By Augustine Aminu

Nigerian journalists have been charged to give more media space to issues of environmental sustainability by communicating science in an accessible and inclusive way. 

The CEO, Almak Media, Abuja Aliu Akoshile stated this at the ongoing Media Management and Entrepreneurship Workshop organised by Daily Trust Foundation with the support of MacArthur foundation.

He said by giving scientists, activists, and policymakers a platform to speak directly to people, the media can powerfully translate the impacts of climate change in an understandable and a conceivable way.

Akoshile noted that local news organisations can show the impact of climate change in its communities own context.

According to him, news media portrayals of climate change should strongly influenced personal and global efforts to mitigate it through news production, individual media consumption, and personal engagement.

Earlier, the Chairman , Daily Trust Foundation,  Alhaji Bilya Bala  said

since 2017, the Foundation, with support from MacArthur Foundation, has conducted workshops for journalists in several aspects of emerging genres of journalism. 

“We have funded hundreds of stories and documentaries investigated and published by journalists across media platforms,” he said.

Bala however, said the training  deliberately planned to meet media needs in this age of The Internet.

“Media and Journalism are at the crossroads. The path to the future is foggy. But not taking steps forward is dangerous and deadly. 

“This training is to expose media executive to the kinds of knowledge they must have to effectively fashion the way forward for their organizations”. 

Also, the Chairman, Media Trust Group, Malam Kabiru Yusuf in his presentation Leadership and Management: Lessons for Media Managers said, leaders must cultivate a new, technologically linked social infrastructure that by design promotes constant interaction across physical and geographical boundaries, as well as self-organized discourse and exchange.

According to him, creativity remains key to the success goal set for any media organisation.

The Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State, Professor Umar Pate delivering his lecture on  Contemporary Global and Local Media Landscap: Imperatives for Sustainability said the media is in a very difficult time globally and needs financial empowerment.

He said Media industry in Nigeria and, indeed globally, is experiencing existential challenges. These challenges are both internal and external. They border on credibility, funding, technical capacity, quality content, safety of media workers, as well as changing audience’s tastes and expectations.

According to the Don, uncertain operational and policy environment, and weak capacity for investigative and data driven journalism as well as social media is hugely compounding the woes of the conventional media, in multiple of ways.

Professor Pate advocated that the media in Nigeria needs support to develop in different areas if it must continue to survive.

Director (Africa) MacArthur foundation, Dr. Kole Shettima said the media as the watch dog is saddled with the responsibility of holding every government accountable for good governance.

Represented by Dayo Olaide in a presentation , Media Sustainability, Vital For Democracy in Africa said that the survival of Nigerian democracy rested with the media who must provoke public discourse and then hold the leaders to account.

“The role of the press in a democracy is multi-faceted and Democracy will not long survive without a vibrant, independent, innovative and patriotic press”.

“While the landscape within which the press operates has changed in dramatic ways, the duties of the press and the public expectation of them remains the same.

“We expect journalists and media organisations to maintain a high level of professional conduct; we demand accurate reporting and detailed analysis of public policy and expect the media to continue to defend citizens’ rights, hold the powerful to account and promote the public good through the honourable practice of journalism”.