies, one silver trophy, two iPads and an iPhone 4s cell phone. Anne was the overall winner of Storyfest. She also won the b

By Dorothy Otieno, Print Trainer, Internews in Kenya. Health reporting has always been Anne Soy’s favourite beat. But when she was asked, as a junior reporter at KTN, to produce the weekly HIV segment “Mend the Ribbon”, she acknowledges she felt a little

By Dorothy Otieno, Print Trainer, Internews in Kenya.  

Internews thanks all the journalists who participated in Storyfest this year.  After many hours of deliberations, the highly esteemed judging panel of chief judge Joseph Warungu formerly of the BBC, Sandra Ndonye media consultant, Ng’anga Mbugua Chief sub-editor Nation daily, Rob Jillo

The Big Picture Digital Journalism Project – an innovative new project conceptualized by Internews Europe (www.internews.eu) and funded by the International Press Institute (www.ipinewscontest.org) through its

By Ida Jooste, Country Director, Internews in Kenya. What we need to end AIDS is: Money. What we need to end AIDS is: Condoms. What we need to end AIDS is: A miracle. What we need to end AIDS is: Information. What we need to end AIDS is: Pl

By Ida Jooste, Country Director, Internews in Kenya. People with disabilities are not being reached by HIV programs, Leonard Cheshire of the   Disability and Inclusive Development Centre has said at the close of the AIDS 2012 Conference in Washington DC. The

By Callie Long. A young girl’s image is captured as she walks towards the photographer. Another girl sits on a bed, bathed in light, looking out a window. Each image tells the story of a young woman who has experienced unspeakable violence at the hands of an adult.

By Isaiah Esipisu, freelance science journalist.   It is now 10 years since Julius Keya, a Kenyan born journalist settled in the US. Yet, he still recalls radio programs that ran on the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation radio about HIV and AIDS while he was at s

By Callie Long, Internews Consultant. The story of HIV is not over yet. As AIDS 2012 concluded with a clear sense that the end of the epidemic is possible with sustained political will and financial and scientific commitment, many challenges still lie ahead – all of

By Isaiah Esipisu, freelance science journalist. After years of struggle with the AIDS epidemic, there is much hope and optimism that the disease may soon be a thing of the past. This is the clear message all week during AIDS 2012, and the first time in more than three de

By Ernest Waititu, Program Director, Health and Digital Media, Internews in Kenya. Growing up in Es’song’olo Village in Western Kenya, Violet Otindo and Isaiah Esipisu loved listening to radio. With no swanky video games or TV sets in their parents’ livi

AIDS2012 Conference Washington DC 2 from Javier Merelo

By Ernest Waititu,Program Director, Health and Digital Media, Internews in Kenya. When the president of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim spoke at AIDS 2012 on the first day of the conference on Sunday, he became the first head of the institution to address the International AI

By Ida Jooste, Country Director, Internews in Kenya Journalists are in the business of communicating, but increasingly, scientists too.“It’s no longer business as usual”, said Quarraisha Abdool Karim, Co-director of the Centre for the Aids Pr

Journalists and staff from Kenya are attending the International AIDS Conference in Washington DC, reporting to their home media outlets and offering perspectives on the role of health journalism. Meet the Journalists Two Kenyan journalists trained in health

Kenya is leading the way worldwide with the roll-out of voluntary medical male circumcision as an HIV prevention tool. This good news story has been in the Kenyan media, and has put Kenyan scientists in the limelight at the International Aids conference in Washington DC. And now t

Since the advent of the HIV epidemic thirty years ago, the media has been a critical preventative tool in the story of a virus that at first brought only fear, but now comes with some measure of hope.“Principally I look at journalism in the health sector as a very strong prevent

  As the International Aids Conference kicks off in Washington, an intensive health journalism training course involving more than 50 journalists and trainers is currently underway in Kenya. Two of the largest cities in Kenya, Mombasa on the East Coast

