The Department of Journalism and Communication has submitted a proposal to the 81^st Students’ Guild Speaker to take over management of The Makererean, the official university paper.

In a letter to the Guild Speaker dated 1^st October and copied to the University Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Chairman University Council and other top officials, Dr. William Tayeebwa, Chair of department said that the journalism department has capacity to run the newspaper for both commercial and training purposes.

“The Department of Journalism and Communication (DJC) hereby brings to your attention the proposal to take over the operations of the The Makererean, which is Makerere University’s official newspaper owned by the Students’ Guild,” the letter reads.

Adding; “The Department of Journalism and Communication is a fully-fledged and reputable journalism training unit in the region with the capacity to run the operations of a students’ newspaper for both training and commercial purposes.”

The proposal will be discussed in the next Guild Session centred on amending the guild constitution slated for Saturday 24^th October.

He noted that the newspaper will engage students by offering them internship placements, opportunities to contribute to content, and formally employing them on short-term contracts in the editorial, accounts, marketing, advertising, circulation and online sections of the newspaper.

The Guild Constitution Amendment Proposal

The department is suggesting that “Article 7, section 6: The Makererean Board” be amended to read;

a) The Department of Journalism (DJC) shall nominate 3 (three) names for the position of Chief Editor from among the DJC students to the Minister for Information, who will then present them to the G.R.C to select one;

b) The DJC shall nominate a team of 10 section editors, including but not limited to DJC students, who shall be presented to the G.R.C by the Minister for Information for approval.

c) The Minister for Information shall present to the G.R.C for approval representatives to the Makererean Editorial Board that shall include a member from: the University Council, Makerere Convocation, The Students’ Guild, Mak Holdings Company Ltd, Makerere University Public Relations Department, and the DJC.

d) The Chief Editor and the Makererean Board shall carry out their activities with the support of the DJC.

e) The Chief Editor shall report to the Minister for Information, who will in turn report to the G.R.C about operations of the publication.

Currently, the chief editor is elected by the “GRCs in its first meeting, from the panel of 4 (four) submitted by the new Minister for Information.”

They Said

“I think this is surely long overdue. If the GRCs out of principle realises that The Makererean is a defunct news paper and opts for a partnership with the department of Journalism and communication. It will be a great deal for the two parties and the stakeholders.

I believe once taken over by DJC, then we are likely to see continuity and maybe the paper might pick up since currently it has lost popularity. I hope it can be a very serious and engaging venture for  DJC, and therefore a great opportunity for students in this department since its existence would allow for opportunities like internship, etc. I dearly support this move,” Hon Davidson Ndyabahika, Guild Information Minister

“For the department to take over I am totally okay with that and I have already put it in the proposed amendments as sent to me from the department of journalism and communication. The money from the guild is not enough for it to be published weekly yet I think the department can have the money to do that and also to help the journalism students to fully participate and improve their skills...” Hon. Simon Peter Wankadya, Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister

“I will admit that the Makererean is one of those guild projects that is often underrated. There are incredible challenges that come with being an editor in chief most of which stem from financial issues. I will admit that there perhaps needs to be a step taken to ensure that the newspaper is independent including the funding to keep it running. However, if the aim is to make it essentially a newspaper run by the journalism students, then, I think we will find ourselves in predicaments later. We can’t pretend that there are not many talented folks who may not be journalism students who have the same passion and talent,” Twasiima Tricia, Makererean Chief Editor