Mr Lekan Otufodunrin, media expert and Executive Director, Media Career Development, has said ethical consideration is a major distinction between content creators and journalists, stressing that journalists need to abide by the ethics of the profession.
Mr Otufodunrin made this known while delivering his keynote address at a one-day event organized by Mad About You (May) in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Journalism and BONews Service.
Otufodunrin, who spoke on the theme “Harnessing the gap between Journalism and content creation”, shared that Journalism and content creation are the same in terms of sharing information but ethics serve as a major difference between the two.
While he urged media houses to create content on their platform apart from traditional content, Otufodunrin added that “journalism is very important but we must expand the scope of what we give people for them to continue to read us.”
He added that, “Journalism has become more complicated in the sense that we need to be able to write above the ordinary people who are just taking pictures or covering an event. You must provide your content in a way that is more professional and can be respected.
“The citizens are competing with us much more than ever before and it brings a challenge of being able to do our job better.”
The media expert advised communication students to maximize opportunities and realized that there are platforms they can use, adding that “this is the time to get ready and start practising before getting out of the institution.”
He also advised student journalists to take advantage of the diversity of opportunities that are available for them to be able to play their roles because journalism goes beyond just writing news
“While Journalism school must also be able to re-invent the curriculum in a way that students can graduate with a degree that is usable, and that will be possible if they are trained in line with what is obtainable in the industry and society,” Otufodunrin added.
Sunday Ehigiator, Crime and investigative reporter with This Day Newspaper emphasized that the ethics and standards of journalism must always be the watchword of every journalist.
Ehigiator also said, “Know that journalism is an act of service not a means for wealth and being called a journalist is because you are considered to be servicing the public that’s why you are called the fourth estate of the realm.
This means the general public is counting on you to hold the judiciary, legislative and executive accountable.”
Joan Yakubu, founder of MAY Initiative shared that the conference was organized as a way of empowering and enlightening journalism students that content creation is a space that needs to be filled by journalists.
She also called for support and sponsorship for the initiative so that it can positively impact young journalists.