The annual newsletter celebrates the growth, triumphs, and lessons that defined 2024 at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) through our programmes – Civic Space Guard, Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability (CMEDIA) project, Report Women! programme and the Journalism & Society Conversations. WSCIJ led the charge in media sustainability and the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and journalism through groundbreaking training and conversations. As we prepare to celebrate our 20th Anniversary this year, we recommit to promoting a just, inclusive, transparent, and accountable society stimulated by ethical and sustainable media with investigative reporting as a tool.
Civic Space Guard
Through a collaboration with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, WSCIJ organised five events that attracted 807 attendees and engaged 20 resource persons. 18 investigative journalists from across Nigeria attended the Masterclass on Holistic Safety for Journalists. 200 others also benefited from step-down training sessions conducted by the journalists. WSCIJ published and launched the 2024 Journalism and Civic Space report, which assessed the state of civic space in Nigeria, convened a high-level meeting with security sector leaders and other stakeholders to discuss measures to improve journalist safety and fortify civic space and honoured 15 investigative journalists at the 19th Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting (WSAIR).
Collaborative Media Engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability (CMEDIA) project
For the CMEDIA project, supported by the MacArthur Foundation, WSCIJ and its 26 partners recorded substantial progress in promoting collaboration and sustainability within the media. WSCIJ organised training on collaboration and media sustainability for partners, established investigative desk at Harmony FM, Kwara State owned by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and gave project and organisational support to the partners. Through our partners, 767 journalists and editors were trained on subnational reporting, while 635 mass communication students were also equipped with valuable skills.
The partners published 211 stories covering women, People with Disabilities (PWDs), government, and the private sector – many of which became 2024’s most impactful media stories. A cross-border undercover smuggling investigation, medical certificate fraud in Kwara hospitals, and abandoned hospitals in Sokoto despite multimillion-naira budgets, are examples of impactful journalism executed by CMEDIA partners in 2024. CMEDIA partners held 13 town hall meetings, produced 2,000 copies of annual report on freedom of expression, hosted 43 weekly episodes, and helped 60 journalists make 60 FOI requests. These collective efforts helped to strengthen the media’s role in promoting inclusivity and accountability at the local and state government levels.
Report Women
The Report Women! programme was 10 in 2024. As part of the celebration, we launched the Expert Source Guide website, to address the underrepresentation of women in newsrooms by providing journalists with a diverse pool of female experts with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. WSCIJ published the ‘Who Leads the Newsrooms and News’, report to highlight gender disparities in newsroom leadership and news coverage, engaged 118 media managers and staff across four organisations, with the report and supported nine fellows of the Report Women! Female Reporters Leadership Programme (FRLP) to execute leadership and story projects. Their stories reached over 3.15 million people.
WSCIJ Journalism & Society Conversations
WSCIJ led investigative journalism and industry discussions through the Journalism & Society Conversations. In the past year, WSCIJ hosted 37 editions, featured 179 experts, and had over 20,000 listeners.
