IPC trains online reporters on skills in conflict-sensitive reporting during election

The International Press Centre (IPC) Lagos, on Tuesday, organised virtual one-day skill-enhancing and capacity-building workshop for bloggers/online journalists on conflict-sensitive reporting in the build-up to the 2023 elections.

The virtual workshop which is part of activities under Component 4 (Support to media) of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EUSDGN II) project, of which IPC is the lead partner, had more than 40 online journalists from the northern part of the country, including Abuja, in attendance.

The overall objective was to strengthen the media for fair, accurate, ethical and inclusive reporting of the electoral processes and elections and in particular, to mitigate perceived and anticipated issues of spread of hate speech online and other forms of non-conflict sensitive reporting.

The resource persons included Dr Rukayat Aliu, from the Department of Journalism and Mediam Services, Bayero University, Kano.

She spoke on conflict-sensitive reporting skill and methodology in campaigns and elections.

She took the participants through roles of the media during campaigns and election, harping on the need for media professionals to “stand up to do what they have to do to sustain democracy.”

She tasked the media to take responsibility to reduce tension and conflict in the polity during electioneering process, adding the media is a great influencer of the people.

She advised the media to report truth, detach self from the event, and be balance and fair to all parties.

She also advised media men to be technologically inclined and be up to standard.

She urged journalists not to sacrifice detailed report in the race to first break the story.

“Media independence should not compromised, be factual in reporting, be the fastest in reporting the details,” she said.

The second speaker, Dr Yunusa Ya’u of Centre for Information Technology and Development, (CITAD), Nigeria, took a critical look at hate speech and its impact on the nation’s polity.

Dr Ya’u said it was a misconception that only the online publishers were mostly the purveyor of hate speech, disclosing that from research, hate speech was not restricted to bloggers and online journalists.

Rather, he said the convention media were more guilty, saying most online media copy from the mainstream media.

He said hate speech could be transmitted through verbal and non verbal mean.

He said hate speech could be conveyed through wearing of clothes.

He noted that the media had a duty to pick carefully what to publish.

He said it is not everything a politician say that should be reported.

Lanre Arogundade, Chairman of International Press Centre, was concerned about safety of journalists during campaigns and elections.

First, he drew attention of the participants to the media code of election coverage, which he said was to guide all media professionals in reporting election issues, insisting that ethical standard should not compromised on the alters pecuniary gains.

He advised journalists to make the difference and be credible.

He particularly harped on safety of journalists, saying covering an election, reporters must envisage threat and prepare for it.

According to him, “Have safety consciousnesa; we must manage information at our disposal; have contacts you can easily reached in case of exposure to danger; don’t be a loner in covering election/campaign, be in company of others.”

Arogundade also advised reporters to always “have knowledge of where you are going; check your health status before going to monitor; and keep distance from mob action.”

Maureen Chigbo, the publisher of Realnews and the president of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), who gave nuggets on the “don’ts” not to trigger conflict, advised reporters to carefully pick words to descalate tension.

She urged journalists to focus more on good leadership rather on ethnicity and religion differences which are divisive in nature.

Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Rotimi Oyekanmi said the commission was in to serve the nation and not individual or a political party.

Pleading with media professionals, Oyekanmi said, media had a major role to play in the success or otherwise of electoral process in the country.

Ambrose Sodime of DAAR Communications was the moderator of the session.