THE need for sensitive reporting during conflict or disaster was re-emphasized on Thursday at a workshop organized by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) North Central zone in collaboration with Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ at the Press Centre, Hill Station Junction, Jos.
In his welcome address, Mr Eugene Louis Nyelong, represented by one of his managers, NEMA North Central Coordinator, Hajiya Bintu Wana Aliyu, the Chief Accountant, informed the media that “This training is to expose or share field experiences and chart an informed way forward for a professional management and reportage of disasters or emergencies as the case maybe.”
In the words of Paul Jatau, NUJ Chairperson, Plateau State, “This training is coming at an auspicious time.” He said it was very timely due to the challenges of the times. “Journalists who disseminate information, inform the public, enlighten them, need to be well equipped to do their job the best way possible.”
Jatau pointed out that due to conflicts that we have to live with, journalists need the right nuances, the right language to pass across their messages without fanning the embers of crisis.
The workshop enlightened journalists on types of disasters and what is expected of them in such situations as they are always among the first people to arrive the scene of disaster often in search of stories.
Journalists were advised by the facilitator that if they are not capable to help out, they were better of calling for help instead of endangering their lives and adding to the number of victims.
At the end of the workshop, journalists were well informed on how to use their pen to douse tension, not to escalate it.
Former Director of Press to former governor Jonah David Jang, James Mannok, who was one of the facilitators, pointed out that a journalist should consider national interest above self and engage in developmental Journalism which is solution-oriented, for the greater good of the society.
Mannok went further to discourage the use of words that give the wrong picture. Words like genocide, massacre, brutal etc. “Your choice of words should douse tension not pitch one group against the other,” he conclu
