Editors need to adapt quickly to emerging trends because “the landscape of journalism is changing faster than we can think,” the Chairman of Daily Trust Foundation, MaLlam Wada Maida said on Monday in Abuja.
He made this assertion in his remarks to mark the commencement of a week-long training programme for editors organised by the Daily Trust Foundation with support from MacArthur Foundation.
According to Maida, “The idea behind organising this training for our editors stems from the fact that the landscape of journalism is changing faster than we can think.
“This is because our audience/readers have changed; and the platforms available to disseminate information are also changing and increasing.
“There is apparent information overload in today’s world, such that an editor who does not keep pace with the trends will be left behind – he will produce a newspaper that no reader would be enthusiastic to read the next morning.
“The reality is that the media has converged; it is no longer as we used to know it.
“Previously, we talked about radio journalists, television journalists, newspaper journalists, data analysts, even expert feature writers or the crack reporters who took pride in being called a ‘newsman’.
“Today’s journalist has to know every aspect of journalism, because the platforms have converged into one.
“Modern journalism requires that we write our stories, upload photos, videos, and audios with them, and produce charts, graphs, and tables that visually explain the variables in the stories. In this way, journalists should learn to engage in multiple tasks.
He noted that it was “heart-warming to have editors of the major newspapers and online publications in Abuja gathered together in one room.
“ Though editors associate at various forums, it is rare to have competing editors in one room to expose them to a set of ideas, and to urge them to think in a common direction.
“You are privileged to share ideas with experts from the Press Association of London, one of the oldest news agencies and an institution renowned for training journalists in modern skills and practices.
The chairman expressed gratitude to the MacArthur Foundation for funding the Daily Trust Fundation’s various traing programmed.
He said “We are grateful to the MacArthur Foundation of the United States (which) provided the funds for this training. This is the sixth in the series of training in investigative journalism sponsored by the Foundation.
“So far the following training events have taken place: Introduction to Investigative and Data Journalism;Digital Journalism (targeted at production of documentaries);Large Data and Infographics Training;Investigating the Education Sector (with in-depth exposure to the contemporary education systems, and emphasis on the Universal Basic Education and the Home Grown School Feeding Programme); Investigating the Power (Electricity) Sector. During this training, journalists were exposed to the principles, practices and fundamental issues/problems facing the electricity sector in Nigeria.
“So far, over 125 reporters and line editors have undergone the training in investigative and data journalism in that last nine months, thanks to funding from the MacArthur Foundation. At the end of the session you will undergo in this week, we would have trained 153 reporters and editors, in all. Training and innovation are vital to the growth of any company or industry. That is why at the Daily Trust Foundation, we consider this a vital activity, which we hope to deepen in the coming years.
Speaking further on how far the landscape of journalism has changed, Maida recalled that: “There was a time when we thought that acquiring a computer to type one’s story was a revolution in journalism because it eliminated the typing pool.
“Today, it is not only the typist that is being removed from the newsroom, but also those who reject modern technology are becoming irrelevant in today’s journalism. Therefore, as editors, we must update our knowledge and skills, if we must cope with the demands of today’s journalism.”
