Key Counsel NIJ Provost Gave Journalists At BBC Forensic Training

By Oluwaseyi Jimoh

Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Mr Gbenga Adefaye, at recent Forensic training of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in Lagos, gave what could pass as key counsel to practitioners.

Adefaye, former Editor In Chief of Vanguard Newspaper was joined by his deputy, Dr Adeboye Ola, in providing key advices to the participants.

He advised the participants to make effective use of the skills they were impacted with at the training, rather than build hope on just their academic qualifications.

In his words: “In my twenty five years of hiring and firing as the former Editor-in-Chief of Vanguard Newspaper, I don’t look at your grade, I look at the skills you possess, e g, what you can do; can you write a news story; write a sound Editorial and conduct an interview?

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“These are the skill-sets that set you apart.

“What you’ve acquired today are to be used because those in top media houses will be glad to pay for these”

Also speaking at the forensic training, the Deputy Provost of the institution, Dr Ola urged the student-participanst to keep striving for excellence.

This he said would help them make the difference in the media Industry.

The training which began with a webinar session from London was an eye opener, to storytelling as effective tool in news reporting, and also the importance of OSIN- Open Source Intelligence in an era of  heightened disinformation propagated by Artificial intelligence and digital technology.

The next session was anchored by two resource personalities.

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Mr Chiagozie Fred, a senior journalist with the global disinformation team, was one of the anchors in the session that followed.

Encouraging the students to shun speculation by verifying information available to them, though the BBC may not be first in breaking the news, but that it maintains credibility by verifying stories before using.

This, he said had made the channel the most trusted media platform.

In addition to practical sessions that left impressive impact on the students, the session with Mr Joseph- the Editor of News, BBC Pidgin was no less impactful.

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