Pantami urges media to embrace multimedia journalism

Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, has urged the media, especially the print category to be at the forefront of promoting multimedia journalism in the country and ensure video, audio and link inclusion to convey real-time messages to the audience in an effective manner. He stated this at the training on Digital Skills in News Reportage for ICT Journalists organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Abuja.

Pantami noted that though the Print media plays a significant role in journalism, multimedia journalism is taking over the space today adding the media needed to embrace multimedia journalism to bring Convergence to journalism practice in the country.

His words: “Today, journalism is no longer about print media, print media still plays a significant role in our journalism, however, multimedia journalism is taking over the space today. The print media is in a better position to promote multimedia journalism in the country.

“In Nigeria, you are in the forefront to promote multimedia journalism online that is why the print media today still maintains online platforms to compliment one another. Digital Nigeria cannot be achieved without training people that will play major roles in the actualisation of the agenda.

“There cannot be digital economy without digital literacy and skills. The role of the ministry is to provide policy direction while the parastatals have the responsibility to ensure effective implementation of the policies.”

Declaring that journalists needed to acquire expertise and multimedia skills to become more effective and efficient in their jobs, he urged the practitioners to embrace responsible journalism, which he said, was crucial for democracy and good governance.

“Journalism should be based on fairness, justice, professionalism that incorporates fact-checking, developmental and watchdog and investigative journalism,” he said.

Pantami explained that the training is part of the implementation of the digital policy of the government, insisting that it was part of the pyramid number two, which dwells on digital skills.

“If you want to promote digital economy, you must ensure that your citizens have access to broadband Internet service. We want to achieve at least 70 per cent broadband penetration by 2025 in our quest to ensure that 180m Nigerians access broadband services.

“We want to provide conducive environment for new investors to come into the ICT sector in order to create a healthy competition in order to bring down the price of data by 40 percent by 2025.

“Government is addressing virtually all the problems being experienced by the Telecom operators such as the right of way fees, multiple taxation, vandalisation of Telcoms infrastructure. We want to ensure the protection of local operators and restructure all departments in the ministry because most of them are now obsolete,” Pantami stated.