VC Tasks Media On Investigative Reporting

A professor of mass communication and vice chancellor of the Federal University Kashere (FUK), Gombe State, Professor Umaru Pate has tasked media practitioners in the country on investigative reporting.
He gave the charge yesterday during the Maiden Colloquium organised by an online newspaper Wikki Times with support from MacArthur Foundation for stakeholders in the media with the theme “News Desert: Sustaining Democracy Through Fearless Grassroots Accountability Journalism,” held at Mahcozy Guest House Gombe.

Pate opined that for the media houses to be credible and respected by the public, they should engage in investigative journalism with a view to revealing societal problems and holding leaders accountable to the masses.

“If we want the media to properly discharge the function of agenda setting, the media must engage in investigations. Not just investigation to reveal corruption or the stealing of government resources, there are several other issues,” he said.
The vice chancellor said investigative reporting requires courage adding that the assumption is that trained journalists are courageous and should do the needful in terms of investigations to effect change in the society.