Anambra State Commissioner of Information, Dr. Law Mefor has called on media practitioners to keep in view professional ethics in dispensation of duties.
Chief Mefor made the call while speaking recently in workshop on Social Media Issues at Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) Auditorium, Awka.
The Commissioner enjoined journalists to jettison the fear that artificial intelligence (AI) will take away their job through citizen journalism but embrace AI, to sieving out quacks in the profession.
“Propaganda is not part of proper information dissemination especially in state like ours where good governance is speaking volume.
“Governor Chukwuma Soludo has done more than enough to be pleaded with to continue in office. We need not to tell lies or make empty praises to prove this but showcase what he has done, doing and pointing at to do.
“Good deed does not hide itself. Those of us in opposition are living witness to Soludo’s doggedness to closing infrastructure deficit gap. So, report roads that have been done, those being done and those to be done in a verifiable manner.”
“It is irritating to hear that information officer does not have social media handles such as Instagram, X, Facebook, among others. You need these platforms to getting informed so as to inform.”
Also speaking, The Managing Director, Anambra State Broadcasting Service, Awka, Mr Christopher Molokwu charged information officers to manage bad press properly, emphasizing that it is not about what is said but about how it is said. Worst case news scenarios are subject to reportage. How it is reported is what matters.
“Governor Soludo may not get it right at every point, yet if everything you see is ugly, the chances of changing an ugly scenario will be difficult. It is better to point at good things done to be in better position to advocate changes to the ugly.”
Other Resource Persons like Joseph Egbocha, Uchechukwu Ebonam, Obi Umunnakwe, Esther Ndife agreed to the aforementioned points but added that in the information industry, we write to express not to impress.
They enjoined information officers to chose English words that are familiar to people, so as to enable them to read and understand.
The idea of sending readers to dictionary in order to understand story line is counter productive. Keep it short and simple for clarity purposes.
