MAF, WSCIJ collaborate to improve quality of journalism practice

Journalists in Abia State have been charged to abide by the set ethical standard of the profession in such a manner that would also hold the country’s leaders accountable to the people.

They were given the charge at Umuahia, the state capital, during a one day training workshop on “Improving the quality of Journalism in the Southeast region organised by Ikenga Media and Cultural Awareness Initiative (IMCAI) with support by the MacArthur Foundation (MAF) through the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ).

While declaring open the workshop, which had as theme, ‘Improving the Quality of Journalism in the Southeast for Good Governance,’ the Co-Publisher of Ikenga Online Media, Dr Chido Onumah, said it was one of the activities of IMCAI, supported by the MAF through the WSCIJ, with the aim to promote accountability and good governance through media independence and ethical journalism in the country.

Onumah, while saying the training was the third by IMCAI in the Southeast, announced that it had trained more than 55 journalists in the region on the fundamentals of ethical journalism, adding, “some of the feedbacks we got after the previous trainings included the need for continued reinforcement of the message of how the media can impact positively on the governance process.”

One of the resource persons, Pastor Ralph Egbu, a veteran journalist, in a paper, titled, “Ethical Journalism in an era of Technology,”said ethical issues in journalism practice are frequently impaired by the very nature of the intrusion of pervasive technology in the profession with the immediacy of digital platforms often demanding quick reporting even as there is always pressure on journalists to publish the news rapidly/quickly.

Egbu, whose paper was presented by another journalist, Sir Chimdi Oluoha, noted that the emergence of technology has not improved ethics of journalism practice, hence, the call by scholars for a drastic review of the traditional journalism ethics.

He added, “newsrooms expose the inadequacy of the training of journalists as many of the graduates are not grounded in the theory of journalism.”

Another resource person, Chinagorom Ugwu of the Premium Times, in his paper, titled, ‘Moving the needle; the kind of journalism that engenders good governance’, stated that investigative journalism remains a form of journalism that uncovers the truth, holds leaders accountable and protects the interest of the masses.

Lauding the workshop organisers and the two collaborators, MAF and WSCIJ, the journalists described it as worthy acquired knowledge that can improve their practice.