I am a Gambian, presently residing in neighboring Senegal. I have
been here since last August 11, 2009. Until then, I served as the
editor-in-chief of the Daily Observer, a pro-government newspaper, the largest print media in Gambian standard.
Presently, I work independently, maintaining a blog,
Justice For The Press, and occasionally contributing to an online Gambian
newspapers in the US, Freedom Newspaper. I got into journalism proper (that is after founding and editing two different newsletters at the University of the
Gambia) after joining a private paper in Gambia called Today Newspaper;
Nigerian owned. It was from there that I joined the pro-government
newspaper, the Daily Observer. I was still a student president at the
university, at which time I served concurrently as president of the
National Union of Gambian Students. Apart from serving as media
representative for the Global Unification International Gambia Chapter,
and international humanitarian NGO, I am also the media representative for an NGO-CSO anti-tobacco alliance, which I have represented at the Conference of the Parties (COP3), last November, in Durban South Africa, where I under went a
short training on reporting tobacco consumption, effect and distribution. I have also undergone a number of non-certified short trainings, organized by civil society organizations in Gambia.
I served briefly as an editor/reporter with Today Newspaper, where I reported on politics and wrote articles on societal issues as well as editorial. I later joined the pro-government paper called Daily Observer, where I was employed as proofreader/editor, rising through the ranks to become news editor, deputy editor-in-chief and then editor-in-chief. While serving as editor-in-chief at the Daily Observer, I was also assignment as part of the presidential reporting team.
Before becoming editor-in-chief, I actively wrote all editorials at the Daily Observer. In addition, I was also the columnist for 'The Hot Spot' at Today Newspaper, a weekly column that discussed issues affecting the society. And at the Daily Observer, I anchored and wrote the following columns: 'Youth Matters', discussing issues about the youth; 'Society', discussing a diverse range of issues concerning the society; 'Health Matters', concerning health issues; 'Profile', highlighting the biography and achievement of successful individuals in society who have impacted the lives of the ordinary citizens, among various other specially written future articles.