Safer-Media Initiative Trains Journalists on Investigative Journalism

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Peter Iorter
Founder/Executive Director,
Safer-Media Initiative

Safer- Media Initiative has trained 39 journalists on investigative reporting to uncover the untold stories that abound at the grassroots level.

The two-day capacity-building workshop on July 6 and 7, 2022, was tagged ‘Strengthening grassroots governance and accountability reporting’ will have the second phase conducted in Makurdi, the Benue state capital, after which journalists in Nasarawa will also be trained.

At the commencement of the training at Maitama in Abuja, the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, Peter Iorter said the training which was with the support from MacArthur Foundation is anchored on the need to strengthen journalists to best promote democracy and development.

He explained that things seem to be in a sorry situation across the country and it is only trustworthy and fearless journalism that is needed to reboot the system.

Peter said obtaining trustworthy information would only be ascertained through the strengthening of journalists’ skills to be able to uncover misdeeds in society.

According to him, soon the country will be going into general elections and citizens need to make informed decision.

He said: “At a time everything seems broken, as it is now in Nigeria only trustworthy and fearless journalism is needed, and at this time trustworthy information is needed more than ever, and the only way to achieve that is to strengthen the reporting skills of journalists so that they can go out there and uncover what is working and what is not working.

The guest speaker at the training, Prof. Abiodun Adeniyi of Baze University, Abuja, encouraged journalists to be more professional in reporting especially on issues that will add value to the journalism profession and the country.

During his presentations, Hassan Adebayo of Premium Times, taught the participants about Investigative reporting and story-building techniques, development, and data journalism for covering the community. He also made a presentation on sources handling in investigative reporting, impact generation for investigative journalism, story lab, and redesigning of story pitch

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The two-day training attracted active male and female journalists from both prints, online and electronic media in Abuja.