Foundation trains 28 journalists on investigative photojournalism

Daily Trust Foundation has started training 28 journalists on investigative photojournalism to deepen their understanding and use of photos to tell stories.

The three-day intensive training, which started yesterday in Abuja, brought together photojournalists, reporters, editors and participants from non-governmental organisations.

The chairman of the Foundation, Malam Wada Maida, said the training was made possible by the funding support from MacArthur Foundation.

Maida said the Foundation has in the past three years trained journalists across the country free, with facilitators from Europe, South East Asia and Nigeria.

“The support from MacArthur for this training is to ensure that you are equipped with the capacity to hold government accountable to the people,” the chairman told the participants.

He said the new grant from MacArthur Foundation would be used to equip journalists with multimedia skills, including digital production, photography, data visualisation and the like.

“Photography is gradually becoming the mainstream in our trade, with the emphasis on visual journalism, where you have virtual reality, documentaries, interactive infographics and illustrations’’, he said.

The Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief of Media Trust Limited, Malam Mannir Dan-Ali, told participants to retool and acquire multimedia skills to match the changing nature of journalism.

Dan-Ali said good photographs complement stories and attract the attention of readers, adding that journalists’ conscious of this would remain relevant in the profession.

The Editor-in-Chief urged the participants to develop interest in capturing moments that tell good stories with the lenses of their cameras.

He advised them to be inclusive and mindful of not just photographing only politicians and rich people in the society as the media belong to all.