Seun Akioye, Assistant Editor, The Nation newspapers during the December 2016 Media Career Q&A shares his view on what makes an award-winning story.
I am much flattered. I cannot claim to be an expert at this but I will offer what I have noticed. The first thing I always say is to always put all you have into a story. Do you have a passion for that particular report or do you see it as another unwarranted “wahala” your editor puts on you?
You need to have the heart to do good report, either you are fighting a cause or bringing a situation to the fore. When I hear of a good story idea, my eyes pop up, I am excited and whether I have been paid salary or my editor is being unreasonable, I go after it and give it my all.
Three, I always say that a journalist is the eye and the ear of the readers. I always try to immerse myself into the story. The reason is how can I report the plight , anguish and challenges of these people if I don’t feel it myself? I put my ‘aging’ body through it all, eat their food, and sleep in their community. When you do all that, what you will write will be different from the usual news analysis. A lot of people write and it will hardly be ignored by awards panel. Finally for now, write a good story, follow up with necessary stakeholder, try to make a change. This story illustrates some of the points here: http://thenationonlineng.net/even-the-rich-envy-us-the…/
I can relate to a lot of the frustrations in the newsroom, but I know guys who are owed months of salaries but yet go out of their way to do a good report. Where I first worked, I have a big compilation of my stories.