By Amos Aar
THE WOLE Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) on Friday explained how it has over time sustained the advocacy for enduring independent media for the promotion of democratic values, good governance, accountability, transparency and social justice.
Speaking at the opening session of the two-day Amplify In-depth Media Conference () holding at the Ladi Kwali Hall of the Abuja Continental Hotel (formerly Abuja Sheraton Hotel and Towers), from Friday, December 8-9, 2023, the Executive Director/CEO of the WSCIJ, Mrs Motunrayo Alaka, said one of AIM Conference’s methodologies being used by WSCIJ is the continuous capacity-building of journalists across Nigeria and beyond to deepen the culture of investigative reporting.
Mrs Alaka said the AIM Conference, organised in collaboration with seventeen media partners, and supported by the MacArthur Foundation, on the theme: “The Independent Media Equation: Policies, Ownership, Technology and Sustainability,” is the third in a series designed to continue with the training of journalists and media organisations for their consolidation in investigative and accountability journalism.
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In her goodwill message, the Second Secretary, Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Nigeria, Dina Sabi, identified press freedom as key to achieving independent media with favourable policies and without ownership pressure.
Delivering the keynote address, Dapo Olorunyomi, Publisher of Premium Times and Founder/CEO of the Centre for Journalism Innovation & Development (CJID), stated that without accountability through investigative reporting, democracy cannot survive.
He tasked journalists on truth, publication of only verifiable information, accuracy and fact-checking to be able to surmount the effects of the social media which he observed have become battle grounds for controlling human attention.
He noted that journalists have to lead a fight in regulating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and if they are to lead the fight, they must first regulate themselves.
Leading a conversation on the keynote, Kimberly Nwachukwu, a broadcaster with Nigeria Info FM, Abuja, Nasiru Abubakar, Executive Director/Editor-in-chief of Daily Trust, and two other panellists; stressed that journalists need financial independence and sustainability to overcome ownership influence in order to achieve editorial balance.
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In his contribution on how to handle ownership pressure to earn readers’ trust, Yusuf Ali, Managing Editor, Northern Operations of The Nation Newspaper, said ownership pressure can be ‘mitigated’ with adherence to professionalism, urging journalists to hold on to their skills and be truthful in their reportage.
Prof Umaru Pate, Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Kashere (FUK), Gombe State, corroborated Ali’s position, when he articulated that editorial independence is anchored on economic independence.
He revealed that a new curriculum has been designed to train journalists to be multi-skilled, multi-tasked, quick in thinking, excellent at analytical skills and relevant to the society by creating quality contents that will connect them to the public as they will be able to exhibit their creativity of resources and talent.
Prof Pate and Dr Chinedu Anumudu, a lecturer at Baze University, also recommended entrepreneurial journalism to achieve financial independence, while Dr Theophilus Abbah, Director of Daily Trust Foundation, propounded that media independence can be sustained by producing relevant content as people are prepared to pay for good media contents.
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Abba also urged journalists to avoid the temptation of competing with social media practitioners to break news but instead, carry out research to know what kind of relevant publication they need to do to attract funding so that they will not be publishing just for themselves.
Other panellists took turns by framing different topics including media regulation and independence, striking the balance, ownership structure and media independence, media independence sustainability and the town and gown question, as well as ethical considerations in journalism; gatekeeping for journalism in a digital age, among other issues.
On whether there’s still a need for gatekeeping, Dr Ngozi Okpara, Associate Professor, Pan African University, emphasised the need for gatekeeping by adhering strictly to ethics in the digital age for the good of the society.
The first day of the conference also featured workshop trainings on the topics; “Investigative Journalism and AI-101: Future of Investigative Journalism in the Wake of AI” which was handled by Usifo Cyril Omozokpea of The Conversation Africa, using Tableau, TinEye, and Signal AI as tools.
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On how to write an investigative story pitch, Mrs Motunrayo Alaka advised journalists to set their minds on truthful journalism rather than money so as to touch people’s lives positively. She admonished journalists to eschew sensational reporting and not to put themselves in investigative stories so as not to turn it into mere personal opinions but use documentary evidence and human accounts as facts that will give credence to their stories.
The second and final day of the conference on Saturday will feature more presentations which will culminate in the awards to 11 finalists, one of who will emerge the WSCIJ Investigative Journalist of the Year 2023.
