Lamin Jahateh
Journalism, Project Management, and Research in Banjul, The Gambia
Hi!
Please meet Lamin Jahateh, a Gambian journalist and blogger. He is a stringer for Reuters news agency in Banjul. He also works with the Gambia Press Union (GPU), the umbrella body for journalists in The Gambia, as senior programme officer in charge of the union’s projects and programmes.
He was an editor with The Point, the leading independent newspaper in The Gambia. Under his editorship, in 2017, The Point won two national journalism awards – Best Print Media, and Best Media House – in recognition of its contribution in sensitising and changing perceptions on FGM. Jahateh himself was a finalist in the Women’s Reporting category of the GPU National Journalism Awards 2017.
Jahateh had written features on politics and the economy for Al Jazeera English towards and after the 2011 presidential election of The Gambia. A year after the elections, Jahateh travelled to Dakar, Senegal, for a one-month internship at the Africa News Agency (APA), a continental news agency. His internship was recommended by Article 19 because of his performance in training programmes organised by the human rights body. Following his fellowship in Dakar, Jahateh was as appointed APA correspondent in Banjul.
Jahateh was elected unopposed as an executive member of the Gambia Press Union in 2015, and prior to that, in 2011, he was also elected secretary general of the Young Journalists Association of The Gambia.
Jahateh holds an advanced diploma in journalism from GPU School of Journalism where he completed a two-year professional journalism course in 2014. Shortly after completing his advanced diploma training, he was invited back to the school to serve as a part-time trainer at certificate and diploma level. He later enrolled at the University of The Gambia (UTG) School of Journalism and Digital Media to complement his professional journalism qualifications and experience with a four-year academic degree.
Due to his outstanding performance at the university, he was one of the six final year students selected by the UTG to go to the most renowned and competitive university in Nigeria, the University of Lagos (UNILAG), for their last academic semester. During this period, they took courses at the university and were also sent on internship to leading Lagos-based television stations and newspapers to have a feel of the vibrant media landscape of Nigeria.
He has 10 years experience in journalism. He is skilled in newspaper, online and radio production.