IPC Transparency and Anticorruption Project; Calling on Journalists

A modest remuneration awaits Journalists who are interested in doing reports on transparency and anticorruption issues
For further details contact International Press Centre, Lagos immediately on 08020359629 or stellanwofia@ipcng.org

Mandela Washington Fellowship open [Africa]

Posted on September 23, 2016

Deadline: 

OCTOBER 26, 2016

Leaders ages 25 to 35 can apply for this program.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship, launched by the U.S. government's Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), will bring 1,000 young leaders to the United States in summer 2017 for academic coursework and leadership training.

The program also seeks to create opportunities in Africa for fellows to put new skills to practical use in leading organizations, communities and countries.

The fellowship includes a six-week academic and leadership institute, a summit with U.S. leaders in Washington and an optional six-week U.S. professional development experience and activities in Africa.

Citizens and residents of the following countries are eligible: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 

The deadline is Oct. 26.

For more information, click stellanwofiaupdates

03 OCT 2016

#WSCIJ

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Call for Entries: Wole Soyinka Centre set to select 2016 best investigative reporter

The call for application towards the selection of the 2016 best investigative reporter as part of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting opens on Tuesday 4 October.  Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) in its invitation for entries requests Nigerian journalists or team of journalists, full or part-time, with stories published between 4th October 2015 and 3rd October 2016 to apply for the eleventh edition of the award.

The Centre has honoured Nigerian investigative journalists through the award programme for ten years. It is focused on works that report cases of corruption, human rights abuses, and regulatory failures. Categories for this year’s edition are print, online, photo, editorial cartoon, television and radio. The call for entries emphasises that the submitted stories should be targeted and received by a Nigerian audience.

All entries will be collated using the entry coding system and judged by a panel of experts from the media and related professions who are keen on investigative journalism. Judges would score stories based on ethical reporting, courage, individual creativity and public interest slant.

Applications are to be submitted at the Wole Soyinka Centre office, No 18A Abiodun Sobanjo Street, Off Lateef Jakande Street, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos.  Online entries must however, be sent via email toentries@wscij.org. The deadline for the submission is Monday 24th October 2016.

Deadline for Submission of Entries:  4PM Monday October 24, 2016

Click here: Criteria for eligibility

The Haller Prize for Development Journalism 2016

“How best can digital technology empower development in sub-Saharan Africa? And where are the challenges?”

The Haller Prize for Development Journalism is now in its third year and was created in order to promote African-led discussions around development. The continent is changing and as issues facing the developing world grow more complex, journalism has become a critical medium in which to throw light on them and chronicle real change.

The Haller Prize will be awarded to a writer able to explore insightfully the challenges and opportunities of digital technology in the development sector. There will be 3 winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd place) and the successful entries will offer unique interpretations; either shedding light on sector failings or offering comment on best practice.

The Prize is open to all sub-Saharan African nationals who are resident in the region and will be awarded for a piece of original, previously unpublished written work up to1000 words in length. To date, our prize winners have gone on to write articles for the UN; have been shortlisted for Thomson Reuters awards; and been invited to attend African Development Bank conventions on climate change.

In 2014, Haller developed a Farmers App, taking advantage of Africa’s burgeoning smartphone market in order to put best practice in affordable, sustainable, scalable farming into the hands of smallholders. In the words of Haller’s CEO, Alia Malik, “We developed the Haller Farmers App in order to connect more farmers with information that could enable sustainable livelihoods. Digital technology is necessarily dynamic. It is the first step of a learning process – maybe what farmers really want is to be connected to each other”. It is for this reason we have chosen to have technology as this year’s theme as it is an integral part of both Haller’s future and Africa’s more widely.

Entries must be received by 24.00hrs. GMT on Friday 16th September 2016 and will be judged by an independent panel of international repute.

Prizes: 1st Prize GBP 3000, 2nd Prize GBP 1000 and 3rd Prize GBP 500

The Prizewinners will be announced on Thursday 17th November 2016 through a virtual Prize ceremony here on our website.

