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In a bid to enhance the capacity of media practitioners in the South South region, communications giant, Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) has organized a one-day media capacity training for journalists in Port Harcourt.
The training, which was held on recently in the Rivers State capital, brought together beat reporters, national newspaper correspondents and others representing over 20 media houses.
MTN’s general manager/regional head (East), Obinna Nwaeje, said the training is meant to enhance the capacity of journalists in the region, as well as serve as platform for his company to appreciate the role journalists have been playing in the life of communications giant.
Nwaeje said the media has the responsibility of informing the public and serving as watchdog, as well as possess the “great power” of shaping public opinion. He however urged the media to use this power responsibly, adding that facts should be sacrosanct in their reportage.
The MTN general manager/regional head (East) further urged the participants to make good use of the training and ensure its benefits have a cascading effect on their colleagues who were not present at the training.
Funso Aina, Public Relations Manager, said MTN sees the media as a valued stakeholder, and has embarked on the capacity training as an appreciation of the work that the media has been doing.
“We feel we should help the media to build capacity to help them become better journalists. The media is very important to the society. We felt that we should assist the media to be better at their jobs.
“Because of our deep understanding of the media structure, we know that there are other media in other parts of the country aside from Lagos. That is why we decided to come to Port Harcourt and Abuja so that the media in these areas can also benefit from the capacity training,” he said.
Treating an array of topics that included ethical issues, language skills, social media, data reporting and a host of others, resource persons, NECCI’s Nkechi Ali-Balogun and Dr. Qasim Akinreti shared a wealth of experience in the media and public relations spanning over decades.
Leading the participants through issues of ethical leadership in the media, Ali-Balogun and Akinreti pointed out that the issue of’ ‘maximum reporting, minimum delay’ appears directly responsible for the reoccurring instance of avoidable and unfortunate errors in some media reports across the country, stressing the need for the media to thoroughly investigate the facts before reporting.
They held that it is the task of the journalist to be aware of his position as an ethical leader in the society, which would naturally impact on his reportage, thorough investigation into the facts surrounding his story and presenting such facts in an ethical manner. This will of course foreclose sensationalizing news, slanting facts, ‘killing’ stories, rushing to publish without thorough investigation and other such issues.
Among the papers presented by Ali-Balogun and Akinreti were, ‘Crisis Communication and the New Media,’ ‘Data Reporting and Analytical Skills,’ ‘Ethical Leadership in Media,’ ‘Language Skills in Communication,’ ‘Leadership and Organizational Culture as Enablers in Media Practice,’ ‘Social Media and Perception Management,’ ‘Social Media Skills for Journalists,’ ‘Speed Reading Skills’ and ‘Techniques for Data Reporting.’
Ernest Chinwo, bureau chief of ThisDay Newspaper, on behalf of his colleagues, thanked MTN for organizing the training. He however urged the communications company to make the exercise a continuous one and not a one-off thing.
