Eve though Outlets may look at the level of spending on their Journalists as burdensome, it is preferable for the sake of doing good Journalism. Without the Journalist, the wallets will not be of any use because Media outlets will have to make do with the little resources to keep the news. Whatever that matters must be done to build on the Journalists as nothing lasts for ever in monetory terms but knowledge is cultivatible.

In the face of economic meltdown, jobs should be saved at all costs.Even if it means sacrificing skills development.Hard times do not last but tough people do.Senior reporters who have already undergone training junior staff need should fill this void when times are hard and outside training is unaffordable.It is no use using funds that could keep a journalist employed to train the journalist who would have to be sacrificed later on due to retrenchement.It would be skill and investment loss for the company and income lost for the highly trained reporter. Jobs first....

The obsession with cutting costs has been happening -- at least in the Indian media -- much before the current financial meltdown. Increasingly, editors don't ever write themselves, they are too busy being gatekeepers, and so they have no idea of the importance of training. In the field with which I'm familiar -- environment -- papers send young or mid-level journalists who have no idea of the intricacies of these issues. Indeed, workshops abroad are seen as perks to be distributed "equitably" without realising that journalists, particularly with global treaties, need to keep abreast of negotiations.

Darryl D'Monte, Environmental Journalist, Mumbai

On the media and global economic recession, I would suggest that descretion should play a dominant role in every organisation's management in deciding who among the staves attainds training; not just any training, it must be one that has an immidate relevance to the organisation at the time of training. The training and re-training of journalists to keep abreast with changes in the society and technology complexity, cannot be over emphasised. However, common sense demands that in a time like this, some adjustments here and there should be made both to adapt to the situation and still remain in bussiness.

I am Stanley Aghalanya,a cameraman with the leading private TV station, AIT, in Nigeria.

I am the Honorable Sir (Datuk) Rahmat bin Haji Abdul. Rahman, rahmatnews@yahoo.com wishes to convey my fellow journalism friends worldwide that no one can appreciate the works of the employed journalists, freelance journalists or reporters. But, what people look at his the $ signs on their naked eyes. Any government officers, politicians and clerics will take advantages of the journalist profession later they will throw the journalists like the peanuts and its skin. Or the pumpkins nuts and its skin.

Money is inanimate and cannot multiply without the intervention of man. Thus, only man, through his brain and brawn can bring about profit, or curb loses. Diminishing media budgets would sink deeper if man (and here I mean the journalists) is not placed at the top of the media establishment. Media bosses who think by favouring the purse over human resources their estabilshments would stay afloat, would sooner than later find that man is supreme. I am a proprietor and Publisher of a newspaper and though income has been on the down trend even before the advent of this new economic downturn, I have always privileged human resources over the purse. Though the purse feeds the human, it is always the human who replenishes the purse.

A balance is necessary. Thank goodness that Mass Media companies are not going bankrupt like the autos, banks,etc. Their should be a way of standing up to the economic meltdown challenge. However, this does not means a relapse in the quality of delivery to the public. This is the time media professionals will have to engage in personal sacrifice. their passion is being tested. A passionate editor would go beyond what the outfit can afford to give the best.

I entirely believe that its very important for media organisations to set a side budgets for faciliating training of the journalists, because this is the one sure way of improving the quality of work that will eventually impact on organisation's incomes positively and the general service delievery.

Many editors and Media Houses only focus at milking the cow without giving it green pasture and good water, this makes the journalists to fear for security of their jobs coupled with challenges of resources to access training on individual basis.

therefore Fellowships and Professional Bodies should work towrads availing more flexible and affordable training opportunities to enable the determined journalists to take up the task of improving the career, Values and standards of Journalism profession.

Solomon Lubambula lsolomonws@yahoo.com Kampala Uganda

the current issue is more a business issue than journalistic. the survival of an organisation is paramount before individial interest. in the light of the global economic crisis ensure the survival of media organisations and the first natural thing is to scale down budgets. when the these trying times are over then media organisations and editors indeed can now go back to their spending spree. when times change, it should be natural that man, organisations, institutions and society in general that its should change to adapt to the changes in the surrounding environments, if organisations and instutitions fail to obey this natural principle then they are doomed to collapse of an organisational-heartattack. Joe Nkadaani, Lusaka, Zambia

Since the collapse of the soviet union ,capitalism has taken the centre stage of global economic reality.in essence nearly all countries of the world now operate a private sector driven economy .this implies that money must be put in the pockets of those who control the economy.the media is not immuned from this tendency.Its a world of maximazation of profit but owners of media outfit should take cognizanceof the fact that the better equipped their workforce;the more profit they are likely to make.