In an initiative to recognize the indispensable role of the media in the society, PWC recently organized a capability workshop in Lagos for journalists to improve the contribution they make in terms of their reporting and to ensure an in-depth analysis of subjects using ICT as a major advancement tool in Nigerian media practice.
Country Senior Partner, PWC, Uyi Akpata said that the company was proud to conduct the Capability and Training workshop for journalists. “We are at the forefront of training development, and are experienced in developing innovative solutions that are in line with the latest market developments.”
Speaking at the one day workshop, Joseph Iruafemi, Co-Director, Founders Institute and lead Business Developer Webs Fair said Nigerian media houses need to imbibe the culture of using information technology to advance its level of reporting in terms of information gathering, processing and delivering. “In what ways are journalists using ICT tools to facilitate information gathering, processing and editing?”
One prominent observation he made was that there was no use of hash tags in Nigerian Newspapers and so topics and conversations cannot be continued online
He explained that the media stands to gain more by empowering its consumers with tools that will enable them gather information for journalists as the news happens. “There should be a way, where with my mobile phone, I can record or write information, send it to the media house, and the editor will look at it, sort it as breaking news and send straight for publication.” Although he acknowledged that some media houses have empowered their consumers through eye witness functions and public opinions, comments and information on their websites, publications and mobile apps, he raised concern about how these information is processed and screened for authentication before publishing as there is a possibility for people to misuse this tool.
“There is a technology start up that has created a means to detect and check the validity and truthfulness of reports sent by outsiders. So some media houses have the tool to gather information on the go but how are they processed?” he said.
Talking about dissemination and distribution of news, Iruafemi said that Nigerian media houses need to use more ICT tools to pass out information effectively in order to serve consumers better.
The fastest way information gets to the general public is through the internet a very minute fraction of the population with access to internet facilities visit media websites.
“Nigerian media houses should be more receptive to new technology ideas that will drive journalism into the future. Ideas such as creating pidgin English versions of the content of their website, using some sort of software app that can translate text to speech as some people don’t like reading but they can follow through an audio message. We should think in this direction and create room for things like this and for distribution of newspapers, the media should partner with distribution companies across Nigeria,” he said.
Iruafemi also suggested that micro videos and rotation should be used as a media tool in terms of advertising and stories should be written in shorter paragraphs for online publication to attract a younger audience who are more interested in online content. “What I have noticed is that on our different websites, we tend to have a section for adverts and that ad space is cramped with little banners. Have we thought of a situation where that same space can be used by multiple companies, just as it is on Facebook where ads are rotated?”
At the end of the seminar, Cyril Azobu, Partner at PwC; Head Consulting & Mining Leader, thanked journalist for attending the PWC capability training workshop and encouraged the Nigeria media to take journalism to the next level saying that the media is actually the third tier of government which most people fail to realize as it has the power to make or break any government.
JUMOKE AKIYODE
