The Lagos State Government has called on Community Media Practitioners in the State to embrace professionalism in covering events and disseminating information about its programmes and policies across the State.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Community Affairs, Babatunde Adewale Jimoh, made the call today at an Interactive Session organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs for Community Media Practitioners, held at Alausa, Ikeja.
He described the role of Community Media Practitioners in disseminating information about the State Government to residents in their various communities as a necessity, enjoining the practitioners to horn their professional skills in news reporting to the grassroots.
“Nigeria, on a daily basis, deals with fake news. We now have so many media ready to spread false information about Government to provoke the public and create distrust between the citizens and the government”, he said.
Jimoh stated that Community Media Practitioners should take up their role as agents of truth to clear any misrepresentation about the State Government while imploring them to improve on their coverage of its achievements at the State and Local levels across all communities.
The event witnessed a technical session on “News Reporting and Media Relations: Bridging The Gap Between Government and the Communities” facilitated by the Deputy Director of Public Affairs in the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Mr. Tayo Ogunbiyi who dealt with the simplicity of news reporting, media relations and what the practitioners could do to bridge the gap in local communities.
According to Ogunbiyi, “The citizens have a right to know about Government activities and programmes, and in getting information to the people, effective communications between the Government and the people must be sustained”.
He emphasised that easy access to information is essential to Governance and media practitioners must be professional in news writing and dissemination of credible information.
