The Nation Newspaper

Tag: journalists

  • Group tasks journalists on family planning

    Following calls on stakeholders to step up towards reduction of Nigeria’s prevailing high mortality rate and population explosion, journalists have been tasked to join the fray by making family planning reportage a norm.

    This was the highlight of a two-day workshop for selected journalists from print, electronic and online media in Lagos, organised by Development Communications (DEVCOMS) network in collaboration with the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative project 2 (NURHI 2).

    Speaking at the workshop, Programme Director, DEVCOMS, Akinlabi Jimoh, said in recognition of the critical role the media plays in agenda setting on issue of public interest, DEVCOMS and NURHI seek to enhance journalists’ knowledge about family planning and thereby enabling them to report from a holistic perspective.

    Jimoh observed that the current estimated population of 186 million Nigerians with an annual birth rate of about 2.5 percent, can be a huge burden with resultant poor health indices such as high maternal and infant deaths, if it is not put under check.

    The development-journalist charged Nigerian journalists to think out of box and evolve an in-depth way of reporting family planning issues by providing useful information on the audience, through a combination of compelling images and concise information that influence life-saving discussions.

    Speaking on the theme: Practical (writing compelling human angle stories on family planning) story idea development/action plan, Jimoh tasked journalists to relate stories to showcase issues or discuss a person in an emotional way, as to generate interest or empathy in the readers, viewers or hearers.

    “You must not just echo the problems, you should proffer solutions and put family planning on the front burner,” he said.

    In his own statement, the Lagos State Team Leader, NURHI, Omasanjuwa Edun, said Nigerians need to wake up and face the reality of population explosion which could draw the country backward among the comity of nations, if not controlled.

    Omasanjuwa charged the journalists to effect change in Nigeria and build a society that is worth living in.

    “The media has the ability to hold government accountable by pocketing their selfish ambition.

     

     

  • Journalists urged to partner advocacy groups on human trafficking reporting

    Journalists urged to partner advocacy groups on human trafficking reporting

    Journalists in developing countries who encounter time and budget constraints in telling visually engaging human trafficking stories have been advised to work with advocacy groups for better results.

    Addressing a group of reporters in Houston, Texas, United States during a reporting tour organised by the Foreign Press Office of the US Department of State, Jeremy Campbell, an award-winning American investigative journalist, gave the admonition while discussing Selling Girls, an investigative documentary series which showed how sex traffickers targetschildren.

    Campbell, an executive producer with TEGNA, a media content company which distributes investigative pieces to reach large audience base was joined at the discussion by two other journalists – Erin Gutierrez and Jeremy Rogalski.

    “One ofthe things to do if you are on a time or budget restrain is to start talking to advocacy groups who have done research and studies in  human trafficking as they may have additional information and statistics,” he said.

    Selling Girls, an investigation into the U.S Child Sex Trafficking situation was a six-part digital episodic series which demonstrated the realities of child sex trafficking among children who are U.S citizens. The six episodes cover topics, including sex trafficking 101, how victims are coerced and lured and also revealed the business model that connects buyers with young girls.

    “We tried to look at how pimps are being punished and where they are being punished. Data showed that those charged with child trafficking were getting a slap on the wrist for these crimes,” Jeremy regretted.

    Another member of the team, Rogalski, who advocated a victim- centered approach to human trafficking stories, spoke on the efficiency of using explainer videos with animations in telling stories in a way to make children who could be victims better understand the concept of sex trafficking.

    “Sex trafficking is a heavy topic but by putting it in animation, it makes the topic less sensational and educative”, Rogalski stated.

    On her part, Gutierrez an executive producer with TEGNA, who used to work with CNN gave tips on fact checking, stating that tools like Lexis Nexis could be used to pull out public records of pimps while google advance search with keys words could add additional information when investigating pimps perpetuating sex trafficking by local journalists.

    “For us the stakes was high because this  was a national investigation so we had to have our facts tight for the piece. We were two groups with two different focus, so we came up with a bunch of stuff we could give to our local journalists to help them highlight what is going on locally so that they can delve into the records wherever they are,” she said.

  • Amosun tasks journalists on unity

    Amosun tasks journalists on unity

    Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has enjoined Nigerian journalists to always endeavour to work towards uniting Nigerians as the election year draws nearer.

    Amosun made the remark while receiving Executive Members of the State House Press Corp (SHPC), in his Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, office yesterday.

    He said journalists should be alive to their responsibility, by ensuring a united and peaceful nation, which he said, are needed for a successful and rancour free polls.

