Foundation trains editors
The Daily Trust Foundation, with the support of the MacArthur Foundation (Africa), yesterday in Abuja began a training programme on investigative reporting for editors.
The three-day editors’ chair training brought together about 30 editors from several media organisations based in and outside of Abuja.
The Director, MacArthur Foundation (Africa), Dr Kole Shettima, said the Foundation was assisting independent media as a precursor to establishing a democratic society and hold those in power accountable for what they do.
“We are conscious of the relationship between editorial and financial independence, and we think that one way to support editorial independence and quality investigative report is to see how to support organisations to enable them undertake some of the hard-hitting reporting that is required to hold our duty bearers responsible for the task they have set upon themselves,” Shettima said.
He said that since funds available to the Foundation would not be enough to build schools, deliver water projects, electricity or build hospitals, people’s lives could be improved upon through investigative reporting.
“We thought that if we support investigative reporting in unearthing some of the shenanigans that go on our procurement process, probably we would be able to contribute to the growth and development of our society,” he stated.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer/Editor-in-Chief of Media Trust Limited, publishers of the Daily Trust and other titles, Malam Mannir DanAli, said in these days of the internet, only investigative stories could save news organisations.
He said editors must go beyond the normal, adding that editors should be of benefit to others and not to themselves alone.
According to him, it is important for editors to plan to follow through and do follow-up stories.
“Without the media shining light into all those dark places we are doomed,” he said.
He also emphasised planning, saying “You cannot do anything as an editor if you don’t understand one thing and that is planning. You cannot be an editor if you don’t plan because it is central to all our work. If you plan, you are least likely to fail, but if you don’t plan, you are most likely to fail.”
He said the government had been fighting against the wrong perception and would continue to do so through foreign lobbies and media engagements “because it has hampered our development and growth.”
The minister had, during the 2020 budget defence of his ministry before the Senate Committee on Culture, said N105m was proposed for the image laundering.