The lead partner of CMC connect (Perception Managers), Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, has urged student journalists and public relations professionals to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in crafting compelling stories, but cautioned against relying only on them.
Badejo-Okusanya stated this while delivering a lecture at the monthly professional forum organised by the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, Lagos.
Speaking on the theme, ‘PR in the age of technology and AI’, Badejo-Okusanya insisted, “AI won’t take the place of human beings. It’s an enhancement tool, which means you still have to do your work.”
Owing to the availability of generative AI tools like Chatgpt, Meta AI, and Gemini, he argued students just want to do “garbage in and garbage out, which will give mediocre results.”
Badejo-Okusanya, who is also the president of the African Public Relations Association (APRA) stressed the need for PR professionals to generate compelling contents.
To him, “the problem we are having in pr today is that not too many people can write and tell compelling stories. Great PR practitioners are often those who have passed through journalism. Despite the relevance of generative AI tools such as chatgpt, trend analysis and fact-checking are skills paramount to writing compelling stories.”
He, however, identified challenges of using AI in public relations as, maintaining authenticity, ethical considerations, data security and privacy.
The APRA predicted that the rapid adoption of high-tech in the Nigerian media space would activate influencer engagement.
He added, “there are AI tools you can use to channel your media material to the right audience. The adoption of these tools will change the way we practice PR especially with the use of various social media platforms.”
In his own contribution, NIJ Provost, Gbenga Adefaye, told the students, “except all you want to do is run errands at media houses, you must be a good writer and literate in technological trends as they relate to media practice.”
The lecture also included a practical session, during which students were guided in the art of effective prompt generation, fact-checking, source citation, and ethical considerations regarding the use of generative ai tools.
Adefaye also presented Badejo-Okusanya with an award of recognition and lauded his contributions to public relations practice in the country.
The NIJ monthly professional forum is an interface session that is integrated into the students’ activities to bridge the gap between town and gown, preparing them for successful careers in journalism and communication.
