The Media Mentors Journalism Center (MMJC) has commenced the 2021/2022 Media Mentoring programme.
The programme which will run for eight months is the first by the Centre focused only on mentoring campus journalists and young journalists in Nigeria.
Media Mentors Journalism Center is an arm of the Media Mentors Leadership Academy (MMLA), a national focused not-for-profit media training outfit based in Lagos, Nigeria.
The programme will begin with 18 campus journalists and young journalists who are just entering the media world.
The Mentees have been paired with older, well-established journalists from various media organizations across the country.
The mentors will help the younger journalists hone their journalism skills and help them invest in their personal and professional growth.
The Executive-in-Charge, MMJC/MMLA, Ms. Joke Kujenya explained that the programme is to bridge the gap and address some issues affecting young journalists which would ordinarily not be addressed in the newsroom.
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According to her, the mentees, during the mentoring cycle, would learn various journalism skills, including inquisitiveness, pitching for stories, basic news writing, investigative journalism, and newsroom culture.
“The idea is to ensure that the youngsters are prepared ready for employment because they would have learned various journalism skills.
“I have always wanted to mentor younger journalists because, during an eight-month interaction with campus journalists, I discovered that many of them were found to be weak in many do these areas, hence the intervention, to not only help reduce the burden of newsroom managers when these students eventually become editorial staff but to also make the students appreciate that they must invest in their personal and professional growth.”
Kujenya said that the 18 Young Journalists were selected after they had indicated the interest to be mentored in various areas.
The mentoring cycle which will commence officially on September 1, 2021, will end on January 31, 2022.
