July 23, 2018
By Ibrahim Tarawallie
Sub-Inspector Binta Njie-Jatta
Gambian police officer Binta Njie Jatta last week joined Concord Times Newspaper as a volunteer.
Mrs. Jatta studied mass communications at the Strafford College of Management in the Gambia, earning a Diploma. She also studied broadcast journalism, specialising in television, at JOF, a television college in Nigeria.
She has so far attained the rank of Sub-Inspector in the Gambia Police Force.
She told this reporter that while working as Deputy Public Relations Officer in the Gambian Police Force, she had the opportunity of presenting programmes both on radio and television.
Asked as to why she chose Concord Times, the young law enforcer and media practitioner said: “I chose Concord Times because I am impressed by the professionalism they have manifested over the years and I am here to explore, serve and get a bit more on print journalism.”
She added that the decision to cut her proverbial teeth in the print media was inspired by a desire to polish the basic background experience she has already had in journalism, hitherto exclusively in the electronic media.
She said that being a part of Concord Times for the next twelve months or thereabout would help her hone her journalistic knowledge.
“My being here to learn will be a tremendous achievement. I will learn a lot during my entire stay here with the paper. I have learnt so many things during my few days here and I hope to learn more throughout my stay,” Ms. Jatta noted.
Ms. Jatta has a strong conviction that learning is a process and that what she will learn while at the newspaper outfit would help enhance both her policing and journalists skills.
Currently on leave of absence from the Gambia Police Force, she revealed that the only time she had a print media experience was while in college, when she spent a day at the Banjul based Daily Observer Newspaper.
“I have never had any print experience. Radio and television journalism is not new to me because I have been doing a lot of programmes while serving as the Deputy Public Relations Officer of the police force. I planned to study criminology and investigation in the future,” she added.
She thanked staff and management of Concord Times, especially the Editorial Department, for the warm reception accorded to her.