GMMP 2015 TRAINING MODULE
A guide to the newspaper monitoring materials
Section 1: The story
AN INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE…
Because media monitoring is taking place in over 100
different countries across the globe, it is critical that
all participants have a uniform understanding of the
way the monitoring materials should be applied.
Please use this presentation as a means of
familiarising yourself with the materials and
becoming comfortable with their application.
STARTING OFF
To begin coding
you will need:
o
o
o
o
A pencil (not
pen)
An eraser
The newspaper
A newspaper
coding sheet
GUIDELINES
Read the article on the next slide and then respond to the questions
after the story.
After each question, the correct answer will be shown and an
explanation will be given.
The article will remain in the right hand pane for the duration of the
quiz. Good luck!
4 YEAR-OLD BEATS EBOLA
BY MARIAM BAH
THURSDAY OCTOBER 30, 2014
AWOKO NEWSPAPER (SIERRA LEONE)
Despite the escalating numbers of Ebola deaths in the
country, Hassan Sillah, a 4 year-old boy, of Gbendembu,
Goderich was among 45 other patients discharged at the
Police Training School (PTS) Hasting.
His mother, Mabinty Bangura, narrated their ordeal with
the deadly Ebola virus, noting it was a devastating blow, as
she believed her son was dead.
According to Mabinty Bangura, her son, Hassan Sillah was
among several others, taken away from their area at
Gbendembu Goderich, as a result of over 15 deaths of
Ebola in their compound.
She explained that her son contracted the virus through
interacting with other residents in the compound, as there
are over 100 people living in there with poor toilet facility.
She also explained that about a month ago, the Ebola
response team came to their house and took several people
including her son and the entire compound was
quarantined.
Mabinty said that her son was taken to Lakka Holding
Centre but after that she received no information pertaining
to her son’s whereabouts for about three weeks.
“After three weeks, I received information that my son had
died of the Ebola virus and that he has already been buried,
I felt devastated and frustrated as I was not able to see my
son nor his corpse, as I was quarantined’.
The mother said she mourned her son and was afraid for
her own life, as everyday people died in their compound as
a result of Ebola.
On the 20th of October, she narrated, she received a call
from one of her relatives whose wife was admitted at Police
Training School (PTS) that he saw her son Hassan Sillah
admitted at the PTS.
‘I couldn’t believe what I heard, as I screamed with joy and
delight that my son was still alive’.
Mabinty Bangura told Awoko that her relatives informed
her that according to the nurses at the centre, Hassan has
been undergoing treatment for over a month now and
fortunately he is one of the 45 to be discharged from the
Centre but had to be taken to an orphanage, as there was no
information about him.
The mother of the Ebola survivor said immediately, she
came up with a plan to escape from her quarantine home to
Hastings to pick up her son for fear of losing him again.
At the PTS, Hassan Sillah looked agile and healthy, as he
moved about freely, laughing and playing with other kids in
the same situation.
BASIC
INFORMATION
In the top right-hand corner of the
Coding Sheet, enter:

your monitor code

your country code

the name of the newspaper
QUESTION 1
Page number. (Simply write
the number of the page on
which the story begins.)
In this case, page three.
QUESTION 2
What is the subject of this
story?
19. Science, technology, research,
discoveries
21. EBOLA, treatment, response
29. Family relations, intergenerational conflict, parents
When there is more than one answer that seems
like it might fit, choose the best of the two.
In this case, the most correct answer is: ‘EBOLA,
treatment, response‘, not any of the other choices
such as ‘Science, technology, research, discoveries’
or ‘Family relations, inter-generational conflict,
parents.’
Code 'other' only as a last resort when none of the
other listings seems at all appropriate.
QUESTION 3
What is the scope of this
story, assuming you are
coding in Sierra Leone?
(The story was published in a
newspaper from Sierra Leone and
takes place in the same country.)
1. Local
2. National
3. Sub-Regional and Regional
4. Foreign/International
This is a local news story in a Sierra Leonean
newspaper about an event in Sierra Leone.
The monitoring is taking place in Sierra
Leone and coders would then select ‘1. Local’.
QUESTION 4
How much space does this
story occupy on the page?
1. Full page
2. Half page
3. One third page
4. Quarter page
5. Less than quarter page
This story occupies quarter of a page.
Code ‘4. Quarter page’.
QUESTION 5
Reference to gender equality/
human rights legislation /
policy.
1. Yes
2. No
This story makes no mention of any
specific legislation or policy on
gender equality or human rights.
Code 2.