Ex-Nasarawa State Deputy Gov advises journalists against violence
NAN-H-33
Journalists
By Sunday John
Akwanga (Nasarawa State), Jan. 2, 2018 (NAN) A former Nasarawa State Deputy Governor, Mr Michael Abdul, has advised journalists not to allow themselves to be used to cause violence in the country.
He gave the advice on Tuesday when he received officials of the state’s Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Akwanga Local Government Area, Nasarawa State.
Abdul, who was a Deputy Governor from 2007 to 2011, expressed regrets that he was not comfortable with some newspapers because of the kind of stories they published.
“If many papers and other media houses report that there is insecurity in any state, the public will believe it and it would affect investors from investing in such a place.
“I am not saying that the press should suppress the truth, but all I am saying is that your report should be balanced, truthful and in line with the ethics of journalism practice.
“I will not tell you the names of those national dailies, but I tell you that those papers hardly stand the test of time due to the kind of stories they always carried.
“Instead of promoting the truth in a way that it would promote peace and unity in the society, those papers always report the negative things without even balancing their stories,” Abdul added.
He stated that readers were also evaluating the contents and quality of reports in newspapers and other media organisations.
“He declared that the media could make or destroy a society by the kinds of reports they fed the members of the public and the outside world. (NAN)
SDJ/MOL/IA
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Edited by Mustapha Lamidi/Idris Abdulrahman