The Impact of ‘Mojo’ in Shaping Narratives of Women Journalists: An Exploration from Sri Lanka

Mojo is yet to be firmly evolve as a subfield of journalism, in Sri Lanka. In mid-2018, Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF) initiated the Mojo programme for young journalists to report issues often excluded from the mainstream media. Until 2020, SDJF trained at least 100 journalists on Mojo. Together with Centre for Media and Information Literacy (CMIL), SDJF produced approximately 120 news magazine programmes to cover the presidential election in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic. At least forty (40) mobile journalists, including 20 women, were involved in reporting through smartphones from various parts of Sri Lanka. Since then, at least ten local organisations and three international organisations have started to offer Mojo training to both journalists and future journalists. Within four years, it is estimated that at least 400 journalists have received training in mobile journalism. As a result of this trend, young women journalists are now able to produce stories on issues affecting marginalised communities and on other community issues often under-reported in mainstream media. Given the context, this chapter brings forth insights from a study that explored two research questions: to what extent the Mojo has advanced the journalistic career of young women in Sri Lanka (RQ1), and whether and how Mojo has influenced young women's narratives about marginalised communities in Sri Lanka (RQ2). Data were collected from the 20 women journalists. The study used qualitative—focus groups discussion and individual interviews and quantitative tools—surveys, to collect data. Follow-up interviews were also used for the purpose of methodological triangulation. The study concludes that the Mojo has a significant impact on women in terms of boosting their self-esteem, enabling them to produce stories about marginalised communities, bringing them closer to the communities they report issues that are often under-reported and enhancing their network.