By Dorothy OtienoThe days of journalists in Kenya being intimidated by mountains of data and complicated figures ..... are numbered. That was the unanimous verdict of a group of editors, journalists and graphic designers who recently attended a ground-breaking course on &ld

Internews in Kenya is announcing the ‘Internews Storyfest Awards 2012’. The deadline for the story submission is 5 August, 2012. The awards aim to celebrate creative, compelling, unique storytel

In 1981 a new disease was diagnosed, first presenting as a rare form of pneumonia in young gay men. Doctors (and the media) called it GRID – Gay Related Immuno Deficiency. By 1982 however, the Center for Disease Control formally established the term Acquired Immune Deficien

Internews has worked in Kenya on human rights issues mainly focusing on HIV and Aids. But in working with the gay and lesbian community the International non-profit media development organization so the need to enable this minority group to connect and make their voices heard. This is the story o

Sub-Saharan Africa bears the worlds biggest HIV burden. In Kenya, Internews trains journalists on how to report responsibly on HIV: To tell stories which make complex science accessible and which counter the crush of stigma.   This is one such story - of Halima, an HIV positi

“The day I got an email informing me that I was one of 12 journalists from across the world that had been selected for the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT, was the highlight of my journalism career”.   John Muchangi, a

“Growing up in a small village in rural Kenya I saw people devastated by easily treatable diseases, just because they lacked information and money for treatment”. John Muchangi says these harsh, early realities were some of the main images and experiences that made him the hea

“I did the male sex workers story because it has been like a time bomb. Research shows HIV levels shooting up among MSM and yet they are denied treatment in public facilities. Stigma has pushed them underground, where they have no HIV prevention services whatsoever. The one on contraceptive

"You are overworked and exhausted. You work for an NGO. The pace is often relentless and the rewards are few and far between. Yet when people in the media ask you what you do, you turn to big words like capacity building, integrated services and sustainable development. The great art in communica

They come from vastly different backgrounds. Rural villages and semi-urban areas in Kenya where harsh, real-life experiences have shaped their experiences and their thinking. But they also come from places that have shaped their positive attitudes about improving life in Kenya. They decided long

In February 2012, husband beating in Central province became a major media story. References were made to an alleged threat to masculinity. The debate took on a fairly virulent trajectory especially in social media where radical views are often expressed. As a response, Internews hosted a media r

The year started on a high note for health journalism with three Internews alumni launching Health broadcast slots on TV and Radio. The Health Assignment, a segment that was developed by Internews health fellow Irene Choge was launched on March 15 on NTV.  The premi

The Internews Kenya Health team is taking its training into the newsroom in a first-time in-house training, following a successful training-of-trainers (TOT) course.  “The TOTs target senior journalists and equip them with skills to effectively train and mentor othe

“The best way to reach young people is to use their peers,” says Ernest Waititu, the Director of Health and Digital at Internews in Kenya,    This is why Internews has partnered with the HIV Free Generation (HFG) to train young people between

Mobile phones are offering new opportunities for audiences to participate in radio broadcasting and on-air debates, enhancing public participation in Kenya across divides such as income, gender, tribe, and age.  A report by Internews, “Healthy Me

Internews just heard about a journalist couple who we trained and mentored. When Susan Ndunda, a presenter with Musyi fm, introduced us to her husband Nanjinia Wamuswa, a correspondent with the Standard newspaper, during the recent graduation at Internews, we could not help but feel our skin pop

Simon Ondiek, a fellow of the organization AVAC (Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention), spent time with Nyanza men and their families and produced this photonovella of their experiences of voluntary medical male circumcision.  

