A Non-Governmental Organisation, Step-Up for Women in Journalism Initiative (SWIJ), has advised female journalists to improve their career skills to become expert news sources.
The Executive Director of SWIJ, Mrs Ann Godwin, gave the advice at a one-day virtual training, organised by the NGO for female journalists in Port Harcourt.
Godwin described the training, tagged “Improving the capacity of women to become expert sources for news” as apt.
According to her, it has become necessary for women in journalism and other professional bodies to step up on their jobs to be better news sources.
Godwin, an award winner of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), said that the training was supported by WSCIJ under its Report Women Programme and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
She underscored the need for women to excel in the media space and other professions.
She said: “Women should begin to impact the nation by speaking up and drawing the government’s attention to issues that have to do with policies and gender equality.
“We need to improve on our career skills, be consistent in our jobs, and develop the ‘we-can-do attitude’ in every task before us.
“We should be inquisitive to get information and read other people’s work to improve and reach our goals.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Godwin is also a proud winner of the Advancing Women In Business (ADWIB) Award and the Chief Press Correspondent of the Guardian Newspaper.
She spoke on “Why women should step up conversation” at the training, which had 60 virtual participants.
The former Commissioner for Information and Communications in Rivers, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, also spoke on “How women can improve visibility and impact on gender-based issues”.
Semenitari advised women to get contacts of the Public Relations Officers of organisations as expert news sources.
She expressed worry over the reinforcing of the stereotypes about women that may not all be correct.
She urged female journalists to intentionally reach out to professional women as their news sources to make their voices heard.
She also advised women to make their profession visible through their posts on social media handles, like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, among others.
Also, the Executive Director, Media Career Development, Mr Lekan Otufodunrin, said that journalists must be conscious of adding value to their job and seeking more improvements in their career development.
Otufodunrin advised women, journalists, to always deliver any task before them and further encouraged them to get contacts of people who inspired them by their jobs and also improve their capacity.
The media guru spoke on the topic, “Ways journalists can grow their career and leadership capacity”.
An Economic and Business expert and Publisher of Silvernews, Mr Ignatius Chukwu, said that making women news sources would be valuable because they speak with passion and sincerity.
Chukwu also advised female journalists to encourage other professional women to build themselves on several topics relating to their profession to be properly informed and ready for media interviews at any time they are needed.
He delivered a lecture, entitled “How to start, grow and become expert sources for news”.
