The Maritime Media and Capacity Development Centre (MMCDC) has trained maritime journalists on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and on integrating AI skills into daily newsroom operations to improve productivity and accelerate news production without compromising originality, accuracy, facts, and truth.

At a one-day executive training programme on AI for maritime journalists held in Lagos, the Chairman of the Centre, Sesan Onileimo, said the training comes at a critical moment when technology is transforming the way news is gathered, processed, verified and disseminated.

He said AI is creating new opportunities for maritime journalists while introducing challenges that require knowledge, skill and professional responsibility.

According to him, journalists must equip themselves to respond to these emerging challenges, as they cannot afford to remain spectators to the cataclysmic technological revolution reshaping the media profession.

Onileimo said the maritime industry plays a very strategic role, including multinational research, port operations, shipping and logistics and employment, among other areas.

He said reporting these activities requires specialised knowledge and the ability to interpret complex technical, military and economic issues, noting that when reporting on port performance, journalists may need to examine cargo throughput, best performance over time, operational costs and other indicators.

Onileimo said AI can assist in analysing such information, while journalists verify these figures and provide the necessary content for interesting, fact-based reports.

“The future of our profession requires us to combine professional experience with technological competence, sound judgment and professional responsibility. Artificial Intelligence is already assisting journalists with research, transcription, translation, data analysis, content development and multimedia production.”

When properly applied, these tools can improve efficiency, save time and allow journalists to concentrate on investigating, reporting, critical analysis and public interest planning,” he stated.

Delivering the practical sessions, the Chief Executive Officer of Delles Prints, Adebayo Babatunde, explained that AI knowledge could help journalists produce news reports in a timely manner, create engaging news videos and expand their media firm’s online reach, while upholding the principles of accuracy, authenticity and responsible journalism.

The AI expert stated that the objective of the practical sessions was to equip journalists with the technology skills needed to integrate AI into their daily newsroom operations while maintaining professional standards.

The trainer highlighted the potential of AI-generated news videos to attract audiences to media platforms and increase followership, noting that stories that would ordinarily take several hours to produce could be developed in 10 to 20 minutes with AI tools.

He, however, cautioned that as journalists explore AI tools to improve content production and distribution, excessive dependence on the technology could expose private information and lead to copyright infringement.