    The governor called for a responsible and ethical management of information in line with the theme of the symposium, “The Role of the Media in Peace Building: 2019 Election in Perspective”, adding that a responsive media is critical to the 2019 elections.

    The governor, who commended SHPC for their role in the success of the President Mohammadu Buhari administration, called for their continued support, urging them to be objective in their news report as well as in the analysis of government policies and programmes.

    Earlier, the Chairman of SHPC, Mr. Ubale Musa, said the choice of Abeokuta for the symposium, was due to the level of infrastructural development witnessed in the state in the last seven years.

    Also, the Vice Chairman, Mr. Ikharo Attah described the state government as an epitome of good governance and massive transformation, revealing that members of the corp are happy with the administration’s giant strides.

  • The case for female journalists

    In the last three months, I have had the privilege of mentoring fifteen amazing female journalists under the Female Reporters Leadership Programme of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.

    The programme which is supported by the Free Press Unlimited based in Netherlands is meant to position female reporters for leadership in the newsroom and was formally rounded up last Friday in Lagos at an award/appreciation event.

    Like in every area of human endeavours, women are disadvantaged in the media either in terms of being underreported or not having equal opportunities with their male counterparts on the job.

    A pre- project survey conducted by the centre confirmed that except in few cases, women do not occupy major leadership positions in media organisations. Most newspaper houses in the country either do not have women in management positions or the editorial board.

    Due to their absence in major decision-making levels, gender issues are not mainstreamed, thus making it impossible for the media to reflect the true picture of how reported issues affect women. Even the women journalists have become accustomed to the male-centred reporting that they are not conscious of the need to subject their reporting to gender analysis.

    Based on the leadership projects implemented and the stories they published and broadcast which was the basis for completing the fellowship, the fellows proved that they were ready to take up the challenge of redressing the negative narrative of women in leadership positions in newsroom if given the necessary atmosphere to maximise their potential.

    Virtually all the fellows organised leadership and editorial trainings for other female colleagues and interns in their media houses. Many female journalists and interns who had hitherto not had the opportunity of participating in structured empowerment sessions learnt a lot based on the feedbacks and wanted more of such sessions to enhance their skills.

    Considering that most media houses do not have budgets for continuous trainings on the job, the fellows have shown that they and other female colleagues like their male counterparts have the capacity to provide necessary leadership skills that can enhance the staff productivity.

    Instead of allowing most interns from higher institutions to idle away like they do in most media houses, the experiment by the fellows should provide a template to grooming students and young journalists who need deliberate, planned and sustained mentoring for them to understand what the profession is all about and what they need to do to excel.

    During the various training sessions, the issue of sexual discrimination and harassments in newsroom kept recurring and various suggestions were made on the need to address them.

    As much as female journalists were implored to hone their skills to take on any role in their organisations and not give unnecessary gender excuse, the need for media managers not to stereotype women was made. Female journalists should be given equal chances to prove their mettle instead of being disqualified from consideration for some positions based on their gender. As the Coordinator of the Wole Soyinka Centre, Motunrayo Alaka, rightly stated, “what we are asking for is not a takeover, but equal space for female journalists to operate.”

  • Oba donates N500,000, cow, rice to journalists

    Oba donates N500,000, cow, rice to journalists

    Oba Ewuare II of Benin has donated N500,000, cow, and two bags of rice to Edo chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to celebrate the New year.

    The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Oba Ewuare, Mr Desmond Agbama, said the money was to buy other items to celebrate new year party for all the journalists in the state.

    According to him, “The kind gesture has always be the tradition of Oba of Benin and it symbolised the relationship between father and children.

    “Oba of Benin wishes you all a happy new year and also prayed for God blessings for all.”

    Agbama, however, commended the journalists for their reportage, adding that the Oba urged them to maintain peace at all times in their dealings.

    Responding, the state Chairman of NUJ, Mr Roland Osakwe, thanked the Oba of Benin for his fatherly role.

    Osakwe said: “Oba is our patron and our father. He has not relented in his fatherly love.

    “I appreciate Oba of Benin, our father; on behalf of all journalists in the state, we love you.”

  • Decent living in journalism is difficult, says Osinbajo

    Decent living in journalism is difficult, says Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday said that journalists living a decent life in the country is almost impossible with the present poor remuneration.

    According to him, the private sector in the country does not respect the national minimum wage.

    He spoke during an end-of-year seminar of the State House Press Corps with the theme: ‘Journalists and Retirement Plans’ at the old Banquet Hall, Abuja.

