A group of seasoned media managers and editors met on Thursday April 20, 2023 with Presidential Press Secretary in Juba as a means to strengthen media working relationships with the media houses and journalists in the country.
The meeting was coordinated by the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) and organized by the office of the press secretary, Lily Adhieu Manyiel and to formalize her office with the media managers and editors.
The meeting focused on press accreditation and how the media can easily access news from the country’s main office including having the opportunity to interview the country’s head of state.
The two-hour meeting shares notes on how journalists can also have a chance to have Q & A opportunities with some of the visiting foreign dignitaries.
The Press Secretary also revealed to the media managers that her office is planning to have at least annually or one-one exclusive interviews with President Salva Kiir with key media houses.
Lily Adhieu Manyiel, thanked the media managers and editors for their time and cooperation and emphasized her office’s timely sharing of information to the public.
“South Sudan citizens deserve the right to be informed and to access information on matters that matter to them in the country. It is my office prerogative to avail public information to the citizens,” Adhieu told media managers.
UJOSS president, Oyet Patrick Charles, then lauded the presidential press secretary for organizing the meeting, noting a need for it to be sustained.
“We are grateful to the office of the press secretary for organizing this meeting because our work as a journalist is to share information to the public,” oyet stressed.
Oyet said UJOSS wants to have a good working relationship with all the government institutions and this is one of the efforts the union is making to safeguard the safety of journalists in the country.
“We are very grateful that this meeting took place, almost all the media houses were represented,” Oyet noted.