To apply, and for more information, please email prize@haller.org.uk

Nigerian military threatens journalist for not revealing sources

Abuja, Nigeria, August 18, 2016 -- The Nigerian military should cease threatening freelance journalist Ahmad Salkida with prosecution for not acting as an informer, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The military has said the journalist could face terrorism charges if he does not provide it with information he gained in the course of his reporting on the militant group Boko Haram. In a statement carried by Nigerian news websites on August 14, military spokesman Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman declared Salkida and two civil-society workers - Aisha Wakil and Ahmed Bolori - "wanted for interrogation" regarding the location of over two hundred school girls Boko Haram abducted in April 2014. In the statement, Col. Usman invoked the 2011 Terrorism Prevention Act, under which "Nigerians could be punished for failure to disclose information about terrorists or terrorists' activities." He said, "We are also liaising with other security agencies for their arrest if they [fail] to turn up." Salkida has lived in the United Arab Emirates since August 2013. "Journalists must sometimes rely on the trust of dangerous people. Coercing them to become informants risks putting all journalists under suspicion and in danger," CPJ West Africa Representative Peter Nkanga said. "Nigeria's military should not threaten Ahmad Salkida and instead ensure that he is free to work." On August 16, Nigerian Director of Defence Information Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar said that the military was only inviting Salkida and the two civil-society workers for questioning. "We are only inviting them to shed light on pending issues that will support current military efforts, and not to arrest them," Abubakar said in remarks quoted by the broadcaster Channels Television.  Salkida wrote on his personal blog on August 15 that he would accept the military's invitation. The journalist told CPJ that he believed the military was trying to punish him for his persistent reporting on Boko Haram since 2006. He said that he had returned to Nigeria three times since May 2015 at the invitation of various federal government agencies. Salkida told CPJ that he feared for his life, and that anonymous callers had threatened him about his articles and posts to social media websites and his contacts with Boko Haram. Salkida has received similar threats in the past, CPJ reported at the time. Salkida has been covering  Boko Haram since mid-2006. Police detained him in 2009 over his reports on the activities  of the militant group when he was a reporter for the independent Daily Trust newspaper. He fled his home in the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri in July 2011 after callers identifying themselves as Boko Haram members threatened him with death, following the publication of his profile of Boko Haram's first suicide bomber. Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for attacks that have killed thousands of people, including Nigerian television journalist Zakariya Isa, who the organization claimed was a spy for the government.

CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.

Contact: Angela Quintal Africa Program Coordinator +1 212-300-9004 Email: aquintal@cpj.org Kerry Paterson Africa Senior Research Associate +1 212-300-9031 Email: kpaterson@cpj.org Peter Nkanga West Africa Representative Email: pnkanga@cpj.org

What journalists should know before covering the Rio de Janeiro Olympics

Sam Berkhead | August 03, 2016

On Friday, the world’s attention will turn to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games — along with some 30,000 journalists set to descend on the city.

The lead-up to the Games hasn’t been without its controversies. The Zika virus, Brazil’s preparedness, water safety for athletes,archaeological disputes and human rights concerns have all cast a pall over the event. That means there’s no shortage of stories for journalists to pursue outside the athletic events — but at the same time, this year’s Games offer up a series of unique journalistic challenges.

So what should journalists know and understand before heading to this year’s Games? Check out these tips and takeaways:

Safety

Journalists heading to Rio face two main health and safety threats: Zika and crime. Because it’s currently the dry season in Brazil, the risks of contracting Zika are much lower. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a guide to Olympic travel that contains useful tips.

And fortunately, while the crime rate in Rio de Janeiro state increased compared to last year, visitors are “statistically very likely to be safe,” according to local security specialists.

To make sure you’re prepared for any potential safety threats, IJNet’s Journalism Safety Toolkit can be a helpful starting point. This video from the International News Safety Institute (INSI) goes more in-depth with the risks that journalists in Rio may face:

Finding underreported topics

As stated before, there are plenty of topics for journalists to examine in Rio outside of the actual Olympics themselves. Outside of reporting on sporting events, journalists will also have the opportunity to report on issues that affect the average Rio resident rather than tourists or athletes. Narratives surrounding the city’s water quality, for example, tend to focus on health risks to Olympic athletes rather than the impact it has had on locals’ livelihood.