    The Vice President noted that remunerations were generally poor in the country, including his own and that of the President.

    He said that he earns about N1.5m as Vice-President, while President Muhammadu Buhari earns about N1.75 million, which he said was not commensurate with the offices they occupy.

    According to him, the case of journalists was unique because many media owners are making the revenues but simply refuse to pay journalists better as and when due.

    He recalled his brief encounters working with media houses as legal adviser, and how in all the months he worked; he was not paid despite the irregular hours he put in.

    Osinbajo noted that the private sector, which hosts many media organisations, does not adhere to the country’s minimum wage, which is currently N18, 000 per month.

    He also said that entry into journalism is not rigorously regulated or enforced by professional bodies as even untrained persons are allowed in.

    He however, absolved the journalism on its own, saying that it is not exactly the fault of the profession but the way the reality of modern trends and invasion of social media has made it be.

    He said, “I realized first of all that this is not a profession from which one could make a decent living in the first place unless you find a really good way of doing so.

    “But more importantly for me was the fact that you are just on your own. Journalism as a profession is so wide open

    “There are a few reasons in my view why remuneration is poor and why those in the media especially those who are formally engaged, I will show you that it is not your profession and why that is the case.

    “The first is that it is just simply cheating.  There are owners of media that are just cheats. They just want to get something from nothing and that is not uncommon, it is a general malaise, it is not necessarily restricted to the media.

    “It is also the same in the legal profession. There many lawyers if they tell you what they earn, you will certainly not want to be a lawyer.

    “The private sector does not respect the minimum wage. Even if a minimum wage is set nationally it is not necessarily respected by the private sector and this is something that should be factored in to the status of a company and whether a company is even complying with the requirements.

    “In other places these are points which are checked when you are being considered for task, whether you are meeting your task or not. That is not the case here, so we need to enforce that.

    “We need to enforce some kind of adherence to the minimum wage structure. Not just the minimum wage of the lowest paid person, but minimum wages across the board especially so that there is certain amount of regulation of how people are paid and how they are paid.

    “Entry into journalism is not vigorously enforced.  Most professions are able to pay better because there is entry requirements that are rigorously enforced, Perhaps not the case in journalism and for good reason.

    “There are those who are formally trained as journalists but the profession will admit anybody at all even if you are not formally trained as a journalist and that is even becoming more so now with social media platforms, with blogs.”

    According to him, market forces also often determine the revenue of media houses and the pay that journalists attract for themselves.

    He therefore charged journalists to brighten their prospects and future by always seeking ways of improving themselves and getting better job opportunities with attendant improved income.

    He said it was inevitable that when one improves to be good or better at something, he attracts better pay; and this applies to journalists and even media outfits as better performance by newspapers and broadcast stations attracts more endorsements and adverts.

    Osinbajo touched on the role of professional associations guiding journalists, and lamented that they do not adequately engage media organisations that don’t pay their workers or journalists enough or not at all.

    Chairman of the occasion and governor of Nasarawa state, Tanko al-Makura, represented by the state Commissioner of Information, Mohammed Kwara, said a good retirement plan starts the day one is employed.

    He said: “On the whole, it is important to note that a good retirement plan starts the very day you are employed knowing that whatever has a beginning has an end. 35 or 60 mandatory years of service are certainly not eternity.

    “It must also be stressed here that it is not too late to plan even where you have just few years to retire from service.

    “The most important thing is that you have a plan either of money saved or of the job you intend to carry after on retirement. Put every other factor in place such as your age, strength and the mental capacity to carry on.” he said

    He added “It is important to state, therefore, that the uncertainty on payment of entitlements has continued to worry Nigerian workers, making them fear retirement.

    “This has led to prospective retirees falsifying their age just to enable them stay put in the Service.

    “In this regard, a lot of corruption induced activities have continued to infiltrate the MDAs and the organized private sector responsible for managing pension.” he said

    He listed ten top ways to prepare for retirement including start saving, know your retirement needs; contribute to your employer’s retirement savings plan.

    Others, according to him, are learn about your employer’s pension plan, consider basic investment principles, don’t touch your retirement savings, ask your employer to start a plan, think of creative ways to be self-sustaining, find out about your social security benefits, and ask questions.

    The guest lecturer and Chairman of Elumelu Foundation, Tony Elumelu said retirement should not be synonymous with being tired or giving up as it should be a stepping stone.

    He advised working journalists to pursue their purposes with passion, stressing the need to increase capacity in readiness for the next phase

    He said, “Entrepreneurship is not a function of age.  Set your milestones and work towards accomplishing the milestone.

