Magazine Party Concided with Salary Increment

NEWS BANJUL, THE GAMBIA(MB)- Staff of the Gambia News and Report Magazinerecently held a staff party at the Dippa Kunda residence of theEditor-in-chief and Publisher of the Magazine, Swaebou Conateh.
Mr. Conateh used the occasion to announce a salary increment for the staff, with effect from 1 January 2010.News and Report Magazine is the only current affairs magazine in The Gambia established on the 18 February 1992 by Swaebou Conateh.
Speaking on the occasion, Seedy Njie, the accountant, said “the staff at News and Report are one family”, and he advised the staff, particularly the reporters, “to be patient in order to get what you want”.
Amadou Bah the production manager said “we should be doing this (holding a staff party) often”.
Madi Ceesay, the Editor and Publisher of The Daily News newspaper, who is a former employee of the magazine, was also at the staff party, and in a brief statement noted that “News and Report is a school for journalists”.
“All the experience I acquired in Journalism, I got it from Mr. Conateh”, he pointed out.
A freelance editor with the magazine, Alieu Sagnia, said the people associating with Mr. Conateh have a lot to learn from his knowledge and experience”. He pointed out that Mr. Conateh has vast experience when it comes to journalism, both at the national and international arenas.
Joe Wilson a technician also attended as “a friend of the media”. “For me, I’m a friend of the media. Wherever you go, I will join you” he said.
Martha Cardos, a secretary and compositor, said “in anything one is doing he/she must have a time to work and a time for a break, and today we are having a break. We have come together, as one family, to relax, chat, and enjoy ourselves. I am very happy, and I can see it in every staff member’s face that they look joyous, and very pleased.
Mamadou Edrisa Njie a senior staff reporter said “the party was very nice, and I really enjoyed it to the maximum. “I advise the management to help us organise this kind of party quarterly. As reporters, it is good to be sitting with your boss and seniors and taking advice from them, If you are really interested in learning. I thank the management and news room coordinator, Ismaila MS Naban, for guiding me through.
“For me this party turned out to be a lecture session. I was very happy and took note of all the advice. Mr. Conateh said as a journalist you should know your community, and he went into details to explain the importance of the profession.
Adding his voice at the party, Ismaila MS Naban, the Editorial Assistant, said:
“Actually it was a good move by the staff. This will help to bring closeness among the staff. In any set up closeness is very vital, as without closeness we are tempted to be suspicious of one another. News and Report has always been one family, since the time when Madi Ceesay was here. It is like a family, and I hope it will continue like this”. His advice for the young journalists is: “We must endure to read very well; read any document that comes your way. Nobody is born a professional. Journalism starts from scratch in order to climb up the ladder” he added.
Mr. Naban called on the young journalists to come together. As he puts it: “Solidarity in the media is the best thing that we do or else we cannot achieve what we want”.