US Highlights Journalists Role in Fostering Peace, Societal Development

By Mnena Iyorkegh, Abuja

The US Embassy has emphasised on the critical role journalist play in holding government accountable, promoting peace and development in the society.

The Cultural Affairs Officer, US Embassy In Nigeria, Brain Neubert stated this in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital at a two day training for Journalist Radio in Language Based Radio Stations.

The workshop focused on radio reporting, Editing, story telling, fact checking, presentation and the use of AI for radio,

The Cultural Affairs Officer also reiterated US Embassy’s commitment “to promoting freedom of press.”

“The American Embassy invests in Nigerian journalists, because you are telling the stories that the citizens of this great country need to hear. You’re telling these stories on the radio. You’re weaving together a narrative. You’re protectors of the truth, of accountability, of peace, and the American Embassy believes very strongly in your role in Nigeria’s democracy and Nigeria’s development. And we believe that journalists are crucially important to everything that Nigeria hopes to accomplish and everything that the United States hopes to achieve,”he said.

Mr. Neubert further urged journalists to prioritise writing stories that promote peace and development.

He said; “I asked the journalists to use their wisdom to contribute to peace. And by that, I mean the stories that you tell, the stories that you cover, the people you interview, the news, or the information that you you scrutinize, contributes to Nigeria being a better place. Contributes to your communities being better informed, for them to advocate for themselves, for them to make their communities better and better their lives and that’s a critical role that journalism plays in a democracy. And in a free country, such as, Nigeria.”

Facilitators who spoke on different topics at the training urged participants to always keep it simple while writing for radio, to take advantage of social media space to influence the society.

Some of the participants while expressing their gratitude to US Embassy and Dhul Jalalu a charitable organisation for putting out the training, promised to inculcate the knowledge gained from the training to other colleagues at their various work stations.

The workshop with over twenty participants was organised by the Dhul Jalalu Charitable foundation and sponsored by the US Embassy in Nigeria.

Mercy Chukwudiebere

Mercy Chukwudiebere