    “Entrepreneurs are resilients, they persevere to succeed. You don’t need to give up easily, it requires sacrifice, discipline”

    Others who presented goodwill messages were Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed; Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi and Special Adviser (Media & Publicity) to the President, Femi Adesina.

  • DSS attack Journalists at A’Ibom Govt House

    DSS attack Journalists at A’Ibom Govt House

    •NUJ, CLO condemn attack

    An operative of the Department of State Security (DSS) attached to the Akwa Ibom State Government House Uyo yesterday attacked five correspondents of national newspapers.

    The journalists are Iniobong Ekponta of Nigerian Tribune, Inemesit Akpansoh of the Guardian, Emeka Samuel of Nigerian Pilot and two others were assaulted at the gate of the Government House by the DSS operative.

    They were at the Government House to keep a scheduled appointment with Mr. Ekerete Udoh, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Udom Emmanuel, but was manhandled by a DSS operative manning the gate.

    A statement signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Correspondents’ Chapel Comrade Iniobong Ekponta and Anthony Bassey, explained that “the Executive and other leaders of the Chapel had visited the Government House to keep a scheduled appointment with Mr. Ekerete Udoh, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Udom Emmanuel, but ended being manhandled by a DSS operative manning the gate.

    “When we inquired to know why we should not be allowed in, the overzealous officer threatened to open fire on the reporters if we refused to heed his instruction to reverse our car out of the Government House.

    “The DSS man became more infuriated when he discovered we were Journalists, saying ‘I will shoot all of you right now if continue to stand here. Call anyone you want to call; I have worked with former governor Godswill Akpabio before in this State’. All entreaties by some policemen guarding the gate proved abortive, as the DSS official continue to harass the reporters, accusing them of “always coming to beg for money. ‘You said you are press; is press somebody name? Don’t we know it is money you always come to beg here?”, he fumed and shoved the journalists away.

    When contacted, the governor’s CPS, who scheduled the meeting with the Correspondents, condemned the action, saying “just wait I will speak with him, only where I am now is far from the gate”.

    It could be recalled that cases of harassment of Journalists by DSS officials have been rife especially during State Government events where media aides have taken decision to ban independent Journalists from covering activities of government.

    For instance, former The Nation Correspondent, Kazeem Ibrahim, was hospitalized for weeks following heavy brutalisation he suffered from DSS officials while trying to cover government function at the Government House Banquet Hall.

    Worried by the development, the Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), Mr. Clfford Thomas, condemned the action, describing it as “a threat to the freedom of information”.

    “The CPS is the major source of information from the governor and the government. So it is very wrong for DSS official to act in a manner that is not consistent with the right and privileges the constitution accord Journalists in the course of doing their work. We condemned such action in a very strong terms and the DSS leader in Nigeria should call their men to order.

    “Hounding of defenseless Journalists should be stopped forthwith, because not long ago, journalists were manhandled and their work tools destroyed by soldiers on ‘Operation Python Dance 11’ in Umuahia, Abia State”, the CLO chief said.

    He called on the DSS to examine their ranks and engage their men in training and retraining exercises from time to time in order to re-orientate the psyche of their officers on military\civilian relationship, noting that similar allegation of torture and

    high-handedness levelled against SARS, have forced the public to call for the ban of such Police structure.

  • Journalists urged to adopt positive narrative for peace, development

    Journalists have been urged to use positive narrative and perspective to engender the peace and development of Nigeria as an integral part of Africa.

    The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State Chapter, Dr. Qasim Akinreti made the call while giving a keynote address at the opening of a “2-day 2017 Peace Media Parley” held in Lagos last Tuesday.

    Themed “Picture Africa for Peace and Love Initiatives,” the training was jointly organised by African Foundation/Projects for Peace and Love Initiative (AFPLI) and BudgIT.

    Akinreti noted that it was imperative for journalists to explore different narrative and perspective about peace in order to address and  proffer lasting solutions to issues confronting Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

    He said journalists should begin to engage people and stakeholders on issues that will promote peace and the development of our society.

    “Don’t picture Africa for war, violence and disease. Don’t picture Nigeria as a crises zone rather, picture Africa for peace and development. Journalists must begin to embrace developmental journalism. We must be solution-oriented,” Akinreti said.

    In an address, the founder of  AFPLI, Dr. Titus Oyeyemi urged journalists to be peace mediators.