“There are incredibly important considerations around finance and sporting events,” said journalism professor Laura-Jane Filotrani in an interview about how reporters could cover the Olympics with London South Bank University. “Where is the funding for the Games coming from? What are the implications? What are the benefits or losses post-Games, for the host city and its residents?”

Nor should journalists feel compelled to paint the Games as a resounding success for Brazil, following conventional narratives. The Olympic Games are notorious for placing immense economic and social strain on their host cities, and recession-hit Rio de Janeiro is arguably especially vulnerable. This creates a wealth of stories that will need to be told long after the closing ceremony on August 21.

“If there’s one mistake that international media should avoid, it is letting the big sporting event overshadow critical narratives, and then abandoning them completely once the circus leaves town,” Cerianne Robertson, research coordinator and writer at Catalytic Communities (CatComm), wrote in Politico.

Avoiding cliché

While Rio de Janeiro is a distinctive city, it’s important for journalists to avoid falling into traps of cliché, inaccuracy and sensationalism, Robertson explained. For example: Rio is not, as some articles have suggested, the capital of Brazil; Brasilia is.

Calling Rio’s favelas — or low-income and working-class communities — slums, shanty towns or ghettos, is a damaging habit foreign journalists have adopted. Sensationalist language referring to favelas as Rio’s “infamous,” “notorious” “underbelly” that contrasts with the city’s beaches and caipirinhas should also be avoided.

“The stigma favela residents face affects their confidence, self-esteem and life opportunities,”CatComm wrote. “This stigma is reinforced every time a reporter revisits the media stereotype of favelas as slums and dark places of precariousness and crime and has serious consequences. Rio’s communities should be recognized for what they are, and named accordingly. As such, we should call them favelas.”

RioOnWatch’s Olympics Resources for Journalists offers helpful tip sheets, guidelines and other resources for reporting on Rio de Janeiro’s favelas.

What every journalist should know about anonymous sources

TOPIC: 

• SPECIALIZED REPORTING

Sherry Ricchiardi | August 02, 2016

During a workshop in South Sudan last year, reporters voiced concern that some media organizations were using anonymous sources to further personal agendas and attack political enemies.

There was a consensus that accurate, fair and reliable reporting was being undermined and that reader trust was at stake in the fledgling democracy steeped in political conflict.

Their ethical instincts rated a gold star.

Media professionals everywhere in the world grapple with the thorny issue of anonymity. It can be a double-edged sword.

According to the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), “Anonymous sources are sometimes the only key to unlocking a big story, throwing back the curtain on corruption, fulfilling the journalistic missions of watchdog on the government and informant to citizens. But sometimes, anonymous sources are the road to the ethical swamp.”

The SPJ code of ethics makes two important points on anonymity:

• Identity sources whenever possible. The public is entitled to as much information as can be provided on sources’ reliability.
• Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.

The problem surfaced recently in The New York Times’ newsroom. In March, the newspaper’s top management cracked down on anonymity, sparked by readers’ complaints about “persistent” use of unnamed sources. The new guidelines require editors to approve the use of anonymity in stories.

“Direct quotes from anonymous sources should be used rarely, and only when such quotes are pivotal to the story,” according to the July 15 article explaining the crackdown. “At least one editor must know the specific identity of any anonymous source before publication.”

The tighter standards appear to be working. In July, Phil Corbett, the Times’ associate managing editor for standards, reported a “measurable drop,” around 30 percent, in anonymous sourcing.

Here are some resources that can help. The Online News Association (ONA) offers a Build Your Own Ethics Code tool that contains specific guidance for using anonymous sources. The process focuses on a series of questions:

• What is the source’s reason for wanting not to be identified?
• Is the information available elsewhere?
• Do you trust the source?
• Will the information come out soon anyhow?
• Is the source eager or reluctant?
• Is the source powerful or vulnerable?
• Are the source and information worth going to jail for?

The module reminds us: “Before a journalist grants confidentiality, you should have a detailed discussion of the source’s reasons for wanting to avoid accountability, which is what happens when you don’t name sources. Tell the source that your stories are more credible and your sources more accountable when you use their names and gain a thorough understanding of the source’s motivation.”

