Publisher of Premium Times Nigeria, Dapo Olorunyomi, has urged journalists to step up their three key professional roles of watchdog, agenda-setting and gatekeeping.
Speaking on ‘The Democracy – Journalism Interface’ at a training organised by Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), in collaboration with Canadian Funds for Local Initiative (CFLI), in Bauchi, yesterday, he called for genuine freedom of the press, adding that professionalism could only grow within the dynamics of democracy and human rights.
The two-day workshop was to train journalists across Nigeria on election security, democratic sustainability and issue-based reporting.
“For if journalists cannot do their job professionally, then democracy will wither,” he said.
Editor of Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism in Africa, Amzat Ajibola, who spoke on ‘Writing Election Story with Data’, charged Nigerian media and journalists to enhance their reports with data.
According to him, data strengthen credibility of a story in the age of alternative truth.
The training, which is part of CJID’s effort in promoting, protecting and preserving freedom of expression and democratic values in Nigeria, was aimed at enabling journalists gain the vital skills to protect themselves as they work in potentially threatening situations and digitally volatile environments.
It was also a space for journalists to discuss and learn how to deal with the impact of the job in covering elections.
