TECHDIGEST – The Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Enugu State Chapter, Mr Sam Udekwe, has commended the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for always prioritising the growth and development of journalists especially in the area of amassing digital skills for smooth operation.

Udekwe, who spoke at the end of Digital Journalism and Fact-checking Workshop held in Enugu said NITDA under the Kashifu Inuwa-led management has made journalism the priority of its capacity building initiatives.

He commended Inuwa for periodically helping NUJ leaders to develop the capacity of journalists across the country.
He also commended the Chris Isiguzo-led national leadership of NUJ and the Yushau Shuaib-led Image Merchants Promotion Limited, Publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, for collaborating with NITDA to bring the workshop to Enugu.

READ ALSO: At NITDA’s Digital Journalism Workshop, NUJ Advocates ‘Bill of Rights’ for Media

Also speaking, chairman of the Enugu correspondent chapel, Mr Lawrence Njoku, commended the NUJ national leadership and IMPR for the initiative, pledging that the participants will make the best use of what they learnt in the course of the training.
Speaking on behalf of female participants, Ngozi Mbah of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) said she and other beneficiaries were leaving the venue enriched with the latest digital tools they were exposed to.
In her remarks, the spokesperson of NITDA, Hajiya Hadiza Umar, who represented the DG, said her agency would sustain the capacity building programme on latest digital tools and skills for mass communication.

She therefore urged the journalists to make the best use of the skills they learnt which were meant to ease their job and also share the knowledge with colleagues who could not attend the session.

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TECHDIGEST – The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has agreed to partner with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to provide eligible journalists with the technological tools to enhance their professional practice.

This was during a courtesy visit by members of the Union, led by its National President, Chris Isiguzo.

The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, decried the adverse effect of fake news which he described as unimaginable and a huge threat to the profession, hence the need for continuous training and engagements.

“Today, anybody can be a journalist without knowing the journalistic ethics. So, how can we address that?

“We can only do that through this kind of engagement; by training and retraining because journalists need to understand that it is now about digital journalism and for you to engage in that, one needs to understand the technology and be able to verify the information and it’s source before publishing or broadcasting”.

“We need to always reskill, update our knowledge, and understand how the technology works in order to harness the potentials and use it for better things because technology can be used as either a tool or a weapon.

While describing journalism as the best medium to sensitize the public on what the federal government is doing towards achieving a digital Nigeria, Inuwa noted that the partnership would greatly be beneficial to both parties.

On the forthcoming National Executive Council/ Workshop on Digital Journalism organized by the Union, the NITDA boss expressed interest in the planned programme and assured the body of the agency’s support.

Speaking earlier, the NUJ National President, Chris Isiguzo while applauding NITDA for the different training sessions held for journalists in Jigawa, Kano, Gombe, Katsina and other States, said the visit was to formally meet for the first time to seek for partnership at the national level.

Isiguzo also appealed for digital facilities to be provided for the Union’s National Secretariat and International Institute of Journalism in order to aid optimal operations.

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TECHDIGEST – The Image Merchants Promotions Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential has instituted annual Prizes/Awards for Best Graduating Students in Public Relations and Digital Economy at Bayero University Kano (BUK).

The awards which are named after a former Head of Department of Mass Communication at the university, Professor Bashir Ali and Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami will run for 10 years from 2022 to 2032.

While receiving a cheque of one Million Naira for the prizes in his office, the BUK Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sagir Adamu Abbas commended IMPR for its various interventions in the mentorship of students and young communicators on modern skills. He added that the prizes will be presented to the first set during the forthcoming convocation in March 2022.

He added that the Faculty of Mass communication would soon unveil its television station after the success of a full-fledged radio station with support from the McArthur Foundation among others.

Earlier in his presentation, the Chief Executive Officer of IMPR, Yushau A. Shuaib said the awards were instituted to motivate and inspire students to develop interests in Public Relations practice and innovations in digital activities that are key sectors of today’s globally evolving economy.

Shuaib who recently bagged the award of excellence in PR and Digital Journalism at the 40th Anniversary of the Bayero University Mass Communication Alumni Association (BUMCAA), said the prizes were instituted in the names of individuals who made outstanding contributions on the respective fields.

He said: “The Bashir Ali Prize for Best Student in Public Relations instituted by PRNigeria is to honour the PR scholar who encourages students to develop keen interest and passion in the field of PR. In fact, he was my supervisor when I conducted PR Research Project as an undergraduate student in 1991-1992.

“The Ali Pantami Prize for Best Student in Digital Economy instituted by Economic Confidential is in recognition of Minister’s unparalleled dedication to public service on account of his blazing Digital economic reforms, innovations and strategies, which were not only instrumental in cushioning the negative impact of economic disruptions caused by the Global COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020 but has on the same margin, widened the skills and employment prospects in the country while accelerating Nigeria’s path to economic independence and growth.

“We will continue to sustain these efforts in motivating our students and youths towards excelling in the chosen endeavours,” he concluded.

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TECHDIGEST – Today, we live in a world where technologies are evolving faster than society’s capacity to adapt to them. As technology continues to gain increasing importance in our lives, digital literacy is becoming one of the key skills needed to function well in contemporary society.
Digital literacy is necessary to use and understand the way new technologies can help us actively live, work and contribute to society. It keeps people more connected and better informed to find technology options that are suitable to them.

