DEDICATION

This report is dedicated to the endless

efforts of my parents who never relents their

efforts in encouraging me to push forward and never

give up a fight. Also tribute is paid to my

spiritual mentor Bih Fon Gwannanji.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This report on my internship done at the Christian Broadcasting Service, CBS FM 95.3, is in linewith my listed objectives. Although at the start it wastough, as time unfolded, I proved tougher. It is a resume of what transpired in the course of my internship.

I would like to acknowledge the following persons in which without them, this report could not bea realization: my lovely Uncle and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Suh Christopher; while not forgetting my loved one, Gisel Gesu for her moral and financial support.

And to God who continues to give me the space, love and inspiration needed to produce such a report. I must especially appreciate His support, for when it proved tough, He sent an encouraging spirit.

Finally, to my friends and well-wishers especiallyOben Carl Ayuk Cole, Lekelefac Leonel while, not leaving out the CBS staff.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter one Introduction Background Reasons

Chapter two

The institution The technical section The conference room Journalist section The organigram

Chapter three

Activities during internship

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Live coverage News writing Interviewing Programme production Programmes and script editing.

Chapter four Difficulties encountered Solutions to constraints

Chapter five Conclusion Recommendations

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

This is a report of an internship I underwent at

the Christian Broadcasting Service Radio in Buea. The

report is all about the one and a half month that I

took with other course mates as a practical exercise

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which is a compulsory discipline to all students of the

department of journalism and mass communication to

carry out two internships within their first and second

years at the University of Buea. All words and

organizations that have been abbreviated are put in

brackets and therein are some names of programmes that

are put braces and quotation marks. Also, there are

direct speeches quoted as said by the speaker.

Background of CBS radio The present day communication department started

in the 1960s with the name Literature Department, when

radio production was only possible with the lone

government radio, the Cameroon Radio and Television

(CRTV). The department produced programmes for

evangelisation and broadcast in the government radio in

Buea. The department of communication of the

Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) also operated a

literature department in which they produced a 16page

magazine called the “Presbyterian messenger”. With the

capacity as the communication department, it could

produce newspapers, magazines, diaries and gospel

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tracks as print items, and in the electronic side it

could provide radio, audio and video production,

computers and even television as well.

The communication department of the PCC has branches

in Bamenda, Yaoundé, and its main branch in Buea. The

function of the department can be classified under

four main sections namely: radio, print, seminars and

public relation with radio being the predominant

taproot.

As time went on, plans were made to open a

church radio station. This came to effect when the

government relaxed restrictions in operating radio

stations by private individuals as well as missions.

Then the PCC grabbed the opportunity of opening the

Christian Broadcasting Service (CBS) radio F.M 95.3.

It was on the 26th of February that the Rt. Rev.

Nyansako-ni-nku dedicated the station to officially

operate.

The station produces both Christians and public

affairs programmes, and its signals cover the whole of

Fako division, parts of meme and Kupe Muanenguba

division, Litoral region and parts of Equatorial

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Guinea. CBS radio is one of the most popular radio

stations among the six (6) private and lone government

radios in the Buea municipality. The CBS radio

produces about sixty (60) programmes in its two shifts

throughout the week. The first shift being from

5:30a.m to 12noon and the last shift from 5:30p.m to

10:30p.m. The station is also blessed with a set of

volunteers.

Due to its sound qualities in upholding

journalistic ethics, the CBS radio is a radio that

provides sustainable skills in journalism to both to

be journalist and lovers of the profession. This and

many more serve as reasons why i choose to carry out

my internship at CBS radio. Secondly, CBS radio is

staffed mainly by students who graduated from UB who

undergone training from the prestigious JMC

department. Some of these students includes: Ekabe

Claudia Etiendem, Mbanda Shella Takang and Ngemda

Emmanuel

CHAPTER TWO

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The CBS radio has four technicians. They all

work in shifts during the week. They are: Njie Mbua

Solomon, General Mbah Anthony Forbit, Chick Waltas,

and Chumpchisi Florence. The technical section of the

CBS radio is made up of both an Analogue and Digital

technical equipment. At the start the CBS radio was

using only the studio A which at the time was

operating the Analogue system. But now they are using

the new digital segment that was installed in the

earlier years. The studio B is the main anchor studio

where reporters present on air. All the buttons at the

technical dash board are working properly as there are

signal buttons to alert the technician of any

eventuality.

The CBS radio also owns a conference room

where Journalists meet weekly to discuss their new

plan of how programmes will be runned. The conference

room also serves as a study room for interns to seat

and do assignments. The conference room is also made

up of five (5) tables, owns well befitting seats where

Journalists sit comfortably. Also the conference room

has got a desktop computer and a TV set which is

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connected to the internet though having technical

problems during our reign. Therein, also is a radio

set which is always tuned to CBS radio.

