Speakers at the third edition of the Amplify In-depth Media (AIM) Conference and Awards, held in Abuja on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 December 2023, have called on journalists and the news media to embrace ethics and technology for an independent media. The two-day event was organised by the Media and Journalism (MAJ) cohort of the MacArthur Foundation led by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.
In his keynote address titled ‘From attention to intimacy: Journalism in the age of artificial intelligence’, Dapo Olorunyomi, Publisher of Premium Times and founder of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), noted that journalism is a practice that must be done well. Despite technological innovations, he emphasised that journalism practice must be rooted in a democratic tradition and fundamental ethics of truth, accuracy, and verification.
Amina Salihu, acting deputy director of the MacArthur Foundation, and Dina Sabi, the second secretary of the Netherlands Embassy in Nigeria, lauded the organisers’ commitment to foster democracy through their work in the media space. Salihu acknowledged the symbiotic relationship between journalists and civil societies, underlining journalists’ role in ensuring accountability and transparency across all levels of governance. Sabi on her part, highlighted the media’s responsibility in empowering society through access to accurate and timely information.
Discussing the keynote address, panellists Deji Adekunle, programme director of NAMIP, and Naziru Abubakar, executive director/editor-in-chief of Daily Trust, called on journalists and media organisations to take introspection seriously and seek to strengthen their financial stability and independence. The session was moderated by Kimberly Nwachukwu, a senior reporter with Nigeria Info. In the conversation titled, ‘Media regulation and independence: Where is the balance?’ and moderated by Sharon Ijasan, Senior Correspondent at TVC News, panellists discussed how the media have been suppressed through regulations and insisted on objective reporting.
Motunrayo Alaka, in a breakout workshop, took the participants through the rudiments of crafting compelling investigative story pitches that resonate with audiences and effectively convey the issues spotlighted, even as Juliana Francis, the Deputy Editor of Eagle Online; and Deji Badmus, Founder of TV360, shared their experiences on how their investigative reports have produced impacts and shaped public opinions beyond earning them awards. Moderated by Emiene Odaudu of Allwomen Media, the session, ‘Ownership structure and media independence’, featured Ahaziah Suleiman of Voice of Nigeria; Oluchi Anams of AD4TVRadio; Yusuf Alli of The Nation and Victoria Bamas of International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR). Alli admonished young journalists to be confident in ownership and control of their work. He urged them to be courageous to hold authorities accountable. Victoria Bamas noted that ICIR has diverse funding sources to mitigate external interference in their operations.
Kunle Adebajo of HumAngle moderated the ‘Media sustainability and the town and gown’ conversation. On the panel were Umaru Pate, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Kashere; Theophilus Abbah, the Director of Daily Trust; Chinedu Anumudu, a lecturer at the Baze University; and Sharon Ijasan, of TVC News. Usifo Omozokpea of The Conversation Africa and Titilope Fadare of SciDev.Net took participants on the use of AI tools like Tableau, TinEye and Signal AI during the ‘Investigative Journalism and AI-101: Future of Investigative Journalism in the Wake of AI’ workshop. The session ‘Ethical considerations in journalism: Gatekeeping for journalism in a digital age: Are there still gates?’ was moderated by Azubuike Ishiekwene, Editor-in-Chief of Leadership Group. The panellists urged journalists to verify information before going to press.
Panellists at ‘Innovative tools and strategies for independent journalism in the digital age’ session encouraged journalists to embrace digital tools to better the quality of their work. Nkem Agunwa, Programme Manager of WITNESS Africa, moderated the session. The session ‘Media business models: What is working? What’s new? What’s missing?’, moderated by Kayode Akintemi, Managing Director of News Central, enjoined media organisation to ensure that stories are factual and true to avoid litigations. Dapo Olorunyomi, urged news organisations to follow the technology trend to meet up with the demands of sustainability at a workshop focused on ‘Entrepreneurial Journalism’ held during the conference.
In a session on ‘Donor funding for investigative journalism: How does investigative journalism live beyond intervention?’ moderated by Motunrayo Alaka , the panellists – Amina Salihu, Dayo Aiyetan, Executive Director ICIR, and Toyin Akinniyi, Vice President Luminate Foundation, advised media organisations to explore alternative funding for their investigative reports. In the final conversation, Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, Director, Institute of Continuing Education, University of Lagos, and other panellists advised journalists to consider all age groups when writing their stories to diversify their audience base.
The conference concluded with the 18th Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting presentation event, hosted with support of the Netherlands Embassy. WSCIJ conferred both the Human Rights Defender Award and Lifetime Award for Journalistic Excellence posthumously on Lai Oso for his remarkable contribution to human rights and the field of journalism and awarded 10 journalists. Kemi Busari of Dubawa, won the online category with his piece ‘INVESTIGATION: ‘Baba Aisha Herbal Medicine’: The deadly concoction consumed by many Nigerians’ while Beloved John who pubished on the International Centre for Investigative Reporting platform, was runner-up with her story ‘London Graduate School: The ‘Degree Mill’ selling fake honorary doctorate to Africans’; Sharon Ijasan of TVC News won the TV category with her two-part story ‘Human trafficking sad realities of trafficked Nigerians in Libya, West Africa’; and Lami Sadiq of Daily Trust won the print category with her work ‘Organ exploitation: How Abuja syndicate lured minor for kidney harvest’.
Victor Asowata of The Will Newspaper was runner-up in the cartoon category with ‘Power Grabbers 2023’, while. Omolabake Fasogbon’s ‘Inside Story of Lagos Building Collapse where Regulator Mortgage Lives for as low as N50,000)’ in ThisDay, Ayodele Adeniran’s ‘Naira Swap’ in The Guardian, Chukwuemeka Emenike’s ‘Failure of regulatory agencies’ in New Telegraph, Marcus Fatunmole’s “How North Korean runs illegal hospital patronised by the high and mighty in Abuja” in ICIR, and Folashade Ogunrinde’s ‘JusticeforBamishe: How lawyers’ absence, slack laws, courts’ apathy dampen families’ hope for justice’ were commended in the print, photo, cartoon, online and television category respectively. Read about the 10-winning works here.
Signed:
WSCIJ Team