Internews in Kenya held a roundtable ahead of the World TB Day to challenge and support journalists to do their part to ensure we stop TB in our lifetime. The event held in Mombasa focused on the hurdles in the path of eliminating the disease in the foreseeable future. After the event, In

Experts and journalists met at Internews in Kenya to interrogate and interpret a new study which claims voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) does not reduce the likelihood of HIV transmission. A ‘doctors opposing circumcision’ team led by Gregory J

When Internews trainers heard about a case of a woman with extensively drug resistant TB (XDR-TB) in Nairobi, they shared the information and

Train [treyn] v. to guide, educate or teach (to do something), by subjecting to various exercises or experiencesInternews in Kenya’s Health team recently organized a Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop, the first among other TOTs scheduled for this ye

It is common practice that a woman who is unable to produce enough milk may rely on a wet nurse to help feed her baby. Most orphans are fed that way. A journalism roundtable at Internews in Kenya examined the role of caregivers in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT

Digging deep for data, filtering the data, examining it, thinking about it some more and then visualizing it is the trend in journalism at the moment. While journalism has always been about examining and evaluating evidence, the much wider availability of open data has opened a whole new scope fo

What every journalist needs to know about HIV. It’s all in one place and easy to follow. This Reporter’s notebook has been developed by the journAIDS/HIV&AIDS Media Project. Download He

Fabian is a male sex worker who works in Nairobi. He is also a peer counselor, reaching out to other Men who have Sex with Men, known as MSM. In this photo essay, Dzame Dallu followed him while distributing

By Ida Jooste, Country Director, Internews in KenyaKenyan media owners and open governance advocates resolved this week to urgently establish a national task force to promote data-driven journalism. The industry-led task force will explore practical ways for the media to tap into the

Sometimes a story is clear win when it comes to awards. One such story is NTV journalist Irene Choge’s “Dissent over the Cut”. It recently won her the “Best Children Rights Media Article”,

Nelson Otwoma, NEPHAK KenyaPaul Davis, Health GAP Kenya [Nairobi] This week-we commemorated World AIDS Day. Despite the pages of media coverage, it would be understandable to be very confused abut the state of the fight against the epidemic.  

HIV was first identified 30 years ago. We now know that the virus has been around much longer, but scientists didn't know this at the time.Since HIV has been in our vocabulary, there have been major shifts and changes. The terms we use to describe all aspects of the virus have therefore cha

As people around the globe commemorate World Aids Day, K24 journalist Violet Otindo, takes a look at what it means to be HIV positive and disabled in Kenya. Violet has been a fellow of the Internews Health journalism training program. She says the time spent away from the office has allowed her t

The theme for this year’s World AIDS Day is getting to zero. Zero new infections. Zero cases of HIV infection

A few days before the passing on of Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs, Internews in Kenya had used one of his speeches to inspire journalists during its grand graduation ceremony. “I never graduated from college,” said Steve Jobs in the 2005 Stanford commen

With the latest UNAIDs figures showing that Aids-related deaths are at the lowest level since their 2005 peak, down 21 per cent, getting to zero deaths and ultimately zero new HIV infections is ever more achievable. But the unprecedented progress is threatened by a global financial

Psst, do you want to know what the fellas have been up to since they got to Internews? Irene Choge, Violet Otindo and Dann Okoth have been a busy lot. They are the three senior journalists, who have been awarded fellow

Where social media is under discussion, there is interest. When social media ventures into the subject of sex, interest is an understatement. When Internews held a roundtable to discuss whether social media is sexual media, a debate raged on, triggered by pictures of couples having sex at a publi

Today journalists are grappling with ways of using social media to gather story ideas and of engaging with audiences to expand the impact of their work. Within this context, Internews in Kenya is explori

This week, America is celebrating the quests of Christopher Columbus. In 1492 the explorer set sail for Eastern Asia by heading West and despite people saying that his journey was impossible, he believed in what he was doing and took off.  The rest is history.  US ambassador to

Drum roll please. And the winners are...journalists Irene Choge from NTV, The Standard’s Dann Okoth and K24’s Violet Otindo. After days of difficult deliberations the judges chose the winners of the Internews Health Journalism Fellowship from 33 entrants. The panelists said their stro

Hot in the press is that HIV self testing kits will be available over the counter. Can you imagine no more awkward long queues at a testing center? The oral quick rapid antibody test kit will use mucus to determine a person’s HIV status at the convenience of their home. And the journali

