NAN-H-54
Challenge
By Monday Ijeh and Salisu Sani Idris
Abuja, Sept. 23, 2016 (NAN) Mr Aderogba Obisesan, a veteran journalist, on Friday charged members of staff of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to brace up, considering the challenges of modern day journalism.
Obisesan, who recently retired from Agence France Presse (AFP), the French News Agency, threw the challenge while delivering a lecture entitled “Modern Day News Agency: Challenges and Survival Strategies” to NAN staff in Abuja.
The lecture, organised at the instance of the Managing Director, Mr Bayo Onanuga, was aimed at improving the capacity and performance of NAN staff, particularly, journalists in the agency.
Obisesan noted that social media competition posed a challenge to news agency journalism due to the speed with which their reports were published.
He, however, urged NAN to regard social media reports as alerts and maintain credibility by always cross-check facts before publishing its reports.
“The social media poses a real challenge to a news agency and the entire media world.
“Let us not be frustrated or devastated by the seeming negative impact of the social media.
“ But for a news agency worth its salt, what remains as its Unique Selling Point (USP) is credibility.”
“This stands it out. it does not only have to get the news fast, it has to get it right and accurate.”
To achieve this, Obisesan therefore, underscored the need for the agency to recruit competent reporters and media managers.
He further said that acquiring modern equipment would enable NAN to compete with its counterparts in other countries as well as guarantee timely service delivery to its subscribers.
Obisesan, who worked with NAN for six years before joining AFP, also advised NAN management to ensure regular training and re-training of its reporters.
This, he maintained, was critical to exposing them to modern day journalism practice with a view to increasing their efficiency, performance and productivity.
He congratulated NAN management for launching the subscribers’ portal and introducing reporters’ bylines to copies.
These recent innovations to the agency’s operations, he said, were in sync with the modern trend as foreign news agencies had long adopted the system, adding that they would also give the agency more credibility and visibility to its reporters.
In his remarks, Onanuga, commended Obisesan and pledged the commitment of his administration to ensure that the agency`s reporters were well motivated to source stories.
He, therefore, challenged the reporters to ensure that they justified the agency`s investment in them by being diligent and committed to their job.
“When you are given money for news sourcing, do not make it a singular assignment; ensure that other news on the sidelines of the assignment are reported,” Onanuga said.
The Editor-in-Chief of NAN, Malam Lawal Ado, said the lecture could not have come at a better time than now, as the agency was doing everything possible to advance its course.
Ado maintained that the agency`s reporters were ready to accept the challenge and learn to improve their capacity.
On her part, the Managing Editor, NAN Metropolitan Desk, Mrs Nkechi Okoronko, thanked Obisesan for sharing his wealth of experience and ideas spanning over three decades with the reporters and editors of the agency.
She recommended the lecture to every NAN journalist who wished to pursue a career in journalism. (NAN)
SSI/IMC/EEM/NKO
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Edited by Emmanuel Mogbede/Nkechi Okoronkwo
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