Fake news and its negative effects on journalism practice were the focus of panelists at a journalism workshop organised by PriceWatersCooper, PWC, in Lagos on Tuesday.
The one day workshop had as participants, journalists across both traditional and new media platforms
The highlight of the workshop was a panel session on the topic “The future of news- Journalism in the Age of Trump.”
The panel had as discussants, Frank Aigbogun, Publisher businessday; Simon Kolawole, Publisher TheCableNG; and Wole Famurewa of CNBC Nigeria.
The discussants, who all agreed that the internet has changed journalism practice, explored the issue of fake news and how journalists can prepare for the future.
In his contribution, Mr. Aigbogun noted that proper capacity building and adequate training must be encouraged among journalists to battle the scourge of fake news.
According to him, professional journalists will only stand out among the lot if their contents are rich and reflect depth, understanding of subject matter and ethical concerns.
Mr. Kolawole, on his part, explained that fake news and unverified reports have done severe harm to the corporate existence of Nigeria in the last three years, adding that there might be need for some sort of regulation in the nearest future.
The annual workshop, which is now in its fourth year with over 200 journalists benefitting from the training, is a major component of PwC’s corporate responsibility strategy, instituted in recognition of the very important role of the media in society.
“Our support for the media through this workshop and the media excellence award is in line with our purpose which is to build trust in society and solve important problems,” said Uyi Akapata, Country Senior Partner, PwC Nigeria in his opening remarks at the session.
“It is a demonstration of our strong belief that for the Nigerian people to enjoy good governance, the media must perform its role optimally and professionally and this is reflected in the quality of reporting, in the capacity of individual journalists to carry out research and investigations, in the independence of editorial judgments, and in their ability to use technology as an enabler,” he added.
Other presentations at the workshop included a session on “Tracking amd Reporting the SDGs” facilitated by Mories Atoki, a senior manager and Sustainability lead at PwC Nigeria. Similarly, founder and lead partner at BudgIT, Seun Onigbinde, facilitated a session on “Using data to transform the news and provide insights”.
The final session facilitated by PwC’s Head of Tax, Taiwo Oyedele, and Kenneth Erikume, also a tax partner with the firm, focused on the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) and the role the media can play in making Nigeria a tax paying nation.
https://www.hopefornigeriaonline.com/govt-commercialise-nigerias-state-house-clinic/
