Lorine Emenike
Former Vice President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Vincent Ake, has called on the Union to embark on programmes aimed at preparing journalists in the country for retirement.
Ake made the call while speaking at the 2019 World Press Freedom Day celebration, held at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The celebration, with the theme: “Media for Democracy, Journalism and Election In Times of Disinformation” was organized by the Rivers State Council of NUJ, in collaboration with Journalism Educators Foundation (JEF) of the University of Port Harcourt.
The former NUJ Vice President said: “Journalists should come up with some plan for retirement. I suggest that NUJ should organise seminar or pre-retirement programmes for practicing journalists to enable them plan well for retirement.”
Ake, who is currently the General Manager of Rivers State Newspaper Corporation (RSNC), advised journalists to shun the dissemination of fake news as such act brings the integrity of the journalism profession to disrepute.
He said: “Journalists are good-hearted people and hard-working. They are always on the road looking for news and running after people who do not want to see them.
“We cannot live in a world where there is not radio, no newspaper and no television. Journalists make the world working and make living interesting.
“What people discuss in any gathering, including newspaper stands are what they either heard on radio and television or read in the newspaper. The world cannot be lively without journalists.
“Our integrity will be at stake if we carry fake news. Our integrity will be at stake if we fail to follow the ethic of the journalism profession. Journalists have paid dues in the society and need to be rewarded.”
In a lecture titled; “Challenges of Reporting Politics In Times of Disinformation”, a lecture in the Department of Linguistics and Communication, University of Port Harcourt, Dr. Chris Ochonogor, said journalists covering elections must have the knowledge of several elections rules and regulations in the country.
Ochonogor said: “Reporters must have clear knowledge of relationship between Federal Government and states. Reporters must have knowledge of relevant rules of the country as it affects elections.
“In handling elections results, journalists must attribute results to the relevant authorities in charge of that. Not from the social media, not from politicians or their aides.”
In another lecture titled; “Objectives In Reporting In The Era Of Media Commercialization”, a lecture in the University of Port Harcourt, Dr Faustinus Nwachukwu, said with the commercialization of media outfits in the country, they are no longer objective, fair and accurate in their reportage.
Nwachukwu, who is also of the Department of Linguistics and Communication, said; “The media is expected to operate with objectivity, fairness and accuracy but with the commercialization of the mass media, objectivity may be eroded. News is supposed to reflect the social life of the people but with commercialization, the story is different.”
Earlier in his welcome address, Chairman of NUJ in Rivers State, Stanley Job Stanley recalled attacks on journalists by security agents and political thugs in the just-concluded 2019 general elections and the 2015 elections.
Stanley stated that the actions against journalists in the country tend to inhibit the practice of journalism and must be vehemently resisted by every right thinking members of the public.
He said: “These actions against journalists tend to inhibit the practice of journalism and must be resisted vehemently by every right thinking members of the public.
“The fairness and credibility of any election requires that journalists are permitted to work unimpeded and without fear.
“Nigerian government must act to ensure journalists work safely in course of their duties and the first step is to hold responsible those who attacked and suppressed the media during the last elections.”
