THERE WILL BE INK - Initiative for Policy Dialogue

Extending TrainingsDevcoms provides a good model for how to lengthen trainings and increase behavioral change.Akin Jimoh said that there is a need for continuous mentoring alongside of training, with a longterminterpersonal relationship between the trainer and trainee. 193 Lanre Arogundade recommendedthat trainings should also be extended through materials. This includes producing training materialson CD-ROMs, and not just printed versions of them, so that journalists can share these materials.Another way to continue training is to create online “discussion forums.” 194 Devcoms does this,posing a question of the week for journalists respond to and discuss, addressing an aspect ofjournalism, such as a particular challenge they are facing.Size of TrainingsThe size of the trainings interviewees participated in averaged 20 to 30 trainees. This appears to bethe norm, no matter which organization is doing the training. It could be a function of spaceconstraints; the facilities in places like the School of Media and Communications and theInternational Press Centre, where trainings are frequently held, are classrooms that holdapproximately this number of people. Trainings of this size are also beneficial because they providetrainees an opportunity for two-way discussion, in addition to lectures, which facilitates a valuableexchange of ideas. Many of our interviewees not only cited this as one of the key benefits of thesetrainings; they also emphasized the value of having trainees from more than one media house. Thisexpanded their network, within Nigeria and internationally, exposing them to different practices andtechniques. Such exposure to new practices played an important role in their ability to change andimprove their own methods as journalists.Training TechniquesThe trainings in Nigeria should focus on utilizing a diverse range of techniques, including lectures,workshops, field assignments, field trips and two-way discussion. Our interviews revealed that thereis not universal agreement on which of these works best, though none were flatly rejected as beingunhelpful. Our survey revealed that 87.5 percent of respondents reported seminars 195 to be “veryeffective.” Fifty percent of respondents said that they found lectures 196 to be “very effective,” while25 percent found them “fairly effective.” Regarding workshops 197 , 56.3 percent said they were “veryeffective,” and 25 percent said they were “fairly effective.” The conclusion is that, while seminarsare considered the most effective style of teaching, each of these styles should be incorporated intotrainings. Moreover, none of these techniques should necessarily be excluded as ineffective giventhat there was almost no response against them (0 percent found any of the three “very ineffective,”and only 12.5 percent said that lectures and workshops were “fairly ineffective”).What is more important is who is doing the teaching and what approach that person is taking. Thosedoing the training should primarily be people who have worked as journalists. Far too often, thetrainings done in Nigeria, particularly those by the CBN and the Stock Exchange, are done by193 Akin Jimoh. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.194 Lanre Arogundade. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 16.195 Seminars were defined as trainings in which trainers and students interact in active discussion.196 Lectures were defined as trainings in which trainers were the only ones speaking.197 Workshops were defined as trainings in which students were able to practice their learned skills in reporting.– 72 –