On the other side we had all these stories streaming. Some stories made my days sink further into reflection. I kept asking whether the guidance we give as editors really matters. How do you explain the continued misuse of the word “Over”, the weak pitches coming in without focus on impact and stories about real people.

“Odoi in trouble over Mbabazi’s letter, so what? So what? So what?

What is the impact of this letter on my life? What is the impact of this story on a mother watching over her dying child in hospital? What is the impact of this letter on a farmer who is trying to “resuscitate” his animals from the hard drought?

And as we delved onto relatively non issue based stories, real stories were passing us; “Every hour of every day, 300 children die of malnutrition across the world”
• How many infants are dying every month due to poor diet in Uganda? Find out from your nearest hospital…any statistical information from the health ministry?
• Case: Can we visit the Mwana mugimu centre in Mulago hospital and perhaps follow the story of a malnourished child under a feeding program? Describe the outlook of the child? what is the age? how much does he/she weigh? what would be the ideal weight relative to her age? Trace the story resulting to the child’s case…(what do the parents have to say about the state of their malnourished child? what could have caused this? what is the child being fed on at Mwana mugimu? sit in a session at Mwana mugimu and find out what kind of information is being given to mothers.
• Talk to the health and nutrition officer and find out why good nutrition is vital for children? What scenarios are they witnessing? What kind of information are they giving to mothers with malnourished children?
• Talk to a mother? What does she know about good malnutrition? What kind of foods does she feed her children? With the food price crisis what are mothers feeding their children? What foods have they cut off from the normal diets due to food prices?
• Visit a school in your area at lunch break and find out what children are packing in their lunch boxes? Do schools emphasize on what parents can pack for their children? are parents aware of the need to feed their children on good nutritious foods? Any nutrition programs in schools? Are there students that are skipping school because they have no food to pack?
These are key questions to put the Save the Children report into context.
Fire Safety Procedures or Fire Safety Disorder in Our PRISONS
A fire at a prison in Honduras kills 300 inmates. Does this chime a bell?
Yes surely what could happen if a similar fire broke out at one of the prisons in Uganda? We have done several stories on the congestion in Prisons, but can we take a look at Fire safety procedures in our prisons?
• Can we explore whether we have a fire safety procedure or fire safety disorder in our prisons? Any emergency exits in case of fire?
• Does your prison have a fire safety advisor?
• Can you describe the nature of the fire safety system at Luzira Prison?
• What fire safety precautions are given to prisoners?
• Are inmates ever taken through fire drills?
• Can you walk into a prison and tell us what you see. Find out if they have any fire regulations? What do they state? What is the nature of adherence?

Quote of the Week
“Journalism is a noble calling. The working journalist is to report, write and explain in accordance with the highest standards of the profession.”
–World Journalism Institute

Recently, government announced the removal of the electricity subsidy that it had given to the power generators. This translates into increased power tariffs for the Ugandan consumer.

Government argues that the subsidy was benefiting a small section of the population, including the rich, who should afford power at any rate. The reason for removing the subsidy, according to government, is to save some money and increase power production, to serve more Ugandans.

So besides people having to dig deeper in their wallets to pay for domestic power, what does this move mean for the Ugandan small scale industries? What does it mean for the handful of domestic manufacturers?

What does it mean for you the consumer of manufactured goods?

This edition brings you all the angles to this debate. Check our Home Page for the list of radio stations in your area that air the program, and tune in this weekend.

He said in their village of Katokye-Kyanamira-Maziba-Kabale district the neighbors are aware of their mother as a lady who everyday must have petty excuses to abuse the father.
MichaelMwekwasize explains that there are four children in born to their parents two girls and two boys and all at school but living in an atmosphere of the parents who are always complaining of small things which should be avoided.

Michael Mwekwasizesaid that seven days ago their mother came back home late in the evening and when father asked why she was coming late in the evening while the super is not prepared she started up in the high gear pouring abusive words to the father.
The quarreling of the mother was too much that the father opted to keep quiet until the mother decided to remove the mattres, bedsheets, blankets and the mat spreading them on the floor and asked our father to sleep on the bear bed.

The father was not bothered by the decision of the mother and slept on the bed without any bedding for seven full days when the mother felt guilty and with her mind decided again to return back the beddings and our father and mother are sleeping on their usual bed under one roof.
Michael Mwekwasize told this reporter that parents many times are giving bad example to children saying that what they have experienced at home with their parents does not give God glory and honor to his people.

Kabale district community development officer Moline Akankwasa said that a case like this one in families is not unique in Kabale district. She said that many men in Kabale do suffer many hardships caused by the women in families.
MolineAkankwasa revealed that most women do stave their husbands without cooking food, the mishandling of family funds, taking a long time in roving around families and kicking away men from beds with no appeal.

She admits that there is no single home in Kabale district without problems ranging from poverty, lack of employment and inadequate food in the family. She appeals to all families to endeavour always to work hard and to be focused on planning for their families for food , income and clothes.
Thoughts for reflection:

What Kills This story?

