Mrs. Abiodun Owo is the programme Officer of Development Communication Network (DevComs), a non-governmental organisation which offers media training to enhance media capacity and excellence in reporting developmental issues on health, environment, education, among others.
In this interview with Media Career, Owo speaks on the activities of her organisation and offers advice on how journalists can excel in their work.
What kind of training does DevComs offers ?
We have done series of training for journalists, like- Safe Motherhood, HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health, Education, Environment, Climate change, and so on. But the current training we are running now is on Maternal and Child-Health.
Does your organization focus on female gender alone?
Not exactly, because what we do now is basically addressing pregnant women’s health, we don’t focus on any gender per se. When we work on child’s health, it has nothing to do with male or female. The current programme is maternal health, health during pregnancy and child health.
How can journalists benefit from your programmes?
We actually have the network of journalists that we work with already but that doesn’t mean that there is no room for others to join because we have been doing this for years by working with editors and key persons in different media organizations. Depending on the programme, if we are doing something on health, we call on health reporters and if it is on education, we call, we call on education reporters and so on. Basically, we are open to journalists at any point in time.
What has been your experience working with journalists?
It has been mixed of experiences. We have journalists who are keen and passionate on what they do and we also have some who are not that concerned about their work. This at times affects the kind of result that come after engaging them in various progarmmes. For some, it is not very encouraging, while for some, it is extremely encouraging. I can say we have couples of journalists who after attending our capacity programme, write reports that engage government and other policy makers to rise on their toes.
What has been the outcome with of your programmes with journalists so far?
We are Oliver Twist. The result that we get from these programmes I can say it is very encouraging. In the past, we use to get scanty reports, especially on maternal mortality issues. Most reports then were not that balanced, but these days, we have journalists who go a step further. Apart from the interview, they get experts and do their own research to bring out facts and issues in the past and relating them to the present. I would say it is very encouraging but it can always get better.
Are you really achieving your purpose?
Yes, we are media development organization, we are really developing the media. Today, we have journalists who are winning awards and this is as a result of the capacity building they got from us and they build on their own skill.
In what area do you want journalists to improve?
Creativity. We would like to see reporting that is different from the norm. Reports that would take issues to those who are able to handle them. I would like to see journalists doing more of investigative reporting.
Your observation on journalists generally
Journalists are really improving in the way and manner they report issues. They don’t just report events, they also talk about issues which we want to hear.
Any further opportunity for journalists?
There are opportunities in terms of scholarships and fellowships. We also keep our ears to the ground and when we see any opportunity, we send out to journalists in our network. I am hoping that in the nearest future, we would be able to pay full scholarship for journalists.
Advice for journalists
I just want to encourage them not to be discouraged about what is happening around them. I know that journalists work for months without being paid and they are expected to keep working. Journalists face a lot of challenges. I don’t really have the statistics, but over 80% of journalists are not well paid. All these are some of the challenges and realities that journalists face. I would encourage them to keep focus and be optimistic. They should be more passionate about their profession. If they have chosen journalism, they have to do it right.