It was indeed a moment of professional
orientation, tutelage and career rekindling, as the National Union of Campus
Journalists, Unizik Chapter got inaugurated in Awka, Anambra State.
By Izunna Okafor
The three-day event which
held between 8th-10th August took place at Prof. Stella Okunna Legacy Building,
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Main Campus, featuring a series of theoretical
and practical lectures on Journalism.
Inaugurating the union, the
State's Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Hon. C-Don Adinuba
described journalism as a very important profession in every society, owing to
its enormous roles of informing, engaging, educating, enlightening, mobilizing
and entertaining the people, all with the aim of making the society a better
place to live.
Hon. Adinuba, who was
represented by the MD/CEO of Anambra Newspapers and Printing Corporation —
publishers of National Light Newspaper, Ka Ọ Dị Taa Igbo Newspaper and
Spotlight Xtra — Sir Chuka Nnabuife
reminded the Young Journalists that anyone who must practice journalism must do
that in line with principle of objectivity and the ethics guiding the
profession, so as to be the change maker and problem solver a Journalist is
meant to be in the society, rather than being part of the problem to be solved,
especially by way of stirring up societal unrest.
Also speaking, the Director
of Unizik 94.1 FM and immediate past Dean of Social Science Faculty in the
University, Prof. Stella Okunna charged the participants to always verify their
news before disseminating, as Journalists, owing to the fact that they are the
only people the masses depend on for reliable information; as, according to
her, fake news has a chain of effects on the audience and the society at large.
Defining fake news as a
news story which the writer or disseminator knows to be untrue, but still
disseminates it in order to deceive or mislead others; the first female
Professor of Mass Communication in Nigeria frown at Journalists who do such
things, which she described as unethical and unprofessional, even as she urged
the burgeoning Journalists never to trial that paths.
On his own part, the MD/CEO
of Anambra Broadcasting Service, Chief Uche Nworah who lectured the
participants on Introduction To Journalism charged them to have strong zeal and
passion for the profession, rather than channel their attention towards money.
He highlighted certain
relevant skills required of anyone who practices journalism, to include basic
communication and writing skills, ICT skill, networking skill, multi-tasking skill
among others, and further exposed them to the various opportunities that abound
in the field.
Others who delivered
lectures at the interactive event, including the Secretary General of NUJ in
Anambra State, Mr. Emmanuel Udeagha; Coordinator of the African Centre for
Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL), Mr. Chido Onumah; the Program
Manager, Premium Times Center For Investigative Journalism, Mr. Adedeji
Adekunle, and former NUJ Treasurer, Mrs. Monique Okechukwu, among others, dosed
out to the participants, the various tips that will enable them become eminent
Journalists and excel outstandingly in the prestigious field of journalism.
In their vote of thanks and
closing remarks respectively, the President of the union in the school, Mr.
Dimson Emmanuel, and the Editor-in-Chief of the union's publications, Miss
Chiamaka Okafor eulogized those who contributed in diverse ways towards the
success of the fecund event, especially the organizing team and the guest
lecturers, even as they charged the participants to put in consummate practice,
all they were taught, as according to them, that alone can make them to be
outstanding and eminent in the profession.
Appreciating the
organizers, a participant at the event, and
100-level student of Mass
Communication, Ms Peculiar Okemsinachi said "..they did a great job in
seeing that the program went pretty well, coupled with the knowledgeable guests
we had, who made the event a memorable one indeed; this is indeed a work well
done"
Among others, highpoints of
the event included cutting of the inauguration cake, questions and answers
sessions, networking among the participants and the guests, as well as the
"Show, Don't Tell" practical writing session.
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