Media firm trains campus journalists on reporting - The Nation Nigeria

No fewer than 400 campus journalists across the country have been trained on news writing, reporting and fact-checking by the social enterprise hub, I-79 Media Consults.

The training with the theme: The dynamics of journalism in the 21st Century, forms part of the organisation’s webinar series for campus journalists.

A statement by the firm stated that the webinar was organised “for campus journalists across the country and beyond during this time of lockdown occasioned by the outbreak of Covid-19.”

The statement continued: “We believe that this webinar, a core focus of this organisation, will help refresh the brain of our teeming army of campus writers.

“I-79 Media Consults also wants to make the participants more familiar with available media opportunities.”

Participants were drawn from 32 campus press outfits across Nigeria’s six geo-graphical zones including the Federal Capital Territory and the Republic of Benin.

The participants were trained on: ‘Developing career in writing and the various forms of writing by two-time Amazon Best Seller and Life Coach, Michael Jacob; ‘News writing principles’ by media scholar and journalist, Jonathan Olajide; as well as ‘Fact-checking and disinformation by a fact-checker’ with Dubawa, Nigeria’s first verification platform, Ibrahim Alawode.

Jacob, during the first session, demystified the myths surrounding writing.

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He said: “Not everyone will like your writing, not everyone will be your fan until you become a celebrity writer. Even then you will still have those who wouldn’t love you. So, consistency means writing even when no one is reading. The truth is, there is always someone reading.”

During the second session, Olajide, a lecturer at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, trained the participants on news writing techniques.

Olajide noted that there are rules, guidelines, framework reporters must observe in writing news.

“These principles are learnt in the four corners of news writing class, improved upon by reporters based on field experience after graduation,” Olajide started.

He continued:”In writing news, reporters must be guided by the most significant principles including fairness, objectivity and balance. These are fundamental principles.

“Regardless of the dynamics of this current century and those of the past, these three principles are sacrosanct.”

Alawode, on the other hand, said the revolution in Information and Communication technology (ICT) has increased the number of content producers.

“In the world today, everyone is a content producer. This is unlike the age before the internet and social media where we have more content consumers than producers. People manufacture contents from the comfort of their rooms and throw them into the space; the more reason why social media is called the ‘misinformation industry’.”

He charged participants to be wary when a particular piece of information goes viral on social media space. According to him, wrong quotes are attributed to celebrities including politicians of high repute; adding that oftentimes, there are contradictory statements and media content fail to correlate with the message passed.

I-79 Media Consults is a media training, consultancy and career development hub which has provided career insights, advice and mentorship for more than a media enthusiasts directly.