Bassine Lo Niang: a journalist with an aversion to injustice

As a child, she harboured dreams of becoming a lawyer or a journalist. Now 33, Bassine Lo Niang from Senegal is a managing editor, presenter and reporter for Afrika Pulaar TV. She is still just as passionate about letting the most vulnerable people know about their rights. Profile by Emmanuel de Solère Stintzy.

A calm voice. And an unflappable expression. Nothing seems to faze the Senegalese Bassine Lo Niang whenever she is presenting the French news programme for Afrika Pulaar TV. And yet... "She has always been very kind and helpful, but she detests injustice. She doesn't mince her words when she gets upset! When she was a child, she wanted to be a journalist so that she could go on television to report on the plight of people", recalls one of her cousins, Bineta Diallo. Bassine agrees: "That's true. When I was little, I wanted to become a lawyer or a journalist to speak out on behalf of women and children living on the streets." 

Aita Ngom Sall, who has been Bassine's friend since high school, has seen her develop her two passions in life: "Bassine continues to be caring and generous to this day." After Bassine completed her final high school exams, she decided to study for a law degree. However, she did not manage to pass all her classes. She then got sick and had to abandon her studies. Her second passion in life then offered her a safety net. She began to train as a journalist at "Star Médias Sénégal", an online TV and radio media company: "Every lesson was new... It wasn't easy at the start, but I really gave it my all! Even so, I haven't yet given up on training to become a lawyer!" 

"Listening and helping"

In the meantime, Bassine Lo Niang is hoping to soon put her two favourite disciplines into practice in her upcoming new Afrika Pulaar TV show, "La Voix aux juristes" (The Voice of the Legal Experts): "We journalists have to raise awareness and inform people, particularly women, who are often the victims of sexual and physical violence. Children are also sometimes marginalised in our society." After getting her start in journalism through internships at written press and radio companies, Bassine is currently sampling the magic of television: "You have greater freedom on the radio! On TV, people judge you based on your appearance... However, the more I present the news, the prouder I feel. I never pass up the opportunity to ask seasoned journalists for advice on how I can improve." 

Ouma Seydou Aw is her managing director at Afrika Pulaar TV and believes that this humility and drive are beginning to pay off: "I made her the managing editor because she is capable, approachable and someone I can trust. The others in the team have also chosen her to lead them because she knows how to listen to them and help them." Bassine Lo Niang believes this is nothing unusual in journalism: "Managing the moods of people from all different walks of life is no easy task, but we work together as a team. I'll never say something like 'This is what we're going to do!'. I take everyone's ideas on board." 

Another path...

On the topic of her managing editor, Ouma Seydou Aw adds: "Bassine has become more professional since she followed the CFI training and coaching. She goes out on location to gather information more frequently and often uses her mobile phone to capture images. She is also starting to do her own editing." This is only the beginning for Bassine Lo Niang, who claims to "be passionate about learning". "Through the Afri'Kibaaru project, we have learnt how to shoot and edit using our phones, but I'd like to use social media more effectively. I've also learnt how to get people involved with issues surrounding the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) such as access to education, which affects all of society and especially women and young people." 

Learning about what rights you have: another path for the very worst equipped. "When I was little, I used to dream about buying sandals and handing them out to children living on the streets. I hate injustice just as much as ever", concludes the lawyer and journalist, steadfast in her outrage that children must go without shoes.

In ten years…  

What will Bassine Lo Niang be doing in ten years? "I see her becoming a great journalist, maybe even abroad. My advice to her would simply be to keep studying and working hard to achieve success," muses Ouma Seydou Aw, Bassine's managing director at Afrika Pulaar TV. Antoinette Mendy Kandety is a friend of Bassine and appears to be equally optimistic: "Bassine is a professional journalist and the kind of person whose every word is sincere. In ten years' time, she could be launching her own television station in order to share her knowledge with others." This prediction is shared by Bassine's coach and trainer under the CFI Afri'Kibaaru project, Rafika Bendermel: "I can see her reaching the top at her television media company because she exudes composure, yet is driven, highly industrious and meticulous." 

And why not a YouTube channel? "My husband, Oumar Niang, is an engineer and together we launched the 'Actu Global Network' (AGN.TV) in late 2022. God willing, in ten years' time, I would like the network to become a major media organisation with a staff on payroll to help young journalists." The planned schedule would include news, programmes about society and faith-related programmes. "I would also like to build a Qur'ānic school that teaches French and English to vulnerable talibé children," adds Bassine, resolute in her determination to keep tackling injustice.

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