Media
IF you must be adept improve as a journalist, you must seek further knowledge to augment what you learnt while in school.
C Don Adinuba, the Anambra State commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, canvassed this view during a 2-Day Basic News Writing Workshop held at Head of Service, HOS, Conference Hall at the Jerome Udoji Secretariat, Awka. The event took place from January 29 to January 30.
“Information officers must seek to always improve themselves on their jobs by reading and researching widely.
“Indeed, the internet has also created virtual libraries and information bank and even brought it closer to all, just by a push of the button.
“You can become successful people in journalism by always improving yourself on the job.
“What you learnt in school is known in psychology as explicit knowledge while what you learnt on the job is regarded as implicit knowledge.
“In school, you studied hard to earn a degree which can be regarded as transitional learning as opposed to detailed or additional knowledge acquired in the course of reading wide.
“So, I want you to improve yourselves on the job and become successful journalists,’’ Adinuba said.
“I started earning well in my career as a journalist because of the extra hard work I committed to from my early beginnings. I want you all to adopt that path, so that you can also perform well, if not better.
“You can write a lot on positive things about Anambra State that can sell and fetch you lots of money. Nothing stops you from earning to become a millionaire,’’ commissioner said.
Taiwo Obe, the main resource person, a Lagos-based Journalism teacher told the participants to open their eyes to news that was always available every day.
“Your job as information officers is to make Anambra State Government heard and make the government feel the pulse of the people through intricate feedback mechanisms.
“You must deliberately push out good news about Anambra State and extract feedback in the form of news and reactions from the people.
“And your job is not to mislead but to push out good information available to you. That is why your eyes must be open,’’ noted Obe, who runs Journalism Clinic.
While explaining to the participants how they could give good reports, he said: “news is about things that are new. It is not event but report of an event.
“So, take note of timeliness, proximity, prominence, unusualness, consequence, conflict and human interest.
“Make use of your power of observation and ask questions about what, where, who, when, why and how (5Ws and H) about an event,’’ Obe explained.
Levi Nwodu, an associate professor of Mass Communication at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, refreshened the minds of the participants on basic techniques in news writing.
“An event becomes news when it attracts the interests of significant number of people, regardless of their diverse socio-cultural, socio-economic and geo-political leanings.
“Things are happening everyday and so you don’t need to manufacture news but can create avenue to create news by interviewing government officials like commissioners, Secretary to State Government, SSG,’’ Nwodu explained.
He also explained structures of news as concepts like, slug (subtitle of a story), dateline (place of the event), Byline (name of the reporter),
The other important aspects of news story are the `lead’ (first paragraph), the body (all paragraphs excluding the first and the last) and then conclusion (last paragraph).
“As an information officer, remember that your job is to package the state government and not to report like conventional newsmen.
“Your job is to debunk rumours and portray your government in good light,’’ Nwodu urged.
Speaking on critical writing and interpretative journalism, Victor Agusiobo, an Awka-based journalism trainer, urged the information officers to use background information a lot.
“Interpretative reporting is actually the critical writing which dwells on the why of the story.
“What you see is the news, what you feel is your opinion, what you know is the background. Focus on the backgrounds, where the essence of practical journalism dwells,’’ Agusiobo said.
According to him interpretative reporting is what newsmen will use to beat the speed of the social media.
“The coming of the social media has compelled many people to write without objectivity. They try to make nonsense of five 5Ws and H,’’ he said.
Agusiobo explained the relationship between critical thinking and critical writing, stressing that “critical thinking precedes critical writing.
“When you go to your pastor and he asks if you are married and you answer in the affirmative, he takes advantage of the information to start prophesying based on your answer. But if you apply critical thinking he will find it difficult to take advantage of you,’’ he said.
“Because Government is your pay master, you must strive to choose news slants that will suit your work as information officers.
“Use examples, analogies, statistics, and testimonies to give enough background and interpretation to your story.’’
Mike Meze, the consultant to the Government of Anambra State on Strategy and Branding while speaking on `branding’ reminded the participants that as information officers, they were also public relations officers to the government.
According to him, the state has a vision to be first choice investment destination and most preferred location to site industries in Nigeria.
He added: “It has a mission to create stable and business-friendly environment that will attract indigenes and foreigners alike to seek wealth creating opportunities in the state.
“So, what we have been learning and talking about in branding is to achieve this vision and mission of the state,’’ Meze said.
He urged the participants to do their jobs as information officers diligently and “never accept defeat’’.
Tony Nezianya, the special assistant to the governor on Media, who is a retired Director in the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who spoke on digital writing and editing, stressed that the era of analogue format of news writing was gradually receding into history.
“I am happy that since we started online reporting and editing, our work has dramatically improved in spite of initial challenges.
“Today, nobody in the news room at the information department of the ministry is comfortable writing in manual form as virtually all now write or edit via use of computers,’’ Nezianya noted.
He reminded the information officers of the “House Style’’ of the Ministry, which was still evolving seeks; “the inverted pyramid style of writing – writing the most essentials things first is our adopted style’’.
“I wish to state that we should make our paragraphing to be within 30 words per paragraph.
“It helps to condense the paragraphs and the story conforms to the international standards, just the major world news purveyors like the BBC’s style of news presentation.’’
Earlier, Obiageliaku Umeadi, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Information and Public Enlightenment, commended Governor Willie Obiano for reintroducing excellence in the running of government business.
“We thank our Governor for identifying with excellence. We thank our commissioner for organising this training to enable us to be the best journalists on top of our game,’’ she said.
Tony Nweke, the acting director, Information Department in the Ministry, described the workshop as successful because it featured the best resource persons who imparted the right knowledge on the participants.
“The commissioner has approved that the participants will be given certificates which will enhance their carrier progression,’’ Nweke added.
“From today, this workshop will be used to assess and monitor you for speed and quality of news delivery.
Change your attitude from now on wards because you are now well equipped for the job,’’ Nweke concluded.
There were simulated assignments and presentations by groups during the training.
– Feb. 5, 2019 @ 18:12 GMT |
Tags: Seek further knowledge to emerge as outstanding journalist – Information commissioner admonishes
