The Daily Trust Foundation, a unit of the Media Trust Group, publishers of the Daily Trust titles and owners of Trust TV and Trust Radio, in partnership with the City University of London, United Kingdom yesterday organised a one-day workshop on the safety of journalists in conflict reporting.
The workshop, held in Abuja, had about 20 journalists in attendance from print, radio and television.
It was facilitated by Dr Abdullahi Tasiu Abubakar, who is the Director of the Ph.D. Programme, Department of Journalism, City University of London.
The first leg of the workshop was held in January 2023.
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In his opening remarks, Chairman, Daily Trust Foundation, Alhaji Bilya Bala, said safety is critical for journalism practice because of the hazards involved.
He said, “Every sector that exposes practitioners to hazards emphasizes safety. In the construction industry, for instance, one familiar slogan is ‘safety first.’ But workers in the sector go beyond sloganeering; they wear protective gear, like helmets, boots, and khaki, apart from keeping to safety rules while at construction sites.
“At the Daily Trust Foundation, we are contributing our own quota to ensure safety for journalists, not only through this collaboration with City University of London, but through our other engagements.
“In May this year, we sponsored a three-day training on cyber-security for journalists. We all know that criminality has migrated to cyberspace as well; journalists and the work we do have come under serious threats from cyber-criminals.”
Bala stated that the foundation would later in the year host another workshop on ‘covering dangerous assignments’ like wars, riots, and civil conflicts, adding that it would be practical and intensive.
“We plan to bring in security agents as part of our facilitators. We hope some of you here will be nominated by your organizations to benefit from the training,” he added.
