THERE WILL BE INK - Initiative for Policy Dialogue

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Chart 1: Among journalists who cover the extractive industries in Nigeria, freedom of information,the threat of violence and inadequate Internet access are the most important challenges.As noted earlier in this report, physical security remains much more of a concern in the oilproducingDelta than in other parts of Nigeria. The relationship between armed groups, oilcompanies and the government is often sordid, according to Isine.“Once, I tried to get a photo of a major oil spill and fire, and I was almost kidnapped by local youthswho were being paid by Shell,” Isine told us. “They destroyed the camera. They were with Shellofficials – that’s how I know they were being paid by Shell. The Shell police handed us over tothem.”Nigerian broadcast media organizations do not have energy specialists like print news organizations.This is part of the reason why print journalists can do more in-depth reporting, one televisionbusiness journalist told us 71 .The Impact of Training ProgramsTraining programs available to business and economic journalists in NigeriaWhile there is significant need for more journalism training in Nigeria, some journalism educationopportunities already exist. However, these trainings tend to be sporadic and inadequate, tailoredmore to the interests of those conducting the training than the needs of the journalists. They alsotend to be short-term, often lasting just a few days, and without any follow up. Moreover, trainingson covering extractive industries are sparse to nonexistent. The following section will examinetrainings that journalists in our sample have had, as well as other opportunities for training inNigeria. We found that there are very limited opportunities for Nigerians to study business andeconomic reporting in the course of their university studies. Please refer to Appendix A for a more71 Nigerian Interviewee #12. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January– 24 –
detailed analysis of the opportunities and challenges for journalism education within Nigeria’suniversity system.Trainings by Media HousesAs media have come to recognize the need to have properly trained journalists on the business beat,there has been a growing trend for them to organize their own trainings. In our research, we foundthat Business Day, The Punch and The Guardian are all starting trainings. However, there is thepossibility, particularly given the financial crisis and the likelihood of economic downturn in mediarevenues, that these kinds of trainings will not be sustainable. As noted by a business journalist withThe Guardian, trainings are often the first things to be cut when media outlets are forced to reducespending. 72Trainings by UniversitiesWhile business and economic journalism has not been adequately incorporated into universitycurricula in Nigeria, there have been some opportunities for professional trainings at universities.The newly founded School of Media and Communications in Lagos, in particular, has been offeringsix different certificate training programs since July 2008. Emevmo Biakolo, the dean of the school,said these were started to address what he saw as a real lack of education and low quality reportingamong working business journalists. A typical seminar is 15 to 20 participants in size. In all, theyheld eight programs in 2008, and hope to hold another 10 to 12 in 2009. 73 Their trainings are beingtaken advantage of by the top newspapers in Nigeria, including The Guardian, Business Day, Punch,Financial Standard, Vanguard, Tribune, Champion, Silverbird, Daar Communications, NTA and CoolFM, and are helping to fill a gap in a style of training that has long been missing. Their Business andEconomic Reporting course, which has proven popular among media houses in Nigeria, is a ten-daycourse spread out over two months, meeting one to two days per week.This course, mixing in both classroom lessons and field reporting, covers topics such as:• Business News and Features• Business and Professional Ethics• Business Indicators and Their Methods of Analysis• Financial Analysis; Analysis of Budget• Investment• Nigeria and the Global Business Environment• Practicum (for print, radio and TV)• Group Project (off-site);• Self-Management for the Business ReporterThe primary objectives of the course are to optimize the ability of journalists to understand andanalyze business, communicate about business in a clear and engaging way, and improve theirknowledge of the business environment in Nigeria, Africa and the world. They train on ethics, aswell, dealing with issues such as censorship and pressures on what they publish. Biakolo said whatmakes this difficult to teach is that every situation is unique, so they focus more on how to beinnovative and entrepreneurial in dealing with barriers, such as finding new markets and increasing72 Nigerian Interviewee #1 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.73 Emevmo Biakolo. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 14.– 25 –
Page 1 and 2: THEREWILLBE INKA study of journalis
Page 3 and 4: AcknowledgementsThis paper has bene
Page 7 and 8: Executive SummaryPurpose of the Rep
Page 9 and 10: journalists in these countries that
Page 11 and 12: Existing International Training Opp
Page 13 and 14: • Consumer Affairs and Informatio
Page 15 and 16: Background 3Of the three countries
Page 17 and 18: pervasive conflict in the Niger Del
Page 19 and 20: 3) Crises or disruptions, where som
Page 21 and 22: Low pay and low regardOne of the mo
Page 23 and 24: Even in cases where working journal
Page 25 and 26: But while some reporters think FOIB
Page 27 and 28: When asked how much the media could
Page 29: the effects of these challenges for
Page 33 and 34: journalist said he has, however,
Page 35 and 36: completely make use of some of the
Page 37 and 38: money. Their knowledge of what medi
Page 39 and 40: Notes on conducting research in Nig
Page 41 and 42: Ghana- 35 -
Page 43 and 44: evenues each year,” 106 which wou
Page 45 and 46: entertainment news, scandals, and p
Page 47 and 48: The rise of business-focused journa
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Page 51 and 52: needed supplementary income to cash
Page 53 and 54: as supporting one political party o
Page 55 and 56: Numerous journalists recounted how
Page 57 and 58: Training programs available to busi
Page 59 and 60: Amos Safo, editor-in-chief at the p
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Page 63 and 64: Background 136Literacy and Educatio
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Page 67 and 68: or criminal charges for content the
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Page 71 and 72: The majority of those interviewed b
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Page 75 and 76: Notes on Conducting Research in Uga
Page 77 and 78: Recommendations for Revenue Watch I
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analyzes business,” he said, “e
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A journalist with The Punch said,
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The Media Foundation for West Afric
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Length of TrainingRoughly three-qua
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industries, for instance, ought to
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otherwise being published in the pr
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Non-Training Recommendations for Ug
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Appendix A: NigeriaPotential Partne
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journalists. Biakolo is very profes
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Television Stations• Nigerian Tel
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have two to four month professional
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City: AccraTelephone: +233 (021) 22
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Fax: +256 414 255 495E-mail: umdf@a
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• What do you think are the most
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Appendix E: Survey Questions1. Name
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18. How effective were the teaching
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28. What are the most important cha
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1. Journalists by Country2. How wou
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5. How often do you travel out of t
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9. Which organization(s) sponsored
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12. After completing the training(s
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