Buchanan – FrontPage Africa’s Bettie Johnson Mbayo has bagged three of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) annual prestigious awards held this year in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County.
Reporter Mbayo was awarded women rights, judiciary and health reporting awards on Saturday, June 9, at a well-attended event held at the Unification Pavilion in the port city Buchanan.
The PUL award is an annual event intended to recognize journalists for their outstanding performance.
Also, John Kollie was awarded the prestigious journalist of the year; Monrovia based OK FM sealed radio station of the year award.
Power TV, was also awarded television station of the year, Anthony Stephens of Power TV was awarded environmental, Investigative and extractive reporter of the year.
FPA’s Mbayo is an investigative, human rights and women rights reporter who is working to lift the voice Liberian women as well as development issues in the country.
Mbayo won the awards base on her tough investigation of women and human rights issues in the country.
Mbayo covers the judiciary, gender and the police as well as other security apparatus in the country.
She said “it is time for journalists to go beyond mere press releases in their reportage”.
She then admonished female journalists to compete with their male counterparts in order to breach the huge gap that is favouring male journalists.
Mbayo also used the occasion to call on media practitioners to be proactive, objective, balance and accurate in their coverage and reportage.
“If journalists should progress, we urge media owners to build the capacities of reporters, and I also call on the Press Union of Liberia to review the collective bargaining agreement that will ensure that journalists have a better life in their career or profession,” she said.
Also speaking, the President of the Press of Liberia, Charles B. Coffey lauded journalists for their high level of professionalism especially during the height of the 2017 presidential and representative elections.
“2017 was a critical year, that if journalists of this country could not engage in high level of professionalism, it would have driven this country into a situation that could have brought confusion and disrupt our status code,” Coffey said.
Coffey also commended the award winners for mustering the courage and for being professional, balance and accurate in their reporting.
