The Nigeria Union of Journalists NUJ, FCT Council has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the capacity of media practitioners through continuous learning and digital innovation, following a partnership with adobe.com and Lifestyle Hues to train 100 journalists in Abuja.
Chairman of the Council, Grace Ike, stated this while declaring open a one-day capacity-building training attended by journalists drawn from public and private media organisations across the Federal Capital Territory.
According to her, the media landscape is rapidly evolving, making it necessary for journalists to embrace modern storytelling tools and multimedia skills to remain relevant and competitive.
“I believe this training is one of many steps we are taking to ensure that our members remain competitive, relevant and impactful. The way stories are told has evolved and the way we present information must also adapt,” she said.
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Comrade Ike noted that tools such as Adobe Express have become critical instruments for effective communication in the digital age, stressing that journalists must possess skills in visual design, multimedia editing and digital content presentation.
“The ability to design compelling visuals, edit multimedia content and present stories in engaging formats is now a core part of our profession,” she said.
The NUJ council chairman commended Lifestyle Hues and the Adobe team for supporting the initiative and urged participants to maximise the opportunity by applying the knowledge gained in their various newsrooms and digital platforms.
Speaking during the training, Brand Marketing Consultant and Adobe Partner Ambassador, Ayodotun Akinfenwa, explained that the initiative was aimed at empowering media professionals with practical digital content creation skills.
“Journalists, as much as everybody else, need to understand how to create designs, announcements, presentations and content in the line of their work. Tools like this help them to be independent and enhance their productivity,” she said.
Mrs. Akinfenwa described journalists as major influencers in society and stressed the need for media organisations to continually retrain their staff on emerging digital and AI-powered communication tools.
She noted that journalists who fail to establish a strong online presence risk missing out on opportunities despite their experience and expertise.
“One thing I noticed is that people that are not putting out their content, they are not showing up online, they would not get as much opportunity,” she said.
According to her, digital communication tools would help journalists disseminate information more quickly and effectively, thereby improving public access to credible information.
She therefore urged public and private media owners to invest more in training, retraining and exposing journalists to cutting-edge communication and publishing tools.
Participants at the training described the exercise as timely and impactful, calling for more capacity-building programmes for journalists in the country.
