We are shocked and saddened at the sudden death of our reporter, leading Liberian journalist Prince Collins. Prince was a presenter with Voice of Firestone radio station and a regular contributor to Voice of America. He was also a proud and loving husband and father. He died today after a short illness. Prince had a long, proud career as…
Liberian students get scholarship U-turn after journalist reports funding collapse
A Liberian journalist taking part in the Foundation’s Wealth of Nations programme has helped force a U-turn after he reported on dozens of students who had had their funding cut by Liberia’s national oil company, NOCAL. NOCAL hit the headlines in June 2015 when it suddenly announced it was close to bankruptcy. The story figured strongly…
Nocal Claims Community Responsibility for Projects That Don’t Exist
Johnsonville, Monrovia – The news that the National Oil Company of Liberia (Nocal) had delivered two much-needed latrines and a water well hand pump to his community came as a shock to Melvin C. Bettie, Commissioner of the Johnsonville township. “This sounds very strange to me that NOCAL has projects in this township,” says Commissioner…
Call for Applications: New Narratives and Thomson Reuters Foundation Wealth of Nations project
Take part in our new project, run in collaboration with New Narratives, that supports Liberian journalists and news organizations in covering the country’s oil industry. The call for applications is now closed. Please read on for general information about the scheme. The project will run from 2015-16 and will feature training, mentoring and capacity building…
James Harding Giahyue Alum
James Harding Giahyue is a leading print reporter and photographer in Liberia whose work appears in Front Page Africa newspaper and website. James was the Chief Mentor and a senior justice correspondent with New Narratives’ West African Justice Reporting Project, where he reported on the trials of accused Liberian war criminals in the United States and…
CPJ Calls on President Sirleaf to Release NN’s Rodney Sieh
Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf President of the Republic of Liberia Executive Mansion Capitol Hill, Monrovia Republic of Liberia Dear President Sirleaf A year ago, you became only the second African head of state to endorse the Declaration of Table Mountain, which calls for the repeal of criminal defamation and “insult” laws throughout Africa. Now,…
NN’s Wade Williams on Ebola in Liberia for The New York Times
MONROVIA, Liberia — LIBERIANS have begun calling the days between July 27 and Aug. 3 “the dark week” — 173 new Ebola virus cases and 94 new deaths. How much darker things may get is anybody’s guess. In Johnsonville, a swampy town outside Monrovia, three dozen corpses in body bags were dumped in shallow holes…
New Narratives teams with Thomson Reuters for 3-year Oil Reporting Program
New Narratives is delighted to announce it has partnered with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the corporate charity of Thomson Reuters to run a project that supports Liberian journalists and news organizations to cover the country’s oil industry. The project will run from 2014-16 and will feature training, mentoring and capacity building for Liberian journalists and news organizations….
NN’s Wade Williams Features on World Press Day Forum at UN HQ in New York
New Narratives’ Wade Williams, Newsroom Chief of Front Page Africa, was invited to appear on UNESCO panel celebrating World Press Day at UN headquarters in New York City. See the video of the speech here and news about the event here. The following is Wade’s speech: Good Morning all First of all let me say a big…
NN’s Mae Azango Features in The Guardian
One big reason why Buzzfeed might never win a Pulitzer prize. The NSA revelations, and Africa’s courageous reporters, make it clear that the toughest journalism won’t work as a list or a gallery. By Peter Preston Sunday 20 April 2014 Editor Alan Rusbridger addresses staff in the newsroom after the Guardian won a Pulitzer prize for…
New Narratives’ Co-founder is awarded Global Australian Award
New Narratives is very proud our co-founder and executive director Prue Clarke has been honored with the Advance Global Australian Award for Social Innovation. Prue received the award at a glittering ceremony at Sydney’s Opera House. Among the other awardees were space scientist Chris Boshuizen and movie director Baz Luhrmann. The award recognized the groundbreaking…
New Narratives Reporters Profiled in Valerie Magazine
After the War, Liberian Women Fight for a New Future MONROVIA, Liberia—As a feminist and reporter based in West Africa, I was drawn to Liberia by the promise of women, who played a significant role in rebuilding a nation left shattered by 14 years of civil war. The international face of the West African country…
NN’s Tecee Boley Wins Prestigious Scholarship to South African University
New Narratives is immensely proud that our fellow and Senior Reporter for Front Page Africa Tecee Boley has won the 2014 Konrad-Adnauer-Stiftung scholarship to the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Tecee was one of three journalists chosen from across Africa for the prestigious program. Tecee was one of the first reporters to…
NN’s Mae Azango’s Brave Reporting Features on Chime for Change
When Mae Azango wrote her cover story on the health effects of female genital cutting in Liberia’s major newspaper, FrontPage Africa on International Women’s Day in March 2012 she had little idea of the firestorm she would ignite. Within days Mae and her 9-year-old daughter were in hiding – the targets of death threats from…
A Bruising Battle and Important Win for African News Media by NN’s Rodney Sieh of FrontPage Africa
For the first time in Liberia a news outlet has built up enough credibility and trust that Liberians were willing to rise up to defend it. Perhaps I’ll be able to laugh one day when I look back at my time in a Liberian jail cell these last few months. In some ways it was…
NN’s Robtel Pailey on High Level Panel at Ibrahim Forum
NN’s Robtel Pailey joined a panel on Safety & Rule of Law with some of Africa’s heavyweights, as part of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation annual Forum, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Panelists included: Dr. Salid Ahmed Salim, former chair of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU); Trevor Manuel, minister in the South African cabinet; Jean Ping,…
NN’s Robtel Pailey launches “Gbagba” in London, moderated by NN head Prue Clarke
Please join us as NN opinion writer Robtel Pailey launches her children’s book “Gbagba” (with illustrations by NN’s Chase Walker) at the School of Oriental and African studies in London tonight. The event will be moderated by NN Executive Director Prue Clarke. Date: 9 December 2013Time: 5:30 PM Finishes: 9 December 2013Time: 7:00 PM Venue: Russell Square: College BuildingsRoom: 4429 Type…
Child Labor Thrives in Liberia
In 2007, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf introduced a policy mandating that all primary school-age children go to school. Parents risk fines or even being jailed if their children work on the street instead of attending school. Nearly four years later, the streets of the capital, Monrovia, are still crowded with young school-age children who work…
NN Executive Director Shortlisted for Australian Social Innovation Award
New Narratives is delighted our Co-founder and Executive Director Prue Clarke has been shortlisted for the Advance Global Australian Social Innovation award recognizing her work with us. The Awards celebrate Australians and alumni from Australian universities living overseas who exhibit remarkable talent, exceptional vision and ambition. Prue was born in Australia and started her journalism…
Teen Pregnancy and Bush Schools Hurting Efforts to Educate Girls
Cestos City – Hannah Toe is in the twelfth grade class at Cestos High School in rural Rivercess County. She looks youthful with cornrows and a red flower headband in her hair matching her ruffled top, but she is 24 years old and already a mother, with a five-year-old son named Tony. Part 3 of…
Liberia Schools Crisis: Unfit Buildings and No Books Leave Children Behind
Cestos City – Twelve-year-old Baby Girl Yarkah is in the first grade and attends the Upper Timbo Community School in Little Liberia, Rivercess County. She shares a small chair with another girl because there are not enough seats to accommodate the school’s 200 students. The chairs have no arms. There are no desks at all….