By: Alex Victor
Press council; The polytechnic Ibadan on 13th February 2020 held a seminar titled, “The Dynamics of Journalism in the 21st Century”, which took place in a closed WhatsApp group.
The Press Council Chairman, Gbolagade Sunday welcome everyone who made out time for the seminar and also apologies were rendered for starting late. He then introduced the facilitator of the seminar who is the current National Union of Campus Journalist (NUJC) President and also the Executive Director of Develop Africa Now Initiative(DANI) in person of Comrade Ajala Samuel Akindele.
Speaking on the topic ” The Dynamics Of Journalism in the 21st century” Comrade Ajala Akindele define journalism as a tool for social change, He then said that the dynamics of journalism in the 21st century has portrayed that the practice of journalism should be for social impact.
He went further to discuss How to be dynamic as a campus journalist in the 21st century.
- Know the ethics of Journalism
“We all know that in this profession we have ethics in the conduct of Journalism. Ethics refers to the code and conduct of Journalism. Some of the ethics are accuracy, unbiased, fact, balance reporting, etc”. You must know the ethics of the profession. - Follow the ethics
It’s not enough to know the ethics of Journalism without following. In the profession, a lot of people know ethics but they don’t follow it. To be dynamic as a campus Journalist you have to follow the ethics of the latter. - Practice Journalism without fear
In this profession, you must learn to practice Journalism without Fear or intimidation.
As a Journalist, you must learn to be courageous. Having access to information and fact has a way of boosting your courage. There is a saying that knowledge is liberation.
Your access to practical and knowledge liberates you from fear or intimidation. - Invest in self-development.
Research has shown that to become a master in any profession, you must dedicate at least 2 hours every day to read and study in your field.
Invest in reading great pieces, books, and other materials that will boost and sharpen your knowledge in the field. - Invest in capacity building
It’s important that as a campus Journalist you attend Capacity building conferences and workshop for personal development.
“I am here today in campus Journalism because I invested my time in attending2, webinars, and conferences that have contributed to my growth”. - Mentorship and Internship
To survive in the field of Journalism you need a mentor who has gone further ahead of you to put you through. For instance, I have mentors like Dapo Olorunyomi, Chido Onumah, and Idris Akinbajo who have played the role of mentoring me in the field.
The internship is also important. When you are having a break, you can look out for media firms to intern with them so you can gain real-time experience - Impact driven story
When you run an impact-driven story, it will make you dynamic as a campus Journalist in the 21st century.
He then ended his presentation with this word “Don’t forget to be a dynamic campus Journalist in the 21st century, passion is key, capacity is King”.
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