“You can be gay and be a Christian,” said Reverend Michael Kimundu as he shepherded the gay and lesbian community through a service during a human rights training at Internews offices, “If the son [Jesus] sets you free through faith you w

“How many here have had sex in the last three weeks?” asked Stanley Ngara of participants who appeared by turns mortified, startled and … just quiet as he spoke at a recent Internews print training workshop. Ngara, a community mobilization officer with Liverpool VCT

Journalists interested in health issues are invited to apply for a health journalism fellowship at Internews in Kenya. The eight-week long fellowship is designed to improve coverage of health issues, with a focus on family planning, maternal health and HIV and Aids. The programme

Around the world, stories told by citizens are making making waves - their voices have become heard, their pictures are being seen on international TV stations and their comments are read on blogs and website comments pages. These stories, told by the people involved - not journalists

Goodbye dusty chalk boards and the attendance register. Hello classroom of the World Wide Web? The trend towards E-learning has gained popularity internationally, because it allows the learner to access knowledge and submit assignments in his or her own time. E-learning is now also a reality

How does journalism and communication on health issues impact on development? More than a hundred media studies and health and development experts from around the world gathered in Nairobi to address this question at a two day conference organized by Internews, in partnership with Daystar Uni

The 2011 CNN African Journalist of the Year is Kenyan journalist Fatuma Noor, who writes for The Star. Her investigative series on Al Shabaab impressed the judges of the prestigious all Africa awards, now in its sixteenth year. Fatuma’s series won in the Print General Ne

You can now read news about the gay community in Kenya, thanks to a pioneer Website run by Gay Kenya Trust and Artists for Recognition and Acceptance (AFRA) with the support of Internews in Kenya. The site, freedominspeech.org, was launched b

It’s not often that journalists can truly claim that their stories created action or policy change. But this happened after the broadcast of a story on condom shortages in Isiolo, by Violet Otindo at K24. First, the story was picked up by many other news houses, local and international. And

Lawrence Munyao is alive today because someone has donated blood. He went to the river to fetch water one afternoon and felt a little tired. That night Lawrence was unable to sleep. He said that his heart was beating so loudly that he could feel it behind his neck. In the morning his mother t

Praise for Kenyan journalist Stanley Ongwae, winner of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association's One World Media Award for "the Best Programme produced in a Developing Country" At the Internews office in Nairobi, Stanley Ongwae fidgeted restlessly like a child who was keeping a big sec

A story by Internews trainees Violet Otindo and Malachi Motano about the practice of recycling condoms in Isiolo makes international headlines. Condom use is known to b

Nation TV journalist, Irene Choge, has won a fellowship from Internews in Kenya, to allow her to spend time to explore issues around Reproductive

Internews’ HealthText project has been selected as a social enterprise pitch for presentation at the Unite For Sight 8th Annual Global Health & Innovation Conference at Yale University on April 16-17, 2011. The media project combines the use of cell phones, mapping and a community radio

Users of the social networking site Facebook often swap stories about their exciting exploits: the person who meets a former schoolmate online dozens of years later, the woman who discovers her husband’s status is “single”, the young man who pokes and chats his way into love

In honor of World AIDS Day, December 1, we recognize the critical role that information plays in HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for individuals worldwide. Local journalists on the frontlines of health crises are instrumental in informing and connecting their communities, an

(November 29, 2010) The slum of Korogocho in Nairobi, Kenya is one of the largest by population in Africa. Some 200,000 people live shoulder to shoulder within the shanty town of tarps and metal sheets in an area no bigger than a few New York City blocks. But Korogocho now has a mo

At Google we want to make the world's information more accessible and useful to people all over the globe. This includes providing rich local geographic data because a high percentage of search queries have a geographic component. We have often spoken about Google Map Maker, a tool that all

NAIROBI, Kenya, 23 November, 2010 – Kenya’s response to HIV will remain dim if the country does not make deliberate efforts to develop programs that are inclusive of most at risk populations (MARPS) such as sex workers, injecting drug users and men who have sex with men (MSM). According to