Journalism can be a very soul-draining job, but Media Career Development specialist, Lekan Otufodunrin says “catch the vibes.”
I have always somehow enjoyed listening to the song Bloody Samaritan by Ayra Starr, which is not my kind of music, even though I don’t know the lyrics.
It wasn’t until the Head of Programmes at Liberty Radio and TV, Kano, Khadija Ishaq Bawas shared a Facebook post with the title Nothing Kill My Vibes with the song playing in the background while she danced at the capacity building session and mentorship programme for women journalists in Kano as her project for the Female Reporters Leadership Project of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism that I really caught the ‘vibes’ of the song myself.
“I’m feeling vibes on vibes
I’m a ticking dynamite
I’ll blow your candlelight
You know I’m just that type
No dem fit kill my vibe
Dem no fit kill my vibe
Dem fit no fit kill
Dem fit no fit kill
Dem no fit kill my”
Kadija must have felt good being able to organize the very impactful programme had top resource persons and participants.
Many things would have made it seem the programme was not feasible. Office work, managing the home, organising the event and many others were enough to kill her Journalism Dream Vibes but she didn’t allow them. She dared and succeeded like we all need to do when challenges of the profession make us think we can’t do more than the average or below we are accomplishing.
Kadija is one of the amazing female journalists in this year’s Cohort of the WSCIJ’s female journalists empowerment programme challenging themselves to take up leadership positions in the media even when they don’t have the titles for such initiatives.
From Lagos to Ekiti, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Maiduguri, Uyo, Kaduna and Kano the female journalists are implementing massive empowerment programmes for all categories of journalists to the level some didn’t know they had the capacity to do.
They are speaking up more than they ever did, demanding best practices in newsrooms and advocating loudly against Gender-Based Violence. Their careers are taking better turns as they manifest the skills they are learning. They are winning awards and shattering glass ceilings.
So, instead of allowing all kinds of limitations to kill our journalism vibes and make us feel like “bloody” reporters and sometimes Godforsaken lots, we must maximise available opportunities beyond our comfort zones.
There will be downtimes, as there are in other professions, that will make you want to give up or think you made a grievous mistake opting for Journalism instead of some supposed better profession but don’t let what should not stop you do.
Like in verse one of the song:
“A wise man said “Follow the stars”
“There you shall find a piece of advice.”
Don’t accept only the negative stories about the profession. Find the secrets of being a happy and fulfilled journalist like those who are.
Don’t allow the routine of the job to prevent you from expanding your horizon beyond the “madhouses” we work. Be the professional you should be, network globally, be innovative, think inside and outside the box, ask for help when you need to and catch fun when you should.
All work and no play makes a journalist a miserable one
If you are one of those who believe your “Village People” are responsible for not becoming the journalist you ought to be, sing this verse four of Ayra song to yourself:
“I see you watching my stories
I see you gauging my lifestyle
I see you watching my movements
This bad bitch bad everyday
I no dey look your face
Bad man bad everyday
Get on your knees and pray
Til you regain your faith”
Are you feeling the vibes? Let nothing kill your journalism vibes.
Be proud of the amazing and impactful job journalists do even if you have to move on to something else.