On a mission to promote ethical journalism in Nigeria and to ensure credible coverage of the 2019 general elections, Daria Media with the support of the Macarthur Foundation hosted a two- day media election training programme for 10 leading Political Editors in Lagos.
The training which focused on effective ethical coverage of the forthcoming elections was facilitated by consultants from The Thomson Foundation and was supported by the Nigeria Guild of Editors.
In attendance were 10 political editors from 10 media houses across the country.
Participating Editors were from The Punch, The Guardian, ThisDay, New Telegraph, The Vanguard, The Sun, Nigerian Info FM, The Cable, Radio Nigeria and Daily Trust.
The two- day training provided an opportunity for political editors to come together to discuss the potential approaches to the challenges of election reporting with focus on balance, objectivity and impartiality of election reporting.
The Editors focus on ethical solutions to the problems of covering elections in Nigeria culminated in the creation of a voluntary, bespoke charter of election coverage and guidance on best practices to help ensure adherence to the rules and to win back public trust. The training also created an opportunity to explore the range of options designed to assist in online newsgathering and social media, avoiding traps, verification and improving coverage.
At the end of the workshop, the political editors freely adopted an election charter for journalists in Nigeria which sets the threshold of fundamental values by which the media can be judged.
