Plateau Govt cautions against speculative, mischief journalism

The Plateau Government on Monday cautioned journalists practising in the state against “speculative and mischief journalism”.

Alhaji Muhammed Nazif, the state Commissioner of Information, gave the advice when he visited the Zonal Office of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos.

The visit was in continuation of Nazif’s familiarisation tour of media formations in the state.

“As a government, we are running an open policy and shall be ready to listen to any suggestion and also clarify any grey area.

“Journalists in Plateau should take advantage of this gesture and get across to us to minimise misrepresentation, rumour mongering and other unprofessional gesture that may lead to bad blood and confusion,” Nazif said.

The commissioner expressed a “deep willingness” to work with the media, and called for a mutually rewarding partnership that would shore up the fortunes of Plateau.

He reminded journalists of the crises Plateau had gone through over the years, and urged them to minimise any action that could bring back the bad days.

Nazif also urged journalists to strive to be positive in their reportage, and stressed the need to focus on areas that would unite, rather than those that could cause division and friction among residents.

The commissioner also spoke on efforts to transform the state-owned newspaper, “The Nigeria Standard” into a daily newspaper with a national coverage “so as to revive its glorious days”.

“I have visited the Plateau Publishing Company and found the place in a very sorrowful state.

“The machines there are outdated; the past government purchased and installed some very sophisticated machines that are even above the capacity of `The Nigeria Standard’, but the machines have not been put into full use because some “smaller components have not been installed”.

According to him, part of the contract for the purchase of the machines involved the training of staff to manage them.

“But that has not been done and this has affected the desire to put the items to any use,” he said.

The official said that he had discussed the situation with the workers and was happy that they were eager to be part of the transformation process that would take the newspaper to its glorious days.

He said that the situation was the same at the Plateau Radio Television Corporation, where the machines purchased by the preceding administration were wasting away.

“We have taken steps to install these machines to expand the reach and maximise the potential of the outfit,” he said.

Responding, the Zonal Manager, Mr Ephraims Sheyin, thanked the Commissioner for the visit and promised to continue to partner with the state government toward a stable, progressive and crisis-free Plateau.

Sheyin advised the commissioner to ensure easy access to information to avoid a situation where newsmen would seek for other less reliable sources to clarify contending issues.

“The government should also be quick to react to issues of any misrepresentation to avoid a situation where the wrong impression will go viral, especially in view of the speed of information flow in the social media,” he said.

The manager said that NAN usually laid high premium on speed and accuracy, but stated that speed was sometimes sacrificed to ensure that information published was accurate and in the national interest.