Journalists had successfully passed through a training on covering events that would ensue during 2022 gubernatorial elections in Osun and Ekiti states.
This training was conveyed in different addresses of speakers at the 3-day workshop titled ‘Election Process Reporting for Journalists in Ekiti and Osun States’ on Friday, Saturday respectively.
The three day event which place from May 27 to May 29 was organized by The Media Centre (MSC) in conjunction with the OON Project of the CJID.
According to Mr. Wale Fatade, the Nigeria Commissioning Editor of The Conversation Africa, “the issue of credible reportage in election is very crucial. And as journalists, we have roles in reporting election because we exist as medium or the wheel to tell people who are viewers, readers, listeners as the case maybe what exactly is happening in election period.
“And (journalists work) to ensure all sides are reflected to ensure the integrity of the entire electoral process has not being compromised at any level. That is what I think is important.
Mr. Fatade who spoke on ‘Ethics and Professionalism in Election Reporting’ at the event added that, “I know Osun very well and I know the political undertone, so it is up to us not to escalate tensions. We have to let the people know – beyond the rhetorics, beyond the sound bites that we might get- what the exactly the candidate A is offering, what exactly candidate B is offering and it is our job to ensure that each candidate is properly analyzed and profiled so that the people can make choices.”
Furthermore, Mr. Martins Alamu said he does not believe in discrimination against any media platform during the guber reportage as long as it is licensed and accredited.
He said “I don’t think should be any discrimination for any media. Every media, as licensed and experienced should be part of the coverage and should be part of electioneering because all media have separate followership, listeners and readership and at that, people expect that within a channel the reports are being given, they should be able to read or see what happened at different locations, therefore every medium that is licensed and accredited should be able to participate, cover the election and report back to those that have to know and understand what happened at that event.”
Mr. Alamu, a broadcast media manager who spoke on the topic ‘Election Reporting Tips For Broadcast Media: Techniques For News Gathering and Reporting’ afterwards called for cooperation from security operatives in lieu of safety of the people involved in elections.
Speaking earlier, Kayode Ogunbunmi, the publisher of Cityvoice Newspaper said it is more than essential for journalists to pay undivided attention to data analysis, especially in dire times as election day.
“Every disinformation has agenda. And it should be know that disinformation is mostly biased and spread by some people so you as the audience can believe it or they think they are helping people.
“We can’t fact check opinionated writings nor features but we can fact check data quoted therein.”
Other speakers at the workshop are; Dr. Tunde Akanni, who is an associate professor at the Lagos State University who spoke on ‘The Role of The Media In Covering: Laws, Statutes’ and Mr. Mikhail Mumuni, an editor and investigative journalist spoke on ‘Safety Mechanisms: Tips For Election Reporting and Sensitivity in Interview Situations’.
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