Photograph of some of the journalists at the capacity training by MAJI in Port Harcourt
From Blessing Ibunge, Port Harcourt
Journalists in Rivers State have been trained to use data to improve on their understanding and response to issues bothering on the society.
A Non-Governmental Organisation, the Media Awarness and Justice Initiative (MAJI), that organized the training yesterday in Port Harcourt, noted that data collection during an investigation will increase the quantity and quality of the news and information which will form a better decision by the actors in the issue reported.
The Coordinator of MAJI, Mr Okoro Emmanuel, said the media training with the theme “Capacity Building on Environmental Reporting using Data Analysis and Participatory Media Tools for Journalists in Rivers State” was supported by the French Embassy in Nigeria.
He stated that the aim of the training was to work with the media to know how they can access accurate and simplified data through their portal.
“The portal we are talking about is an environmental inclined portal that simplifies available information, we want these informations to be further used if they are simplified and this portal will bridge the gap in simplification within one month to six weeks.
“We know that for effective policy delivery and intervention, we need stakeholders like government and regulatory agencies, we need journalists to simplify data in their reporting which effectively targets those regulatory agencies.
Okoro noted that the portal will be used by journalists, researchers, schools and the public who need information for their projects to develop key data that can solve particular challenges being faced by Niger Deltans.
“We call on journalists in the Niger Delta and across Nigeria to start accessing data where available and also use open source tools on their mobile, computers and internet to simplify information and have effective report in their jobs.
One of the resource person at the training, Mr Kentebe Ebiraida, Coordinator, Oilwatch international, said that the idea of training journalists was to enable them know how to make use of Statistics and data while reporting environmental incidents in Niger Delta and across Nigeria.
Ebiraida, urged journalists to transform information they gather to power and use it to transform policies in terms of environment.
However, participants at the training said that the training had helped them understand the advantages of Statistics and other informations that could assist in reporting effectively.