Just as any radio, the CBS radio has a station

manager. The Rev. Ebai Gustav Tabi serves as the

station manager. A man who is always on duty and

randomly assigns interns to go out for coverage and

develop feature stories from a news bulletin. The

producers of programmes on the CBS radio are always

identified on the programmes they produced. In fact,

when we started internship at the CBS the first

producer of the “Holiday Fiesta Programme” was, Metuge

Stanley Lah Ngallameh. Programmes like “Profile and

Focus on issues”, are produced by Ekabe Claudia

Etiendem. And she is still the main producer and

reporter of the station.

The CBS radio has five trained Journalists

and many other volunteers who opt to learn and achieve

skills in the station. The Journalists in CBS include:

Triphine Atoh, Mbanda Shella Takang, Bih Fon

Gwannanji, Ekabe Claudia, and Ngemda Emmanuel. These

are those who report news at the 95.3 F.M, CBS radio.

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The CBS radio also owns a service car that

usually carries the station manager and Journalists in

and around town. The station manager also has a

special driver who drives him. The driver at service

of the CBS is Mr. Ngwa Benjamin.

CHAPTER THREE

Throughout the internship, we did preproduction,

production, post production and live reporting. When

my internship began on the 12 of August 2013, the

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supervisor of interns Madam Ekabe Claudia, brought out

press releases and gave each and every intern, a

separately different story to bring out a lead from

the press release. After collection and reflection, we

were called upon to develop the body of the story as

though we were on air. The repeated stress on how to

read without fright was the call for consent. This

went on throughout the first week as we were taught on

how to write a radio script and report on air though

in the conference room.

During the second week of internship, we were sent on

coverage to go and interview the interim Mayor of the

Buea council Mr. Ekema Patrick Esunge. After the

interview which was on the Holiday job initiative and

the scholarship scheme granted by the Buea Municipal

council to the students of the municipality. The story

was then used as a feature story on the Holiday Fiesta

Programme.

Still on the second week, the Supervisor for

interns ordered that we should be given the chance to

participate on the “Holiday Fiesta Programme”.

Throughout the programme we were given a task to carry

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out each day. Since the programme begins at 10:30A.M

and ends at 11:45A.M, it had slots such as reading of

news, beauty tips, health tips, quizzes , and Bible

readings or lessons at the end. The various slots were

given to us by the producer but all of us were to

write news on either of these topics; human interest

stories, education, health, religion and sports. Every

day, we made sure that each and every one of us had

his or her work done.

At the end of the second week, a press release

was sent to the station by the Presbyterian Church in

Cameroon (PCC) on the World International Day for

Prayers to Prisons at the Buea central prison premise

to take place from the 20th of August to the 25th of

August 2013. The days were being schedule to us so

that we should go and cover the event individually. I

was the first to go out on the 20th. I went and

covered the event, wrote the story and it was edited

and reported by Bih Fon Gwannanji on the next day’s

news cast.

After this, the next we started on the production of

programme “Profile”. Profile is a weekly programme the

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gives information about a country in the African

continent. We did profile by dividing ourselves in to

factions. My group took Ethiopia and we downloaded

information about Ethiopia and wrote on Ethiopia’s

facts, politics, economy, media and Ethiopia’s

international relations with the outside world.

As time went on, we also did “Focus on

issues”. The topics were “Divorce and smoking”. My

group chose “Divorce” and we did “Divorce” on

the content of its definition, causes, consequences\

effects\impacts, remedies\ solution and advice. Then

later we did another profile on Mali, Mozambique and

Cape Verde. My group chose Cape Verde and we did the

Cape Verdean economy, politics, media, international

relations and facts about Cape Verde.

On the course of these programmes we did editing as

we were taught on how to edit a programme to be played

on air. When we recorded these

programmes, they were taken to the editor for editing

and we were present. We gained tremendous experience.

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CHAPTER FOUR

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Difficulties encountered Meeting a different staff:

It is often said that “a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step”. The very first day of my stay at the CBS was not very easy. No matter how the people proved friendly, it was not just working. Different from school where I met different faces, someof which are passersby but there at CBS, I came in contact with absolutely different people of whom I havenever met them by chance. So, it was really an uphill task for me to freely cooperate with the new staff.

Interaction with mates:

Next was getting along with my fellow interns. Though most of them were from UB, I knew none of them. This istrue mostly with the level 300 students who were carrying out their second internship on the radio. At times when we are given group exercise, I use to find it very difficult to collaborate with them especially to raise my own point of view because I was ashamed to get it all wrong.

