The Africa Foundation for Young Media Professionals (AFYMP) has flagged off its 2023 media fellowship with a two-day intensive workshops for selected journalists from newsrooms across Africa.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP at the opening of the two-day workshop in Abuja on Monday, the Executive Director of AFYMP, Yinka Olaito, said the organization aimed at empowering next-generation, early-career journalists, who are more adaptable to the rapidly changing media landscape in Africa.
“We have seen the importance of money within the media landscape, so people need to know exactly what they need to do. Media viability and sustainability are crucial aspects for the success and impact of any media organization because there’s no business without money.
“So the essence of media entrepreneurship is to help participants build the necessary media business skills, develop their capacity to become a better and a formidable media organization,” Olaito said.
The editor-in-chief of Premium Times, Dapo Olorunyomi, represented by Idris Akinbajo, at his session, which dwelled on ‘idea, creativity, and innovation for media industry success’, encouraged participants to uphold the professional ethics of journalism and remain competent in order to overcome the challenges of content generation, distribution and sustainability.
Another facilitator, Aro Leonard, who taught ‘Content Strategy, Revenue Generation and the Business of News’, urged participants to focus on content-led marketing in order to generate income.
A former media aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Tolu Ogunlesi, took the participants on news gathering, ethics and professionalism.
For his part, Managing Director of Dataphyte, Joshua Olufemi, represented by Seyi Olufemi, encouraged participants to combat fake news by using data as he facilitated the course titled ‘Data Utilization and Fact Checking’.
One of the participants, Jairus Awo, a freelance journalist and founder of the MiddleBelt reporters described the fellowship as a shift.
“I went into media entrepreneurship with some basic knowledge but this particular fellowship has helped me a lot. It made me overhaul my vision because I discovered that what I was doing before, there were some things I could’ve done if I had this knowledge.
“Being part of the AFYMP fellowship especially the media entrepreneurship fellowship is really a shift. This particular fellowship has helped me a lot”, he added.
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