By Sarah Mawerere
The three-day fourth Editors Convention has concluded with a call to newsroom and other media leaders to improve the working conditions of their workers.
The 2026 Annual Editors’ Convention has been held at the Nile Resort Hotel in Jinja.
The Convention, was attended by editors, media managers and senior journalists, media stakeholders, WAN-IRA-WIN members, among others. The Kenya Editors’ Guild was also represented.
Since its inception in 2019, the convention has provided space where editors, academics, regulators, and media development partners engage and discuss pressing issues affecting journalism today.
The Convention that kicked off from 30th July to 1st August, 2026, centered its discussions on promoting media viability in the digital age. It was a key highlight that the traditional ways of media business is weakening, while digital platforms are increasingly dominating the news industry.
President- Uganda Editors’ Guild, Daniel Kalinaki, noted that the media sector is facing changes, urging the stakeholders to adopt to the changes.
Kalinaki urged media leaders to actively support and impact the lives of fellow media professionals.
“You need to get out of your comfort zones, and reach out to your fellow journalists who are lacking especially those operating from upcountry’. He said.
He emphasized health insurance as vital for journalists’ welfare and media resilience, saying editors and media leaders, should reach out to the media members who lack, especially those working upcountry.
On the final day of the Convention, a report on sexual harassment in Ugandan newsrooms, was officially launched by WAN-IFRA Women in News (WIN), Uganda Chapter.
WAN-IFRA Women in News (WIN), is a global program by the World Association of News Publishers that helps women build careers, fix gender gaps, and lead media groups.
The report is embedded in the global survey conducted by WAN-IFRA Women in News (WIN), City St. George’s, University of London and BBC Media Action. It revealed that four in ten Ugandan media workers, have experienced sexual harassment, with women bearing the greatest burden.
The survey of more than 2800 respondents globally, was conducted in 2025 and found that 40 percent of respondents in Uganda (116 females, 89 males) have experienced harassment, a rate that is eight percentage higher than the African average of 33 percent.
Despite a marked decline from the 2020 country findings (53 percent), the statistics paint a picture of harassment in the workplace, while also revealing that most incidents go unreported.
Presenting the report to the Convection, a member of the Women In News (WIN) Guild, WAN-IFRA-WIN Trainer, also Editor at the Observer newspaper, Carolyne Nakazibwe, noted that sexual harassment is a vice that affects media practitioners at their work places.
She said the situation feels even worse when unwanted demands and touches from the opposite sex persist.
She further said that something that society might not consider an issue, it is affecting work in the media industry, calling for intervention.
The sensitive subject on sexual harassment sparked intense debate at the convention, drawing different views.
Speaking after the report dissemination, Esther Nalubega Wamala-Editor at the Central Broadcasting Services (CBS), noted that sexual harassment is not only experienced in newsrooms, but across all the sections of media organizations.
“We have popular presenters on the radio that the young and upcoming female journalists fall for”. “These renowned artists may exploit vulnerable young women, yet they cannot offer genuine commitment. Wamala explained.
She said as a Leader in the media organization, she has taken it upon herself to mentor young female journalists into their bright future.
On her part, the Women In News (WIN) Laureate for Africa 2018, Board Member- World Association of Publishers (WAN-IFRA), Barbara Kaija, shared a personal experience that happened about thirty-four years ago.
“I joined a media organization when I was expecting, but the utterances and verbal comments I encountered from my male colleagues, almost made me leave the job”. She recalled.
The WAN-IFRA-WIN Uganda Alum Chapter Lead, Vivian Kamusiime, called for continuous collaborative engagements to better media work in Uganda.
Kamussime also added her voice that Sexual Harassment is not a mere mention, saying it is a big vice that has to be fought at the media work spaces.
She thanked the Editors’ Guild, Akina Mama wa Africa and all the sponsors for making the Convention a success.
The Minister for ICT and National Guidance Justine Kasule Lumumba graced the Convention in which, she urged the media practitioners to be innovative in their work.
She called for stronger government-media collaboration, urging editors to uphold professionalism, and highlighted the media’s power to shape public opinion.
She emphasized that the media is a strategic partner for national development, public trust, and socio-economic transformation.
The Uganda Editors’ Guild Convention concluded with a focus to media sustainability, professional ethics, and constructive stakeholder engagement.
