• Sun. Feb 9th, 2025

MEDIA REPORTING IN DEPRESSED ECONOMY: Polaris Bank Media Seminar Calls On Journalists To Rise To Challenge

ByHybridNewsNg

Jun 21, 2023

The Polaris Bank Media Seminar recently took place in Lagos, Nigeria, focusing on the challenges faced by journalists reporting in a depressed economy.

In the seminar, a former deputy editor with the Punch, Akintola Olaniyan, who provided tips and advice to media professionals emphasized the importance of adhering to core news values such as objectivity, proximity, balance, and reflection of social, cultural, and moral ethics in reporting on the Nigerian economy.

He urged journalists to avoid subjectivity, biases, and prejudices in their reporting and to stay contextually up to date with their responsibilities and obligations as reporters.

He also called for a revamp of journalism curricula to include training on investigative journalism, emerging trends in digital media, data analysis, and continuous on-the-job training for reporters and media practitioners.

Olaniyan highlighted the need for incentives such as payment of living wages and insurance policies to ensure the protection and well-being of journalists in the country.

During his presentation, he identified several environmental factors affecting the journalism profession, including ownership structure, peer pressure, self-regulation, limited budgets, inadequate remuneration, lack of insurance coverage, ethno-religious considerations, changing media culture, and lack of capacity.

He further lamented the state of Nigeria’s national economy, pointing out the rising debt portfolio and the country’s two recent economic recessions despite its potential for growth and development.

Dr. Olaniyan highlighted Nigeria’s significant crude oil reserves, its position as Africa’s largest oil producer, and its contributions to the country’s export revenue.

However, he expressed concern over Nigeria’s ranking as the 14th most failed state in the world and highlighted disparities with countries like South Africa in various indicators such as poverty headcount ratio, life expectancy, and population growth rate.

Mr. Sheriff Adekoya, the CEO of Edgeforth, a technology firm, also spoke at the seminar and advised journalists to establish a unique identity and selling points that enhance brand believability.

He emphasized the importance of having a clear direction in journalism to meet the critical expectations of readers.

The Polaris Bank Media Seminar is an annual capacity development program organized by Polaris Bank Limited, with a focus on enhancing qualitative service delivery and promoting continuous improvement of human capital.

The seminar aligns with the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) intervention under its Education & Empowerment strategic pillar.

Approximately 60 journalists from various print and online media outlets attended the one-day training program.

Polaris Bank has been recognized for its digital banking capabilities, winning the Digital Bank of the Year award in 2021 and 2022 in BusinessDay’s Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.

The bank has also been acknowledged for its support to the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector through technology-enabled services.

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