Media experts task journalists on 2019 election

Media experts have advised journalists to live up to the nation’s expectations in the coverage of the 2019 general elections, saying that the survival of democracy would depend on the outcome of the polls.

According to them, media establishment and journalists should imbibe the professional ethics code of practice of journalism and be conversant with the electoral laws in their reportage and coverage of the forthcoming general elections in the country.

The media experts, Prof. Umaru Pate of Faculty of Communication, Bayero University, Kano; member, Editorial Board of The Guardian, Mr. Martins Oloja and a former official of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Mojo Makanjuola, delivered papers at the training workshop organised by the European Union (EU) and International Press Centre (IPC) for journalists from the North-West Zone on the coverage of the 2019 elections in Nigeria.

Pate, in a paper, “Reporting Post Elections” with the theme: “Paying attention to the issue of Democratic Accountability,” said journalists must brace up to the responsibility of reporting the facts arising from the 2019 elections and avoid hate-speeches and issues that may have negative impact on the nation’s democracy.

He said that to date, media organisations cover and report all the happenings, but in many cases, government-owned media houses redirect their orientations to reflect changes that may occur in the politics of their states.

Besides, Oloja and Makanjuola, who urged the newsmen to devote themselves to the development of content and the issues of Nigerian women in politics, said they must jettison hate-speeches and unwholesome issues portrayed by politicians, which are capable of affecting democracy adversely.

“We only have one country, you should not be used as agents of destruction by politicians. You should cover the 2019 general elections and armed yourself with the code of ethics and the electoral laws. The Nigerian constitution should not be left for lawyers and politicians alone, we as journalists should ensure that we keep abreast with its provisions,” Oloja said.