In essence, digital literacy equips us with skills needed to live, learn and work in a world where communication and access to information are predominantly through digital technologies such as internet platforms, social media, and mobile devices. For instance, playing on your smartphone, using your email, and watching a video on YouTube.

Journalism is one of those notable professions in which digital/online journalism has started replacing traditional journalism. Several traditional media organisations have started going online to reach a huge audience.

This is because audiences are more comfortable with viewing stories than reading texts or listening to voices in narration about events. For this reason, many traditional media organisations (print, radio, and television) in Nigeria are shifting emphasis to online forms of information dissemination that focus on pushing more interactive images and videos.

Stakeholders in the profession of journalism are beginning to equip practitioners with various digital tools and online resources that can make them more efficient and productive.

Towards this end, journalists are determined to fully adopt the use of digital tools to generate, store, process, and verify information to tackle the menace of fake news and unethical practices.

This strong resolve was contained in the communique issued at the end of a three-day capacity building workshop held from December 29 to 31, 2021 at the PRNigeria Centre in Kano, with the theme, “Digital Reporting, Fact-Checking, and Social Media Management.”

Jointly organised by Image Merchants Promotion Limited and Penlight Centre for Investigative Reporting through the support of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), participants at the workshop came from both traditional and online media organisations.

Resource persons included members of academia and experts in the fields of technology, communications, digital forensics, and development journalism.

Topics discussed at the workshop included “Digital Journalism: Social Media and Tackling Fake News”; “Media Ethics and Responsible Reporting”; “Media Monitoring and Search Engine Optimisation”; and “Media Management”. Others were “Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)”; “Online Fact-checking: Basic Digital Tools for Journalism”; “Conflict Sensitive Reporting and Responsible Journalism”; and “Self-Censorship for National Security.”

The participants observed that digital technology is critical to the advancement of Nigeria’s economy and the promotion of the professional practice of journalism. As such it becomes mandatory for them to adopt digital tools to conduct fact-checking and investigative reporting.

They endorsed the importance of creating advocacy, awareness, and regulations to guide the practice of online and citizen journalism, as well as self-censorship to uphold patriotism and national security.

A high point of the recommendations included the call that intensive training programmes should be regularly organised to curb the abuse of social media and uphold ethical practices and global best practices.

The workshop canvassed that these strategic training programmes should focus on practical sessions to enable journalists to master the use of digital tools and that similar training should be extended to other states in the federation.

In another recommendation, the participants challenged practitioners to be patriotic, responsible, and ethical in setting agenda for driving national unity and stability by using digital tools, social media, and other web platforms to counter the fake news and all forms of vices affecting the country.

In furtherance of their determination to uphold the use of digital tools and observance of the ethical and responsible practice of online journalism, the participants expressed their commitment to ensuring that 20 per cent of their practice will focus on raising awareness on digital literacy and inclusion.

They pledged to exemplify the practical use of digital tools for fact-checking, investigative, and development journalism to encourage patriotic zeal and peaceful coexistence among the different sections of the country.

Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the Director-General of NITDA attended the closing ceremony during which he received the “ICT Personality of the Year” award presented and instituted by the Network of Advocates of Digital Reporting (NADIR), in recognition of his enormous contribution to the growth of digital technology and the digital economy.

Having organised the digital journalism workshop earlier in Abuja and Ilorin, and now in Kano, there are indications that the partnership between NITDA and the private sector stakeholders will go a long way in promoting digital literacy and digital inclusion.

This was obvious from the participants’ preparedness and commitment to using digital tools to uphold professionalism in their work and sharing this new knowledge with their various audiences as the first step to arresting the threat of fake news and hate speech.

Inyene Ibanga is Managing Editor Techdigest and writes from Wuye District, Abuja; email: inyeneibanga@yahoo.com.

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TECHDIGEST – The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has reiterated its commitments to train journalists across the country on digital journalism and ways to enhance the profession by adapting digital skills.

The Director General of NITDA Kashifu Inuwa, represented by Abdulqadir Abiola, made this known, Wednesday, at the opening of a 3-day workshop on Digital Journalism and Fact-checking for some selected journalists in Kano, organized by Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), Publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential with the support of NITDA.

He said the workshop is aimed at training and equipping journalists with required digital skills as far as journalism is concerned, adding that after the workshop journalists would be able to fact-check any information online for media use.

While presenting his paper on digital journalism, social media and fake news CEO Image Merchants Promotion (IMPR) Yushau Shuaib, pointed out the need for journalists to be well-skilled digitally and use social media platforms wisely to avoid sharing fake stories and promoting hate speech.

In his paper titled ‘Ethical Issues in Media Reporting’ Head of Information and Media Studies Department, Bayero University Kano, Dr. Nura Ibrahim, explained why journalists need to be ethical in their reportage and implications of being unethical journalist as well as ethical challenges and way forward.

The workshop would end on Friday with the commission of Digital Skills Center established by NITDA at the PRNigeria Centre, Kofar Famfo, Kano.

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