The experts gave the task at a day workshop organised for journalists on “Data Journalism and Media Standards,” on Saturday in Lokoja.

The workshop was organised by Stallion Times Media Services with support from the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, and funded by MacArthur Foundation.

Mr Charles Mbah, a journalist and Data Analyst, who is a facilitator at the workshop, said data journalism would help to reduce the skill of misinformation and disinformation.

He added that data journalism, which represented facts, would help citizens to get the right information that they could use to hold government accountable.

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Mbah enjoined journalists to be intentional about using data journalism to drive their profession whether in broadcast or investigative journalism, among others.

“Journalists should be intentional about data journalism; though it could be time consuming.

“They should make it a gradual process, because it is very important as we are in the age of misinformation and disinformation,” Mbah said.

On his part, Mr Isiyaku Ahmed, the Project Coordinator of Get Involved, Dialogue and Improve Project, GDRIP, said data journalism presented information in a visual form, making it easier for people to understand.

Ahmed, who doubles as the Editor-In-Chief of Stallion Times, stressed the need for journalists to maintain “Media Standards” in carrying out their duties.

“The workshop is just to remind ourselves of what are those standards that we practice as professional media that make us to stand out as journalists.

“The media standards are enshrined in the Press Freedom and Code of Ethics for any practicing journalist,” he said.

Ahmed therefore enjoined journalists not to restrict themselves only to the Code of Ethics in journalism, but they should also make use of the instrument of press freedom.

According to him, journalists should know the roles their organisations want them to play as well as seeing the obligation they have for the community, and put them side by side their constitutional role, which is holding government accountable.

Source: NAN

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The information is made known in a statement signed by the president of Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Mal. Kabiru A. Yusuf.

Members of the commission  who are drawn from the media, the bar, the academia, and civil society  are Mr. Emeka Izeze , former Managing Director, Guardian Newspapers (Chairman);  Mr. A. B Mahmoud, SAN, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association; Prof Chinyere Stella Okunna, Deputy Vice Chancellor, (Academics) Paul University, Awka, Anambra State; Dr. Hussain Abdu, a Development Specialist and  Country Director, Care International (Nigeria); Mr. Lanre Idowu, Editor-in-Chief, Diamond Publications Ltd. and Founder, Diamond  Awards For Media Excellence, DAME; Mr. Edetaen Ojo, Executive Director, Media Rights Agenda, MRA; Mrs. Dupe Ajayi-Gbadebo, a Journalist, Lawyer and Arbitrator; Mrs. Eugenia Abu, Broadcaster, Author, and Columnist, and the Chair, House of Representatives Committee on Information.

The inauguration is a major step by the industry to strengthen public confidence in the media through prompt resolution of issues bordering on ethical breaches in media content.

The process is being driven by the Nigeria Press Organisation, NPO, comprising  the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, NPAN, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, and the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, BON, and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, GOCOP, along  with other strategic media players and the civil society, in particular the MacArthur Foundation.

The commission will serve as an independent forum for resolving complaints about the press quickly, fairly, and free of charge; maintain high standards of Nigerian Journalism and journalistic ethics; and defend the freedom of the press and the rights of the people to know.

Prior to the February 22, 2023 announcement of the composition of the commission, each media house had been directed to institute at the newspaper level, the local Ombudsman.

The National Ombudsman will serve as an appellate body for the local Ombudsman as well as a court of first instance.

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The Director, International Press Centre, IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, made the declaration on Monday in Abuja at a two-day workshop to train media practitioners on effective and impactful reporting of indigenous issues towards a national agenda for peace building and conflict prevention in Nigeria.

According to him, candidates should be made to answer questions as to how the problems of the indigenous people would be solved if elected.

He said town hall meeting and other fora should be organised where the indigenous people would meet candidates and express themselves on issues affecting them.

Arogundade emphasized that there was, generally, an urgent need for the media in Nigeria to come to the aid of Indigenous people otherwise their suffering would be in perpetuity.

He pointed out that despite the pains the indigenous people go through, not much attention is given to them by the media and little is known about their plight.

He said in order to draw the attention of the government, organisations and individuals to the plight of the indigenous people, the media should give their issues some prominence and not tucked away.

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His words: “The media should factor their issues into the performance of its main functions particularly in this critical electioneering period. What are they and how? Relay the information citizens require to enable them to make informed judgments.”

The IPC boss added that the media should monitor government and others and reveal abuses of power as they might relate to indigenous people.

Other suggestions, according to Arogundade, included the provision of public education, enlightenment and entertainment.

He added that the media could also provide avenues for public debate on the issues affecting the indigenous people.

The two-day workshop is organised by the Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education, CHRICED, in conjuction with Journalist for Democratic Rights, JODER; International Press Centre, IPC, and MacArthur Foundation.

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