Varsity VC commends media mentors,task student journalists on dedication

By Joy Ude

The Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University,Prof Nlerum Okogbule, on Saturday commended the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and SWIJ for supporting women in journalism.

Okogbule made the commendation during a workshop organized by the Step-Up for Women Initiative Journalism in support of WSCIJ and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for students of the University in Port Harcourt.

Okogbule when visited in his office by SWIJ delegates and management staff of the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies of the institution,said that the school management was committed in promoting excellence among the students.

The Vice Chancellor said that the training tagged “From Classroom to Newsroom”was apt.

According to him, the role of the media as stipulated in the constitution as the 4th estate of the realm was profound and key to the growth and development of any society.

He added that the society cannot function maximally without both the male and female.

“We are all created equal by God, nobody has a role to decide whether male or female should be this or that, it’s purely the prerogative of God.

“I am happy that women are making impacts in various sectors, its laudable that you are training young female students in their careers and also create networking opportunities for them,”he said.

The Vice Chancellor charged the young female journalists and others in the institution to be focused and passionate about their careers.

He advised them to explore all skills acquired and links got from the training to boost their capacity.

Earlier, the Executive Director of SWIJ, Mrs Ann Godwin told the Vice Chancellor that the objective of the training was to harvest, mentor and build capacities of future female Newsroom champions.

Godwin said that the training was also aimed at equipping them with skills needed to function professionally in the newsrooms and also close the gender gap in Nigerian media industry.

Godwin while teaching the students on the theme “Techniques of Investigative Journalism,Story Telling and Pitching”, advised the students to be intentional about what they do to enable them compete favourably with the global standards in the media world.

Similarly, Prof Richard Amadi, the Dean Faculty of Communication and Media Studies charged the students to utilise the training opportunity to improve their skills and carve a niche for themselves in the Journalism profession.

Amadi represented by Dr Sarah Joe, a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty, thanked the organiser and supporters of the training for the initiative.

He also called on SWIJ and other stakeholders in the media industry to sustain partnership with the faculty and other universities towards raising future newsroom champions and leaders.

Also, Mr Sunny Dada,the Mass Media and Information Management Coordinator of Search for Common Ground (SFCG), who trained the students on Data and Digital Journalism, advised the students to be more focused and committed to achieve success in their goals.

Our correspondent reports that over 40 students and lecturers from the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies were in attendance during the training.