Charles Odoobo Bichachi, Public Editor at NMG
Well, I was an executive editor when Pope Francis came to Uganda in 2015. We organised a robust coverage of this visit. What is most memorable, however, is the special souvenir magazine we produced to commemorate this visit. It was an outstanding work of magazine journalism and a testimonial to what teamwork can produce.
Gillian Nantume, Journalist
The time when we went to the airport, it was my first time to cover the Pope and I was excited. The government brass band played an Anglican song instead of a Catholic song. He was humble and his security and the car went quite close to the people. I didn’t get so close and we saw him. I am not a Catholic but that was very important for me, going close to him and seeing the spectacle that every Uganda and the entire world had been waiting to see.
Carol Beyanga, media consultant
Covering the Pope’s visit in 2015 showed me what a well-planned strategy can achieve. Because we knew that his arrival would be of great interest, on that first day, we focused our attention on that. As Managing Editor of the digital platforms then, it felt like a rather daunting task to ensure we kept readers abreast of almost every step. But the teamwork exhibited by every desk proved that covering such a momentous occasion can be done excellently as I would like to think we did. Our online coverage of the Pope was fast, engaging, and constant. A WhatsApp group was created to ease operations and keep communication going. Videos, text, and photos flowed in constantly. The editors guided, the reporters and photographers provided tonnes of content, and the online teams hardly blinked as they updated the platforms. And while everyone did their work professionally, you could not help but feel a giddy excitement and reverence among the team for the Pope. At the end of the day, I was very pleased with the work the whole team had put in and happy for Uganda that the Pope who was indeed controversial but also humble and down to earth had visited the country.
Alex Atuhaire, Media Trainer at Victoria University
Leading coverage of Pope Francis’ visit to Uganda, was a very gratifying experience, first as a journalist and then practicing Catholic. News of Pope Francis’ visit to Uganda, the land of the Martyrs, had been confirmed a year before his visit. As head of the news desk at Daily Monitor then, I was tasked by the Product Development Committee of the HoDs to plan the coverage. We put a team of the usually very able hands which came up with diverse content, including archives, background and historical perspectives -- content that we started serialising daily two months before the Pope arrived in the country. The climax finally arrived on D-Day, November 27, 2015. We had published our content-rich pull-out - Pope Francis on D-day, with a breathtaking pin-up of the Pope, and his full Mass vestments, which attracted very many readers to the paper. That pull-out sold out.
I was a desk editor, but had the understanding of my colleagues including Ms Carol Beyanga, who ran the Daily Monitor Digital operations, elected to join the field team when the Pope arrived. Specifically, I covered the arrival ceremony at Entebbe International Airport, and the next day, I covered his interaction with the youth at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds - a very electrifying assignment. I’ve never seen so many young people so happy waiting for a speaker who himself did not disappoint after he arrived in his open roof motor carrier to electrifying scenes as the youth went crazy with excitement. My biggest memory of the coverage was taking the first picture that came out from the field on his arrival using my phone, and once the Daily Monitor Digital and online platforms published it, it went viral. Then Online Editor Nelson Bwire told me that the photo attracted more than 100,000 views in a matter of hours. Covering Pope Francis’ visit to Uganda was among the top big stories of my journalism career, and his charisma and ability to connect to the crowds of admirers made it a gratifying assignment.
Flora Aduk, former editor at Daily Monitor
A wave of nostalgia covered me when I heard of the passing of Pope Francis. Chills passed over my body as my mind took me back to that November, a decade ago when every waking moment of mine seemed overwhelmed by everything in the likeness of Pope Francis. When my team leader appointed me to be part of the special projects editorial team that quarter, while it felt good to be trusted with such a glorious project, it would take the week before and during this visit to fathom the depth of it all. Every conversation to coordinate content, follow updates, edit, and work with the design team to produce a magazine, among other articles, felt like the most important task. The love for a good work of journalism was even overridden by a personal desire to do right by Pope Francis because every minute I interacted with the content, my admiration grew.
While I was a desk soldier, I couldn’t resist the urge to go to Kololo Independence grounds to catch a glimpse of the Holy Father. Squeezing through a crowd was finally worth it when he passed in full view, my friend Sarah and I tried to take a quick selfie, which I posted on Facebook.
During that period, the team held firm day in, day out, doing their best to leave no stone unturned, our beds were not callings that’s for sure, no wonder we were codenamed Team No Sleep. There were frustrations naturally but the camaraderie and determination, coupled with the goodies like food and drink kept our eyes on the goal (the boss must have been trying to woo us!). It was a great moment and I have photos to show it all. What an honour!
