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| Monitoring Day Diary Cameroon |
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Sirri Tambi Ntonifor, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Buea, Cameroon. Our main difficulty stemmed from the quality of our recorded material which was not too clear at several points. However, because each monitor had recorded the news, we were able to combine the details of each news story by consulting our different recorders. We stopped coding at 11:30pm and I spent the night at the coding venue. We started coding again the next day after our last class at 1pm. There were jokes and plenty of laughter as the radio and television coding groups continually taunted each other to maintain silence so as to obtain clearly the information needed. In the end, the radio coding group retreated to a corridor where we worked until 2:30pm and completed our task. For me, the most exciting aspect of participating in the GMMP was the coding experience. Being involved in a global project investigating an issue I care about, was exciting and inspired me to work cheerfully even when I got tired. Lessons Learned It is important that such studies are conducted nationally several times each year. The results reveal a lot and would be useful for gender activists and grassroots groups to use in initiatives aimed at changing the representation of women in the media. Women are hardly visible in the news in Cameroon, especially as news makers. The news makers are all men. This shows that while Cameroonian women are active in many sectors, what they do is not important enough to be newsworthy. In addition, since the news is generated mostly from government and state activities, the study clearly highlights the absence of women in the government and decision making. I have learnt that contrary to popular views, women still have a lot to do in order to achieve true equality. I also learnt that content analysis is not difficult. I had always been afraid of it. But the GMMP coding experience went through smoothly and I eventually overcame my fears. I also learnt that with enough commitment, interest and very little resources, it is possible to coordinate a successful and useful research project, even nationwide. Overall, I found the GMMP interesting, useful, uncomplicated, and thought provoking. I don’t regret being part of it.
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