By Thompson ABISOLA
Some participants at the ongoing 67th World Congress of International Press Institute (IPI) have emphasised the need for equipped journalism schools to train young journalists in order to enhance professionalism.
The participants spoke on Friday in Abuja on the sideline of the ongoing IPI World Congress.
Mrs Khadija Patel, Editor-In-Chief, Mail and Guardian, South Africa, noted that equipped journalism schools would help journalists to meet the needs of modern newsrooms.
“We need to ensure that journalism schools are properly equipped for rigorous training programmes for journalists, especially young journalists, to meet the needs of modern newsroom.
Patel noted that the world congress had endorsed good journalism as integral for the development of human society, hence journalism schools should be of paramount need to promote good journalism in the societies.
Speaking on the topic “Why Good Journalism Matters (And How to Make People Like it), she urged journalists, publishers and broadcasters to use creative forms to make journalism appealing to the audience.
“Good journalism supports free societies, promotes democracy and holds most powerful people in our societies to account.
“The challenge for journalists, publishers, broadcasters is to ensure that we use creative forms of story telling to make good journalism appealing to the audience.
“We have indeed grown complacent in recent years; we tend to use the same standards that were in place many years ago in writing stories and broadcast.
“We need to be tinkering with those medium to ensure that the underpinning values of accuracy, truth and verification in news reporting remain sacrosanct.
According to her, young journalists should also be allowed to follow their curiosities and keeping in touch with best practices around the world.
“The internet is an amazing thing; it is very simple to use; journalists should be sure to keep in touch with the most exciting projects and undertakings for the most exciting news forming in the world today.
“Newsrooms should be made amenable to young people; and do not impose news angle on young journalists; they should be allowed to dictate the news agenda and also decide for themselves what exactly is news.
In a separate interview, the Acting Director-General, Al Jazeera Media Network, Qatar, said that the media should always rely on documented facts while reporting prejudice against the government or others, to be on the safe side.
He urged the media to embrace professionalism because journalism is no longer practiced well in many parts of the world, adding that propaganda was being practiced mostly.
The IPI Deputy Director, Scott Griffen, also warned against insecurity and other hazards of the profession.
Griffen advised that journalists should build international connections to be alerted during insecurity.
