ASABA/Nigeria: The need for constant communication between government functionaries and media practitioners has been stressed as a means of sanitizing the social media space.
The Chief of Staff, Government House and Protocol, Asaba, Chief David Edevbie, made the call today in Asaba while declaring open a two-day capacity building workshop for press corps and media partners, with the theme, “Government and Media Partners for Development”.
Chief Edevbie who lauded the workshop as timely and revealing, said that the media space was changing rapidly from the traditional to the new media, saying it had brought about increased speed of transmitting news content to the audience.
While describing the changing trend as a worrisome challenge, the chief of staff harped on strategic partnership between government functionaries and the media to check the spread of fake news, misinformation and disinformation in the social media space.
The Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, in his goodwill message, encouraged the participating media practitioners to be open-minded, stressing that it would make them be better practitioner in the discharge of their roles.
According to the information commissioner, the training was put together to equip media practitioners with the requisite tools and techniques to effective play their duo role of informing government of what was happening to the people and the people on what government was doing.
On his part, the Senior Political Adviser to the governor, Rt Hon. Funkekeme Solomon, expressed worry at the rate everyone with a smart phone had transformed to a reporter on the new media, saying people needed to be well informed before they could set agenda.
He applauded the workshop, remarking that it would help to enhance the capacity of participants, irrespective of their level of education, adding that every opportunity to learn had the trappings of up scaling understanding.
Earlier, the Head of Mass Communication Department, Delta State University, Abraka, Prof. Godwin Oboh, delivered a lecture titled, “Development Journalism and Good Governance: How Have the Media Fared?” where he reasoned that the media had not kept tab with issues of paramount importance through editorials, features, among others areas of media emphasis.
Prof Oboh also spoke on a second topic, titled: “The Role of Social Media In Nigerian Politics “while the Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, lectured the participant on Film and Video Editing, where he reckoned that editing was all about making choices, adding that the import of a news item must be reflected either in pictures or in film.
