By Justina Asishana
The School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University (SMC-PAU) has trained 20 journalists on reporting from a solutions perspective with the use of data.
The training, which was held at the Pan-Atlantic University Main Campus in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, had journalists from the print and broadcast media across Nigeria.
The Dean of the School of Media and Communication, Dr. Ikechukwu Onoaha, said the academy was necessary due to the gaps noticed in the reportage of journalists which mostly points to lack of depth.
According to him, journalists no longer seem to respond to questions of ‘why’, stressing that a lot of stories lack depth because many questions remain unanswered.
“One of the key things we have seen and noticed in journalists is the lack of depth in stories. Many times, the stories are not followed through; most times, the readers are left asking why. That is what the training is trying to address.
“There is so much to be done in the area of journalism, to make practitioners professionals. The School of Media and Communication is trying to provide some skills required in the field,” he noted.
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Onoaha explained that the concept of solutions journalism is to educate journalists on the need to show how a problem could be solved instead of just writing about the problems.
“As people of the pen profession, we need to stop complaining and work at finding solutions to the problems bedeviling the country. Journalists need to write enough stories through a solutions lens. Journalism is the best agent to engender change .”
He stated that the Solutions and Data Journalism Academy is the first of its kind in Nigeria, adding that another edition would be organised soon.
The participants were taken through a process of the practice of solutions journalism, the concept of journalism for change, data mining and cleaning, data analysis and visualisation, news analysis and investigative reporting, effective features writing, understanding agenda-setting theory and practice in journalism and effective use of language in writing.
They were also taught various skills such as advocacy skills, critical thinking skills, self-management skills, and reporting skills.
At the end of the training, the participants made presentations on focus areas of agriculture, food system and nutrition; financial Inclusion, healthcare, and fiscal policies.
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