West Africa’s Media Innovation and Development Organisation, the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism PTCIJ, has named its coveted Fact-Checking and Research Fellowship, after Professor Kwame Karikari, former Director, the School of Communication Studies University of Ghana, Legon. He was also former Dean of Communication Studies at Wisconsin University and founder of the Media Foundation for West Africa.
A statement by Chief Executive Officer of PTCIJ, Dapo Olorunyomi, said the decision to name the fellowship after Professor Karikari is in recognition of his “life work in the development of accountability Journalism, Mentorship and Training of generations of journalists in the Sub-region and his impressive work in the advocacy and promotion of media freedom in West Africa.
”Mr. Olorunyomi said the idea of the fellowship was “inspired by the need to tackle and curb the rapid spread of mis-information and further expand the art and reach out for verified and accurate information to rural and urban societies. He said the move is also to institutionalise a culture of fact-checking across the sub-region as well as build knowledge around the menace of information disorder.
According to him, the Kwame Karikari Fact Checking and Research Fellowship will be a twin-track. These are a six-month fellowship for intending fact-checkers seeking to incorporate enhanced verification measures into their work; and a six-month Scholars Fellowship for Academics seeking a path to original research in knowledge production around information disorder.
The Kwame Karikari Fellowship is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy, NED, in Washington DC, and the Heinrich Boll Stiftung, HBS. There is a monthly stipend to cover all costs of the investigation and research project for fellows.