•The writers simply assembles words on parade, ready for the editors
inspection.

•Great writtng cares about diction, the choice of words and the way they
appear in a story.

How would have this story been better told?

•Aim for great syntax.

Quote of the Day
An Editorial decision is intended to make not break the writer…

But how much did their parents go through to prepare them for school? This edition focuses on school requirements, and we share perspectives from parents, students and school managers.

We ask whether all the things that schools require from parents for their children to return to school with are necessary and realistic.

Our team went in downtown Kampala, and found parents shopping. On a single primary school child’s list, you find items that cost millions of shillings.

Parents at different levels tell us what it costs to prepare their children for the new term.

We also find out from the Ministry of Education and Sports, what kind of scholastic materials it provides for the schools, and what extra things the schools can ask parents to provide. It turns out, that some of the demands that schools make on parents are not only unrealistic, but the ministry doesn’t allow them.

Check our Home page to find out which station in your area airs the program and also times of broadcast. We would love to have your feedback, so get in touch in through our website. Enjoy this edition.

The story am referring to can be read here: http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=40145 and the summary is: Uganda’s Ambassador to China Madibo Wagidoso, says Ugandan traders are to blame for the sub-standard Chinese products that have flooded the local market.
Wagidoso says Ugandan traders who go to China prefer buying cheap products in order to maximize profits back home. He explains that the Chinese manufacture products in different quality but that the Ugandan traders who go to China only buy the lowest quality because it’s cheap.
After reading the story I turned back to ask… What I have really learnt from it…and I found the answer… NIL, I then wanted to know whether there is something I could have wished to know from a man… who is in China… And I felt…Yes! My next question was, why didn’t I learn from him now that he was talking about a topic I wish to to hear about? And the answer is: Because I or the person representing me DID NOT ASK ANY QUESTION!

So, what kind of story did we get?
“A school Seminar Story!”
Less than a Workshop
A story without Head and Tail
A thoughtless Story
Without a context

A story with great potential
That becomes a stillbirth
Promising to inject knowledge in this dark world of business
And the Associated Impermeable China
From a man who sits there
Watching over the Interests of Uganda

Let to make a commoner’s statement
That I could make
Without ever travelling to China!

What a shame
What a disappointment
What a failure
what an nonperformance!

I look around and wonder
Are there no businesses in Mbale
selling Chinese products
No buyers and sellers?

Was it a deadline,
An important new discovery,
A statement from an ambassador
At the University
A rare occurance
Breaking News
He Said!!

With this degree of sloppiness (to borrow sister Mac’s word)
We are all doomed.

“Much ado about nothing” is surely one of my favorite prose from the 18th century writer Shakespeare. Partly because decades and centuries after he put pen to paper, his writings are not only memorable but also relevant.

The title implies that a great fuss (“much ado”) is made of something which is insignificant (“nothing”),. This takes me straight to our URN stories.

In “Much Ado about nothing” Shakespeare shows a running theme- deception and self deception. “The games and tricks played on people often have the best intentions—to make people fall in love, to help someone get what they want, or to make someone realize their mistake. However, not all are meant well.

Likewise the stories we write often have the best intentions – to make people know, learn, get aware, mobilize and socialize, help people realize the follies in society … but we do not always achieve that.

As a writer and editor, that’s a haunting challenge. I look at the website and ask myself “how many of the 20 stories uploaded per day, will remain memorable, just a day after they are written. What are the 10 most unforgettable stories this week? Please call them out.

Why should a story be memorable? It means the writer has beaten all deceptions and has made an impact on the audience. “Wow I feel better today, because I know a good lifestyle can help me control the possibilities of contracting cancer. How can we make them memorable? Any ideas…?
We are writing a lot, but is it much ado about nothing?

Story Idea
WHO statistics showing cancer deaths across the world are still high… What is the context for Uganda? What is the situation? How many deaths are we recording per year? What types of cancers are more common in Uganda? Why? Talk to a doctor and find out if any efforts are in place to control cancer deaths?

Quote of the Week
Confrontation is not a dirty word. Sometimes it’s the best kind of journalism as long you don’t confront people just for the sake of a confrontation.

It was the hide-out and technical headquarters of the National Resistance Army Fighters (NRA) as they fought the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) between 1981 and 85, in what has come to be known as the liberation war.

One of the incidents that marked this war was the attack on Kabamba Barracks by the then rebel army, which is commemorated by the fighters that later became the UPDF, during the first week of February each year.

As the week comes to an end, we bring you a special edition of the program; a walk down memory lane in the Luweero triangle, with Major General Pecos Kuteesa, a gentleman who joined the NRA as a young cadet officer, and  rose through the ranks to become a commander while still in the bush.

Kuteesa walks us through the places where the fighters hid, relives the events that affected his fighting life the most, and gives us a personal take on the incidents that shaped the bush war.

National Perspective airs every weekend on URN’s partner radio stations. Tune in to a station in your area and give us your feedback.