JHR Journalist leads national TV news team
At 7 pm on April 1st, Liberia National TV broadcast the evening news live for the first time in 22 years. Overseeing that broadcast was Nathan P. Charles, a JHR-trained award-winning journalist. As Acting TV News Coordinator, Nathan works with producers, reporters and camera people, to cover national news and put the nightly half-hour program on air.
A radio reporter by training, in 2009 Nathan started working with a JHR mentor at the ELBC radio station in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia. As a member of JHR’s local trainer team, he developed skills to mentor newsroom colleagues to improve their reports. Though he loves radio, Nathan admits television news « has been my dream » and he credits JHR training with giving him the skills for his new job.
« JHR has helped me to give a voice to the voiceless, » Nathan explains. « It has helped me in this position to be more aware of how to operate and work as a team. Through JHR, I am aware of how accountable I am to my society. It has shaped me . » Television news is still relatively new in Liberia, and the team is learning as they go. Supported by JHR, Nathan ensures the nightly news includes human rights and governance issues.