About 40 Editors and station managers were on Friday trained on elections reporting and agenda setting at the British Council Hall Freetown.
Speaking at the opening of the session, the Chairman of the Guild of newspaper Editors Kelvin Lewis explained the object of the training and its importance to the present electioneering process which will culminate in the November 17 General Elections.
He told the station managers drawn from all IRN stations and other radio stations nationwide that as gatekeepers, they must ensure that they report the elections accurately and in a balanced manner taking into consideration the interest of all parties.
The question of professionalism and ensuring that the issues are brought forward for the public to decide was also discussed as well as airtime allocations to ensure a level playing field.
As a means of showing in practical terms the role the media plays in elections, a film was shown of how the media helped to shape opinions during the last United States Presidential elections which was won by President Barack Obama.
After the hour-long documentary (courtesy of the USIS) the Editors and Station managers went into group sessions based on the issues raised by people from the four regions of the country during the Guild on Editors phone in national radio phone-in programme on July 29 this year.
The issues were based on the needs of people in the different communities which the participants were encouraged to use when talking with political candidates.
The training ended with presentations from the different groups.
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