Trust Foundation Trains Journalists On Safety In Conflict Reporting

Daily Trust Foundation in collaboration with the City University of London has trained 22 journalists selected from diverse media outlets in conflict safety reporting.

The board member, Daily Trust Foundation, Mannir Dan-Ali in his opening remarks said the training is part of efforts to improve conflict reporting in Nigeria.

He admonished journalists to avoid taking sides in reporting conflicts in order not to be consumed by the conflict.

Dan-Ali said though Nigeria has become a conflict scene, reporting conflicts in Nigeria “does not consume lives” like those of other countries of the world.

He said such maybe perhaps because journalists were not really doing their job but rather romancing the egos of news makers.

Dan-Ali, however, noted that much effort needed to be put in place to ensure the safety of journalists in conflict regions.

He stressed that though journalism was not Public Relations, journalists must avoid reports that aid conflict but rather tilt towards reports that dampen conflicts.

The resource persons Dr Tasiu Abdullahi, Director of PhD programme, Department of Journalism, City University and Dr Theophilus Abbah, took journalists on “Safety of Journalists in Conflict Reporting” and Discussion on “Safety Issues affecting Nigerian Journalists “respectively.

The programme officer of Daily Trust Foundation Immam Nma Shuaib said 400 journalists have so far benefited from its training programme.