By: Alimatou S Bajinka
An editor-in-chief, also known as a lead editor or chief editor is a publication’s editorial leader who has final responsibilities for its operations and policies.
The editor-in-chief determines the publication of contents. He or she has the final say in what is published and what isn’t and leads the publication’s team of editors and writers.
In a country of 2.5 million people, according to Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data as of July 7th 2022, news editing is predominantly seen as a male-dominated area fit for only men in The Gambia, however, a trendsetter in the name of Juldeh Njie is changing the narrative.
Mrs Juldeh Njie is the only female editor-in-chief in the entire Gambian media fraternity. Juldeh, who was editor-in-chief at Eye Africa TV and now editor-in-chief for Paradise TV, has always believed that news editing is a male-dominated area and therefore not fit for women, even as talented as her.
“I always have this self-doubt that I cannot be an editor because I am a woman. Even though I have been so confident in my abilities, I have always convinced myself that this is a male-dominated area.”
After going through rigorous journalistic training and working in different institutions and under people who served as mentors and a source of motivation to her, Juldeh Njie would soon rise through the ranks from reporting to presenting news and finally to being editor-in-chief of an entire newsroom.
The bright young editor’s journey started at the standard newspaper where she would go on to work under Talibeh Hydara, the assistant editor-in-chief of the standard Newspaper and then Ebrahim Press Bah, editor of Eye Africa TV. According to Juldeh, these two people immensely contributed to her journey and career in journalism to become a good writer and editor.
Juldeh has attended Media Academy for Journalism and Communication (MAJaC), a renowned school for journalists and media practitioners, where she attained an advanced diploma in journalism.
She said MaJaC exposed her to a wide range of issues, including her vocabulary being sharpened and improved and also her understanding of journalism taking a spiking sharp turn at the academy.
After voluntarily editing for 5 months at Eye Africa TV, Juldeh realised her ability to spot grammatical errors and construct perfectly read sentences and only then did she decide to give editing a chance.
“When I realised my capabilities, I said to myself why not just give it a shot. So I went to the proprietor, Lamin Kanteh of Eye Africa and we spoke and then he gave me a contract as a news editor. This is how my journey started and from there I started to be a full-fledged editor of an entire newsroom.”
She concluded by narrating her unique story in the Gambian media landscape as it has not really been an easy journey to the echelon of the media food pie but with determination, perseverance, and passion she was able to pull through and now here she is as the Editor-in-Chief of Paradise TV.
Muhammed S Bah, President of The Gambia Press Union (GPU) expressed concern over the low number of female editors in the Gambian media.
“The GPU is very much concerned about the limited number of female editors in the media houses. It is important to have equal opportunities for both male and female media workers,” Bah said.
However, to remedy the situation, the GPU President said they have rendered support in the form of women’s advancement in the media to the Women Journalist Association of The Gambia (WoJAG). He also pledged that Union will continue to advocate for the issue of women’s advancement in the media.
“We believe everyone should be given the chance if one has the qualification and experience despite your regardless of gender”
Miss Annette Camara, the President of the Women Journalists Association of The Gambia (WoJAG) said at their level, they are training women Journalists to improve the quality of their reporting skills and setting the standards to be able to bridge the gap. “It’s only through standards we can be on the same level with men,” she said, adding that they are engaging their male counterparts in the media to know and understand the importance of equality and representation.
However, she claimed that women in this industry experience a more hostile workplace than men and that prevents them from reaching top leadership roles. “This is something we all know and the excuse we get is that we are not performing,” she said.
Dr Baba Galleh Jallow, a veteran journalist, believes there are no specific reasons for fewer female editors, saying there is no single answer to this
as there are more female journalists today than when they were journalists back in the 90s and early 2000.
“Journalism is an open field and one name comes to mind, Ndey Tapha Sosseh, she was an editor at the observer and even became president of the GPU,” Jallow said.
In Baba Jallow’s view, it is unfair to blame men for the low number of female editors in newsrooms. “I am not sure it is right to put the entire blame on men for the absence of females in the editing department, I think it is a matter of choice that women feel not to venture into editing now. There were female editors before, I can’t remember specific names but certainly there were. I worked with two female editors in the past.”
He concluded by saying women should be encouraged in whatever they want to become or pursue in their careers. “They could be editors, they could be anything they feel like, whatever a man can do a woman can do when it comes to journalism, so if they are qualified for it why not.”