Problems in writing radio leads:

Again, another pivotal point of stress to me at CBS wasabout writing good leads for radio reporting. I tried several times but the supervisor will cancel my script and order me to redo it. At times, I will get angry andthink of leaving it all along, but “who am I hurting?”

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I will ask myself. So, I will just succumb to the rulesof the supervisor.

Fright during interview:

One of the greatest heartache I ever had was the day I was assigned to interview the Lord Mayor of the Buea council-Mr. Ekema Patrick Esunge. Before the interview,the process through which we got to his office already shattered my strong will power. Though as a man I triedto pluck up courage like someone visiting an enchanted hood, when the Mayor, who already knows why we are there asked “can I help you?” I took a deep breath, paused for a few seconds and answered “No…yes Sir” thenhe offered us seats. After the interview it was as if Ishould explode into pieces. That was the most tedious encounter I ever had.

Mic fright

In addition, during programmes like the “Holiday Fiesta” in which we interns were those running the programme it wasn’t very easy especially the first two days. At times when I am called up to report my script,I will take about five seconds to get ready, when on mymind I had already said I am very prepared to start

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anytime. As mic fright did not kill me, I don’t think anything in broadcasting can. When talking on the mic, my lips will be shaking as if I was feeling acute cold inside my system.

Coverage on unthinkable places

The most devastating experience I encountered during internship was the one I saw at the Buea central prisonyard. I never thought that broadcasting can take me there but I found myself in the midst of prisoners, conducting interview with them. The suffering and acutepenury of inmates, almost ran me nuts. The difficulty and protocol from the gate and from one office to the other also serve as headache to me.

Financial problemsFrom Malingo Street where I live to the CBS radio is 200FCFA and 200FCFA back. So each day I used to spend 400FCFA and even more in order to go to workplace. There times in which I never had transport to go to work.

At times the supervisor will see that as a baselessexcuse, but thanks be to God that she was a very fabulous woman with a discrete character.

Solutions It only took me few days to become adapted to mynew tutors. When I become relaxed and cooperative,

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things were very exciting because the whole staff were very open to help us with whatever problems we had. Since I was very zealous and develop a craving desire to know a bit of everything, I was always the target for silly gossips.

As for the case with the Mayor of the Buea council, I believe that I was distorted because it was an impromptu interview. So during the interview, I seized the opportunity of booking another interview with the Mayor at the end of the month. Good to hear was the fact that immediately the Mayor heard I was out, he ordered for my turn. There was also a great flow during the interview because I was now relaxed andhaving a cordial relationship with the interviewee.

As concerns mic fright during programmes, this feeling left as soon as we were given the chance to usethe studio B to record programmes repeatedly. During these sessions, I gradually find myself getting use to everything. With regard to writing concise radio leads, since in each day I was given about 20 press releases, with corrections from the supervisor and helpfrom other Journalists and mates, I finally became justthe best.

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CHAPTER FIVE

Conclusion:Throughout the one and a half month that I stayed

and worked at the CBS radio I gained life-lasting

experience that I uphold with no doubt that it will

contribute greatly to my journalism career. With the

laborious and time-straining assignments often given

by the supervisor, I was made serious. With the

famous maxim of Rev. Mokoko Mbue Thomas, in his

welcome speech that “You should remain steadfast in

any endeavor being professional or personal, that

you undertake.” By the special grace of God, things

went on to be more than what I, with my limited

knowledge was thinking. The pace at which work was

done in producing programmes and reading news, gave

me the readiness to work and practice anywhere and

at any place in the world.19

RECOMMENDATION

Work at the CBS Radio is very organized

and it is very difficult to find a situation where

reporters fail to present their programmes and time

of shifts. They are very devoted and duty conscious

at work. If there is one thing I have learnt at CBS,

it must be their punctuality, frequency and turn out

at work.

In spite of all those praises

mentioned above, the CBS Radio is facing lots and

lots of financial breakdown. The internet connection

is bad and little or nothing is given for expenses

for research. Also, nothing is given to Journalists

to fern for their transport cost for coverage beyond

Buea community. Though at times I used to consider

it as part of laziness to the reporters, I realized

that it was a fault from the station due to lack of

fund.

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The CBS Journalists also

practice bad journalism. This seen in their

continual transcription of news from CRTV, and other

media organs to make their morning and evening news.

This is due to their nonchalant attitude to

coverage.

On the whole, CBS Radio is a

radio beyond expectation as they are very concise in

production and uphold if not all, the greater part

of good journalism.

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