A civil rights group, Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER), on Wednesday in Lagos charged journalists in the country to be objective in their reportage, for the peace of the society.
Mr Adewale Adeoye, JODER Executive Director, spoke at a one-day training for journalists on `Diversity Reporting` in Lagos.
He said that the media had enormous roles to play in keeping the society peaceful for human habitation and for businesses to flourish.
“What goes out of the newsrooms are capable of making or marring the polity,” Adeoye said.
The JODER director said that newsmen need to adopt diversity reportage in order not to overheat the polity.
He explained that diversity reporting entails reflecting views of not only the people in authority, but also those of the followers.
“With diversity in our report, most of the social vices prevalent in the society will be nipped in the bud,” Adeoye said.
He also urged the media not to keep mute in the face of anomalies capable of derailing the polity.
According to him, most of the pre-independent nationalists were journalists who challenged then existing social status quo and fought for the nation’s independence.
Speaking at the event, a resource person and Mass Communication lecturer at the Lagos State University (LASU), Dr Tunde Akanni, said the media should do more of investigative reportage.
“As media persons, we need to de-emphasise reporting only the state actors and their achievements and focus more on the society.
“Nothing stops journalists from finding out the cause of the recent trend of people jumping into the lagoon, thereby cutting short their lives.
He called on journalists to be alert to their calling and mould the society for the common good.
Newsmen report that JODER started in 1996 as a pro-democracy group against military government.
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