MGP alum George White sees watchdog-muckracking in Africa

MGP2006 alum George White – assistant director and editor at the UCLA-based Center for Communications and Community www.C3.ucla.edu – spent three weeks in Ghana and Benin exploring ways to help support journalism institutions and community media in West Africa. Among others, White met with the following: Alfred Opubor of the West African Newsmedia and Development agency (WANAD), Kwawme Karikari, director of the Media Foundation for West Africa and Alex and Wilna Quarmyne, founders and co-directors of the Ghana Community Radio Network. White hopes to encourage and assist an emerging watchdog-muckraking movement in African media. He expects to work on press freedom issues and coverage matters relating to human rights with the Media Foundation for West Africa. Also, he anticipates working with WANAD on techniques for improving coverage of development. In addition, he plans to help provide technical and content assistance to community radio stations in the region. Says White, who has a M.A. in African history: “A vigorous, unfettered news media is an important building block for development.”