Women Radio trains OgunWatch reporter, 19 others in investigative reporting
The Women Radio Center in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation has trained OgunWatch’s reporter, Gift Barry-Oba, and 19 other female journalists on investigative reporting.
The 20 participants who were selected from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria representing their medium, Arise News, Ogunwatch, Premium Times, The Cable, Champion Newspapers, Dux FM, PM News, Lasu radio, BUK FM, Freelancers among others on 3-days training at the center in Arepo, Ogun state.
The 2024 training, centered on investigative reporting& storytelling, safety concerns for female journalists, ethics and investigative tools in reporting, fact-checking and social media tools, and data journalism.
Toun Sonaiya, chief executive officer (CEO) of the center, noted that it was important to train women journalists to tell under-reported stories that affect their gender.
She disclosed that the center has trained 63 journalists based on their capacity, and over the three years, they have trained over 3,000 applicants, and they will keep training more.
She said, “It’s very important for women to tell the story of other women. If we do not empower and build the capacity of female journalists to do their work well, our stories will not be reported properly.”
“There are so many unreported stories of women. And we found out that when we build the capacity of the female journalists in their communities across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, they will be able to tell the stories from their angles.”
Speaking at the training Dapo Olorunyomi, lamented that the portrayal of women and its issues are not getting better in the media, he advocated that there is a need for the participants to give voice to the voiceless.
Speaking to the beneficiaries, Mosunmola Ogi-Olu , a reporterfrom Arise News stated that, the training served as an eye opener and a motivation to drive her career.
“ The training has been very insightful because of the fact t people who practice investigative journalism so now, seeing other young people who do this, I’m encouraged and motivated to try new things because eventually we are giving a service to humanity.
Also speaking , Angel Nduka-Nwosu, a freelance writer, said the training was intentional and engaging.
“The training was very beautiful, I have been to other workshops and training and I must say this one was very intentional and even thou these are topics I am exposed to, the facilitators are hands-on and practical.
“ I am very thankful and grateful to the organizers, I have been able to learn from people who are professionals in the field” She added.
Facilitators for the 2024 training are, Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of Premium Times Nigeria, Dr Suleiman Yar’Adua of Bayero University Kano, Idris Akinbajo, managing editor of Premium Times Nigeria, and Busola Ajibola, deputy director at the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).
Other include, Charles Mbah, programme lead at Dataphyte; Maxine Danso, senior researcher at Dubawa Ghana; and Anas Aremeyaro, an undercover investigative journalist from Ghana.
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