By Esther Olaifa
A new book, Media and Elections: Professional Responsibilities of journalists by Director, International Press Centre (IPC), Lanre Arogundade will be launched in Lagos on Tuesday, July 16.
The venue of the launching is Eko FM Multi-purpose Hall, Radio Lagos/ LTV premises, Agidingbi, Ikeja-Lagos, by 11am.
” The book is a collection of resources pulled together from my media career as a reporter and editor, facilitator of several media capacity building, monitor of trends in media coverage, editor of resource manuals and other engagements with relevant institutional stakeholders on the role of the media in elections.
“It was produced within the framework of my experience as a promoter of press freedom, media independence and advocate of freedom of expression,” Arogundade said.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu will be the Special Guest of Honour and Chief Presenter, Mr. Kunle Ajibade, Executive Editor of The News magazine, will be the reviewer and Senator Babafemi Ojudu Chairman.
The list of special guests of honour and co-presenters include the Presidents of Nigeria Guild of Editors, the Nigerian Union of Journalists and the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria. Others are executives of media institutions and regulatory agencies, editors, media scholars and academics and leaders of media development groups.
Arogundade in over three decades of media work has acquired cognate experiences as a Journalist, project manager, media trainer, researcher and press freedom advocate in Nigeria, West Africa and Africa.
He was Chief Correspondent and Features Editor of the defunct Concord newspapers (1991 -1994); Assistant Editor/member of Editorial board, Vanguard Newspapers (1995 – 1999); Stringer, Voice of America (VOA) (2001 – 2003); Reporter, Panos Radio (2003 – 2007; Reporter/editor, African Flame – Journal of the World Social Forum – (2003 – 2007) and Editor, Nigerian Election News Report (NENR) (2011). While reporting for Vanguard, he was the only Nigerian journalist that covered the first post-military democratic elections in the Republic of Benin in 1996.
A regular contributor to capacity building for journalists in the areas of investigative journalism, election reporting, conflict sensitive journalism, community journalism and development reporting, he has served as resource person and researcher on media-related issues for groups and institutions.
He edited media resource books such as Public Procurement Reporting Guide, Budget & Corruption Reporting – A media audit; Guidelines and Resources on Investigative Journalism; We Speak for Us – A New Experience in Advocacy Work; The Ethics Handbook; Guidelines on Conflict and Election Reporting; Freedom of Information and Civil Society and Union Rights of Female Journalists.
A co-recipient of the maiden press freedom award of the West African Journalists Association (WAJA) 1997, he was also honoured with the defender of press freedom award by Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in 2018. A former Chairman of the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) from 1995 to 1999 during whose tenure the Union fought a strident battle against military dictatorship, the council under him also contributed to media intellectual resource with the publication of a book ‘Journalism in Nigeria – Issues and Perspectives’, a comprehensive, historical and authoritative book on Nigerian journalism.
He is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ); Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE); Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and has benefitted from training in Investigative Journalism at the European Journalism Center, Maastricht, Netherlands.
He holds a first degree in Psychology from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Ibadan.
The author also wrote the book, ‘FELA – Yesterday’s Message As Today’s Reality’ in 2018.
