Ahead of 2015, journalists are trained on electoral reportage

The two-day capacity workshop was put together for both broadcast and print journalists from the six south west states of Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Oyo and Ekiti states to raise the competency of reporters for pre, during and post-electoral events reportage.Lanre Arogundade, Director, International Press Centre (IPC) who was a joint-organiser of the workshop at […]

The two-day capacity workshop was put together for both broadcast and print journalists from the six south west states of Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Oyo and Ekiti states to raise the competency of reporters for pre, during and post-electoral events reportage.
Lanre Arogundade, Director, International Press Centre (IPC) who was a joint-organiser of the workshop at the opening of the event said the objective behind the convocation of the media workshop was part of the project on Media Capacity Building, mentoring and monitoring for conflict-sensitive, public-issue and ICT-driven reporting of 2015 elections.“It is to ensure professional, ethical, conflict sensitive, public interest and gender-supportive reporting of the elections,” Arogundade added.
For Dr Bisi Olawunmi, an experienced journalist who currently lectures at Department of Mass Communication, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State dwelled extensively on do and don’t of electoral reportage for Nigerian journalists. Speaking on the topic; “Review of media reportage of the Ekiti and Osun 2014 governorship elections: observations, lessons and recommendations” Olawunmi said reporters have critical roles to play in before, during and after election.
This, he said must start with journalists presenting to the public how each of the candidates stand ahead of the contest. He added that it should be followed up by reporting issue-based developments without necessarily tilting reportage in favour of a particular party or to the disadvantage of the other.
“In a democracy, the media is the main institution better placed to educate the electorate, in a dispassionate manner, on the issues of public governance.  And the news reporter is the point-man in empowering the people through information. Where role expectation is properly articulated and played, the reporter becomes the lubricant who oils the wheel of progress in society by providing information which enhances harmonious relationships among the various groups in the polity and between them and those in leadership position in public governance,” Dr Olawunmi said.
He argued that a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society like Nigeria, elections present complex situations and the state of harmony or disharmony among the various ethnic groups have serious consequences for election outcomes. “For journalists therefore hold the sacred duty of not allowing themselves to fall prey to ethnic and religious jingoists who will be using them to promote a certain agenda. It is a duty that makes us media practitioners. Journalists must play down issue of social disorder and become agent of social order. If you call it a paradigm shift, you might be right,” the varsity don said.  
Submitting his post-mortem on Ekiti/ Osun governorship election, Olawunmi said a cursory survey of media content established a reality that a factor of the acrimony that trails elections in the country is ethnic-based, indicating that the media, largely, has not succeeded in welding these disparate groups together, effectively. “The elections in the two states were keenly contested and the outcomes have been subject of analyses, reviews and projections as to their implications for the 2015 general elections,” he said.
Citing the example of the June 21, 2014 Ekiti governorship election, Olawunmi accused journalists of focusing only on former governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Ayodele Fayose and the incumbent, Governor Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC).  He condemned media abandonment or partial reportage of other candidates.
“The media, or more appropriately reporters, treated the other 16 contestants as mere footnotes.  Many commentators described the election result as APC taking a tsunami hit, politically, with  projections that it  presaged what is likely to happen, not only  in the then pending August 9, 2014  Osun governorship election, but in the 2015 general elections.  
“This media projection created a ferment in the camp of  Senator Iyiola Omisore, the PDP governorship candidate in Osun state. There was manifest expectation among Omisore loyalists of a self fulfilling prophesy of a PDP sweepstakes in Osun, going by media projections, the  gubernatorial contest in Osun state was, like in Ekiti, framed as a two-way race between governor Rauf Aregbesola and Senator Omisore. Governor Aregbesola’s victory halted the PDP electoral tide,” Olawunmi said.
He also admonished that media practitioners become more discerning in the coverage of and write-ups on elections, avoid surrendering the agenda-setting function to politicians and the political parties, be financially empowered by their organizations in the coverage of election campaigns, including hazard allowance due to the risks as well as adoption of social science methodologies in seeking information.
In her presentation, Treasure Durodola, another senior journalist from Federal Radio Corporation (FRCN) said as journalists, certain stereotypes that had affected fortunes of women in politics should be avoided while issues relating to equality in gender cum electoral matters should be upheld.
 She lamented that Nigerian media had allowed socio-cultural influences that encourage biasness against women in politics to reflect in the coverage and general reportage, a development which she said has contributed largely to poor participation of the women folk in governance.
“With the women having almost half of Nigerian population, the media houses have got to do more to help the course of the women folk. The women are the voiceless and it is our roles as journalists to give voice to the voiceless,” Durodola said.
The Guest Speaker said a content analysis of Nigerian media, comprising both the mainstream and social media revealed that the representation of the women in politics is grossly inadequate.
“Women in Nigerian politics will start rising into prominence when the media start focusing on their exemplary qualities. Issues relating to Beijin Conference of 1995, CEDAW 1979, National Gender Policy 2006 in Nigeria, among others are what the media can delve into to aide their reportage while reporting issues affecting women participation in politics and by extension, governance,” Durodola said.
A participant,  Tunde Akinola of TheGuardian Newspaper said the two-day event has widened his horizon on issues relating to media coverage and reportage. He expressed optimism in applying some of the knowledge acquired at the workshop.
Similarly, Oluwatoyin Adekile who works with Reality Radiovision station, Iwo, Osun state said the technicalities of covering election had been made simple with her attendance of the two-day workshop. She said she has also realized that events before and after election are as critical as those that take place during the election itself.
“Now, I have learnt new things and I am more than prepared to reflect what I have learnt in my subsequent assignments. I also hope to share these newly acquire knowledge with colleagues in office who were not privilege to attend this workshop,” she said.
 “It is supported by the United Nations Development Programme  (UNDP) and Democratic Governance for Democracy (DGD) Project II, which also enjoy active collaboration support of European Union (EU), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)”.