INFORMATION
building
The
skills of
Nigerian
media
by Susan Dauda
& Nafi sah Ahmad
12
Benjamin Charles Williams of PeaceTech Lab speaks to
participants of the Confl ict Sensitive Reporting workshop
David Ajikobi of Africa Check facilitating
the training on Fact Checking in Lagos
A
CROSSROADS | May/June 2018
Bill Hinchberger at the
Channels Television offi ces
in Abuja
s part of efforts to build the
capacity of Nigerian media, the
Public Affairs Section of the U.S.
Embassy organized a series of
workshops for journalists from
February to April 2018. With
trainers drawn from within and
outside the country, the Embassy
collaborated with organizations
including Channels Television, Africa
Check and Code for Nigeria. Themes
for the workshops included data
journalism, fact checking, covering
communal violence, election coverage,
and advanced journalism. Information
Offi cer of the U.S. Embassy Russell
Brooks these trainings were meant
to increase the capability of the
media, transparency, democracy and
good governance in Nigeria. As the
country prepares for the 2019 general
elections the trainings will support
institutions involved in the elections to
promote fair, transparent, and peaceful
processes.
During the election reporting workshop
the participants had the opportunity
to interact with various stakeholders
involved in the electoral process.
Representatives of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC)
briefed them from a government
standpoint, while members from the
Open Society Initiative for West Africa
(OSIWA) spoke from the civil society
viewpoint.
The fact checking training was an
opportunity to remind journalists about