…trains southwest journalists on election coverage
The Executive Secretary, Nigeria Press Council, NPC, Mr. Francis Nwosu has said that the organization has no intention to victimize any journalist as being speculated.
Mr Nwosu stated this while speaking during a workshop with the theme “EFFECTIVE COVERAGE
AND REPORTAGE OF
2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS
organized by the Nigerian Press Council in Collaboration With Aveesga International Limited held in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
According to Mr. Nwosu, NPC is made up of about 90% journalists noting that the essence of the council is to standardize journalism practice towards ensuring peace and national development.
He called on journalists to continue to operate in line with the ethics of the profession and shun sensationalism.
Nwosu said the workshop became necessary to refresh the memories of journalists on their roles at ensuring a peaceful and credible election owing to the consequential effects of the media reportage.
The Executive Secretary stressed that national interests should always be prioritized while also bearing in mind the code of ethics of the media profession.
Declaring the workshop open, a former president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists NUJ and now commissioner for Information in Ogun State, Alhaji Waheed Odusile urged journalists to always put the interest of the country into consideration in their reportage.
He stressed the need for journalists to mind their choice of words in news reportage, adding that the way journalists report would determine how Nigerians would see the election.
Odusile said journalists must behave as patriots and must not write anything that is capable of inciting or cause crisis.
“Mind what you write. Don’t write Nigeria out if existence. Be objective but ensure national interest comes first. We should behave as patriots. If you put Nigeria first, you will think twice before you escalate a small issue. We must make national unity our watchword”, he said.
Lectures delivered at the workshop include The Imperatives of Journalism Ethics in the coverage of 2023 General Elections, Reporting Elections Results and Resolution of Election Disputes, Objective Reporting: A Requisite for Successful 2023 Elections, and 2023 Elections: Role of the Media in Voter’s Education.