    Oyeyemi noted that the training was aimed at giving cartoonists, journalists and photojournalist hands-on training on developmental reporting and photojournalism to foster peace in our communities.

    “Our communities have been torned apart which is not necessary. We need to mend our society. The task essentially rests on the shoulders of journalists. This will help help us live together in peace and harmony as a people.

    ” The role of cartoonists and photojournalism falls within the concept of developmental journalism, a new feature in journalism,” he added.

    Oyeyemi however,  urged cartoonists and photojournalists to make “creative noise, creative faith and creative activities out of their cartoons and photos.”

    One of the facilitators and Editor, African Development Information Service, Mr. Rotimi Sankore urged the participants to maximize data and contextualize their work in order not to fall into prejudice.

    Speaking on “Harnessing the Opportunities in Traka.com Tool by BudgIT.com,” Ilevbaoje Uademen called for a working partnership with journalists in telling their stories.

  • Abia partners journalists on information dissemination

    Abia State Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, has assured journalists in the state of his willingness to partner with them for better coverage of the activities of the government.

    Kalu also offered to organise free online news reporting training for news correspondents in Abia State.

    Speaking in Umuahia during the Media Week/launch of almanac event of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Kalu said that there is need for synergy if the state is to grow in all areas.

    Kalu assured members of the NUJ of his readiness and willingness to work closely with them to advance the course of journalism through organising trainings to bring the practitioners up to date with the demands of modern journalism.

    He used the forum to tell the people of the state of his open door policy and his readiness to always tell them the truth about government activities at all times even it will not be pleasing to all concerned.

    In his speech, the Chairman of the occasion, Chief Reagan Ufomba, represented by the News Manager of Radio Nigeria Pace-setter FM Umuahia, Sir Obinna Odonwuike, called on journalists in the state to continue to balance their reports and ensure they verify and get all shades of opinion before running with stories.

     

     

    Delivering a lecture titled: ‘Journalism Practice in Abia State: Problems and Prospects,’ a former Head of Mass Communication Department, Abia State University, Uturu, Dr. Uwaoma Uche, regretted that journalism practice has become an ‘all comers affairs.’

    In his remarks, the state Chairman of NUJ, Comrade John Emejor, stated that journalists in Abia State have resolved to always get their facts, stories and analysis right and ensure the people are properly informed. He advocated that development journalism should be upheld in Abia State.

    In his address, the Chairman, Correspondents Chapel, Mr. Emma Ugwu said the media week celebration offers correspondents the opportunity to review the activities of the Chapel in the last one year.

    Egwu described 2017 as challenging to Abia-based journalists as it was the year that the “python danced at the NUJ press centre” and thanked God that the madness did not result in the death of any journalist.

     

  • Detained journalists charged with libel, computer misuse

    Detained journalists charged with libel, computer misuse

    Uganda has charged eight managers and editors of a daily newspaper with several offences including libel and computer misuse and a court ordered them detained until Dec. 5.

    The journalists have been in detention for nearly a week after police raided the premises of “Red Pepper” accusing them of publishing a false story.

    Police had said on Nov. 23 that they had preferred several charges including treason against the journalists.

    Their lawyer, Maxma Mutabingwa, said that when they appeared in court for the first time on Monday, treason was not among the offences read out to them.

    Instead they were charged with several counts of libel, offensive communication and publication of information prejudicial to security.

    “I think police backed off the treason charge because it was ridiculous, it was not sustainable at all,” he told Reuters.

    The journalists applied for bail but the state prosecutor said he needed time to respond and court adjourned the proceedings to Dec. 5.

    The raid on the paper followed publication of a story that, citing unnamed sources, said that Rwanda believed Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was plotting to oust its leader, Paul Kagame.

    The paper has a wide readership and often regales its audience with a surfeit of salacious content about private lives of political and business officials and celebrities.

    In recent years it has moved to include more political coverage and has some times irked authorities with audacious headlines on security, diplomacy and power manoeuvres in the government of President Yoweri Museveni.

    Police has kept the media outlet’s premises cordoned off.

    Mutabingwa said it has not published the daily since the raid. Computers, phones and other equipment confiscated during the search have also not been returned.

    Rights groups and journalists have complained of escalating harassment and intimidation of independent media by security personnel in the East African country especially as Museveni faces growing opposition pressure to end his rule.

    Local media, including Red Pepper, have reported this month on tensions between Uganda and neighbouring Rwanda over a range of economic and security disputes but Uganda’s foreign affairs ministry has dismissed the reports as rumours.

    Read Also: Journalists urged to embrace immersive storytelling with multimedia devices