The future of journalism is undeniably online, but what happens when the internet connection is lost?
This was the focus of a recent X space discussion, tagged: Lost Connection, Lost Content, hosted by the Wole Soyinka Centre for investigative journalism (WSCIJ).
Moderated by Mariam Ileyemi of Premium Times, the discussion had a panel of distinguished journalists including Project lead, Boom Radio Ng, Sola Rogers, News Manager, Nigeria info FM, Cool FM, Wazobia FM, Chioma Ezenwafor and Senior Tech Writer, TechCabal, Frank Eleanya who shared their insights and suggestions on the critical issue on how internet disruptions affect journalists ability to gather, produce, and distribute content.
“The internet is our gateway to the world, said Programme Officer, Samson Ademola representing the Executive Director of WSCIJ, Motunrayo Alaka.
According to him, in today’s digital world, stable internet connections are not just convenient, but a necessity.
The panelists highlighted the devastating impact of internet disruptions on journalism, causing delays or loss of time-bound content. “If connection is lost, content is delayed ,” noted Chioma Ezenwafor.
Project lead, Boom Radio Ng, Sola Rogers, however, emphasised the need for advocacy. He stated, “we need some form of advocacy to address this issue”, suggesting, “cloud storage as a solution, despite its limitations for live programs”.
Senior Tech Writer at TechCabal, Frank Eleanya, pointed out the dominance of three big players in the telecommunications industry – MTN, GlobalCom, and Airtel – and the decline in connectivity in recent months. “Nigeria’s competitiveness when it comes to digital infrastructure is currently very low,” he said.
The discussion underscored the need for collaborations between online broadcasting and terrestrial broadcasting to mitigate the effects of lost connections.
Also speaking, News Manager at Nigeria Info, Cool Fm, and Wazobia FM, Chioma Ezenwafor, noted, “the internet is at the center of it all, it opened up the media space to everyone. “Some information are time bound and need to be disseminated as it happens”, she added.