Journalists share how it felt covering Pope’s visit in 2015
As a journalist, writing a good story is important for one’s career but that can be done by anyone. Getting a chance to cover a landmark story is memorable. In 2015, when Pope Francis visited the country, there was excitement countrywide. The journalists who were at the centre of telling the story still relive the glorious memories, writes Derrick Wandera.
Charles Odoobo Bichachi, Public Editor at NMG
Well, I was an executive editor when Pope Francis came to Uganda in 2015. We organised a robust coverage of this visit. What is most memorable, however, is the special souvenir magazine we produced to commemorate this visit. It was an outstanding work of magazine journalism and a testimonial to what teamwork can produce.
Gillian Nantume, Journalist
The time when we went to the airport, it was my first time to cover the Pope and I was excited. The government brass band played an Anglican song instead of a Catholic song. He was humble and his security and the car went quite close to the people. I didn’t get so close and we saw him. I am not a Catholic but that was very important for me, going close to him and seeing the spectacle that every Uganda and the entire world had been waiting to see.
Carol Beyanga, media consultant
Covering the Pope’s visit in 2015 showed me what a well-planned strategy can achieve. Because we knew that his arrival would be of great interest, on that first day, we focused our attention on that. As Managing Editor of the digital platforms then, it felt like a rather daunting task to ensure we kept readers abreast of almost every step. But the teamwork exhibited by every desk proved that covering such a momentous occasion can be done excellently as I would like to think we did. Our online coverage of the Pope was fast, engaging, and constant. A WhatsApp group was created to ease operations and keep communication going. Videos, text, and photos flowed in constantly. The editors guided, the reporters and photographers provided tonnes of content, and the online teams hardly blinked as they updated the platforms. And while everyone did their work professionally, you could not help but feel a giddy excitement and reverence among the team for the Pope. At the end of the day, I was very pleased with the work the whole team had put in and happy for Uganda that the Pope who was indeed controversial but also humble and down to earth had visited the country.
Alex Atuhaire, Media Trainer at Victoria University
Leading coverage of Pope Francis’ visit to Uganda, was a very gratifying experience, first as a journalist and then practicing Catholic. News of Pope Francis’ visit to Uganda, the land of the Martyrs, had been confirmed a year before his visit. As head of the news desk at Daily Monitor then, I was tasked by the Product Development Committee of the HoDs to plan the coverage. We put a team of the usually very able hands which came up with diverse content, including archives, background and historical perspectives -- content that we started serialising daily two months before the Pope arrived in the country. The climax finally arrived on D-Day, November 27, 2015. We had published our content-rich pull-out - Pope Francis on D-day, with a breathtaking pin-up of the Pope, and his full Mass vestments, which attracted very many readers to the paper. That pull-out sold out.
I was a desk editor, but had the understanding of my colleagues including Ms Carol Beyanga, who ran the Daily Monitor Digital operations, elected to join the field team when the Pope arrived. Specifically, I covered the arrival ceremony at Entebbe International Airport, and the next day, I covered his interaction with the youth at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds - a very electrifying assignment. I’ve never seen so many young people so happy waiting for a speaker who himself did not disappoint after he arrived in his open roof motor carrier to electrifying scenes as the youth went crazy with excitement. My biggest memory of the coverage was taking the first picture that came out from the field on his arrival using my phone, and once the Daily Monitor Digital and online platforms published it, it went viral. Then Online Editor Nelson Bwire told me that the photo attracted more than 100,000 views in a matter of hours. Covering Pope Francis’ visit to Uganda was among the top big stories of my journalism career, and his charisma and ability to connect to the crowds of admirers made it a gratifying assignment.
Flora Aduk, former editor at Daily Monitor
A wave of nostalgia covered me when I heard of the passing of Pope Francis. Chills passed over my body as my mind took me back to that November, a decade ago when every waking moment of mine seemed overwhelmed by everything in the likeness of Pope Francis. When my team leader appointed me to be part of the special projects editorial team that quarter, while it felt good to be trusted with such a glorious project, it would take the week before and during this visit to fathom the depth of it all. Every conversation to coordinate content, follow updates, edit, and work with the design team to produce a magazine, among other articles, felt like the most important task. The love for a good work of journalism was even overridden by a personal desire to do right by Pope Francis because every minute I interacted with the content, my admiration grew.
While I was a desk soldier, I couldn’t resist the urge to go to Kololo Independence grounds to catch a glimpse of the Holy Father. Squeezing through a crowd was finally worth it when he passed in full view, my friend Sarah and I tried to take a quick selfie, which I posted on Facebook.
During that period, the team held firm day in, day out, doing their best to leave no stone unturned, our beds were not callings that’s for sure, no wonder we were codenamed Team No Sleep. There were frustrations naturally but the camaraderie and determination, coupled with the goodies like food and drink kept our eyes on the goal (the boss must have been trying to woo us!). It was a great moment and I have photos to show it all. What an honour!
