The Provost, International Institute of Journalism, Abuja, Dr Emma Shehu, has advised journalists and journalism outlets to focus on stories that promote humanity.
Mr Shehu gave the advice on Wednesday in a presentation he made virtually at the ongoing five-day Editorial Management Retreat of the News Agency of Nigeria in Kaduna.
He spoke on “The future of news agencies in the era of digital journalism”.
According to him, news content should no longer be in the established template that casts the developing countries in a negative perspective.
“No matter the disaster, civil unrest, famine, war, murder, accidents or political crises, the challenge is to look for those angles that humanise rather than demonise,” Mr Shehu said.
Mr Shehu noted has that digital technology remains critical to a successful news agency journalism in the emerging new world order.
He said, “Each minute becomes a deadline because of the multiplicity of competitors, so reports must be transmitted at the earliest; non-stop flow of information – coming close to real time situations as much as possible.”
He said that contents complementarity, feature stories, interviews, background articles, opinion pieces, analysis, lists, tables, raw data, ratings, charts, transcriptions and many other material become even more important for the needs of the clients.
He further said that news agencies from developing economies, such as Nigeria, “should see this as an opportunity to reverse the existing information imbalance between the global north and global south”.
He said that a digital era provides a unique opportunity for an online presence on a global level, which must not be taken for granted.
Mr Shehu also said that News Agencies from developing countries must explore practical means of publicising their existence consistently, starting with a website that is always current, plus dynamic presence on other social media platforms.
“Affiliations will also be profitable, just as targeted advertisements will be rewarding,” he said.
In his opinion, in the midst of a disaster, reportage should explore efforts being made to cope with the disaster in the present as well as in the future.
He said that developmental issues should be brought to the fore, especially in the ways they impact on the lives of the citizens, be they government or private sector projects.
He said that digital technology helps to ensure that the national agency is better able to represent the media of the country at international level or events, acts as archive of national historical news and information.
Mr Shehu said that such an agency should become a reservoir, where new media can source for historical news and also become a proper intermediary between government or its policies and other mass media.
“The agency should consistently review its revenue generation model to fit in with the demands of the time, characterised particularly by a highly competitive media landscape,” he said.
He said that better technology was no excuse to overlook the human resource of a news agency.
“The primary asset of any organisation is the human capital,” he said.
Shehu said that skill acquisition must be a priority as digital technology is evolving at a fast rate.
“This can be achieved at a minimal cost through regular in-house training.
“Human relations management should also be taken into consideration because a skilled and happy worker, equipped with the proper technology, will ensure productivity that brings success to the agency,” Mr Shehu said.
NAN