When I meet with media managers, I suggest appointing a newsroom committee to develop or refresh guidelines for anonymous sources. I provide a packet of materials — case studies, exercises and handouts — that can help lead the way.

During workshops, I assign participants to provide a story from a newspaper, magazine or online posting that contains unnamed sources. We then work in small groups to decide whether the anonymity was justified using these guidelines:

• Information from source must be important and absolutely vital to the story
• It cannot be based on personal opinion
• Information could not be obtained any other way
• Source is highly reliable and in a position to know

When I use this exercise, I provide a handout created from NPR’s code on anonymous sourcing. This document is comprehensive, easy to digest and can be a model for newsrooms anywhere in the world where journalists are concerned with building trust and credibility.

Main image CC-licensed by Flickr via Thomas Leth-Olsen.

IPC's work in Community journalism (A short documentary on IPC's work in the community)

ONA offers conference fellowships [Worldwide]

The MJ Bear Fellowships identify and celebrate early-career digital journalists, working independently or for a company or organization, who have demonstrated — through professional experimentation, research or other projects — that they deserve support for their efforts and/or vision.

The fellows are up-and-coming journalists inside or outside the newsroom who are just beginning to make their voices heard in the industry and working to expand the boundaries of digital news.

Read about our what our fellows are working on.

Applications for 2016 are now open. Read about the eligibility requirements and access theapplication form. The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. ET, July 14, 2016.

Each Fellowship provides:

• Three online workshop sessions with a Personal Advisory Board.
• Registration, travel and accommodations for the Online News Association Conference & Awards Banquet
• Recognition at the ONA conference
• ONA membership, with three years’ dues paid in full

12 tips for protecting newsrooms from cyberattacks

TOPIC: 

• JOURNALISTS' SAFETY

New digital newsrooms that rely almost entirely on the internet to work need to bulletproof not only their stories, but also their entire information system, including how information is stored, processed or exchanged via electronic means.

Technological attacks against websites, editorial servers and investigative journalists' personal accounts are on the rise. Governments, corrupt companies and criminal groups are trying to exploit any vulnerability of media organizations to obstruct independent investigations and, if possible, to destroy sensitive information. In some cases, a cyberattack is the first step in a chain of aggressions that might end with a serious or deadly physical attack. We have seen several such cases in Mexico, one of the most dangerous countries for independent journalists.

Since digital newsrooms are more and more involved in data mining and digital investigative reporting, they are attracting the attention of tech-savvy adversaries who can block investigations, delay publications or even destroy information before it is published.

Connectas Hub is one example of this trend. This investigative reporting platform in Latin America was coordinating the publication of several stories on abuse and corruption in the Mexican government when the website experienced a major distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. Previously, Connectas detected attempts to infect their computers with a malicious virus after running a series about corruption in Nigaragua's customs agency and the construction of the Nicaragua Canal, a project backed by Chinese companies.

Connectas’ website went down for days until received protection from Deflect, a free service that helps independent media and other organizations protect themselves from DDoS attacks.

At that time, Connectas was one of the 100 newsrooms in 80 countries across the world that helped report on the Panama Papers, a leak of millions of files revealing the hidden finances of global elites.

There was no digital forensic investigation and Connectas was not able to confirm who was behind the attack. Still, the case highlights the need for newsrooms to improve their ability to face down large-scale cyberattacks.

Here are 12 tips that newsrooms can immediately apply to protect their digital systems.

1. Design an information security strategy. This means a newsroom should understand their adversaries, vulnerabilities, capacities and their own level of risk. You can use the Digital and Mobile Security for Journalists and Bloggers Manual I wrote as an ICFJ Knight Fellow (Spanish and Arabic, English version is coming) to help design your newsroom digital security strategy. You can also use this comprehensive list of tips to bulletproof a digital newsroom.

2. Get extra protection from DDoS attacks. I recommend applying for Deflect, which is managed by a Canadian organization led by Dmitri Vasiliev, a pioneer in digital security for human rights defenders. Newsrooms can also apply for a protection service offered by Google through the Project Shieldinitiative, which uses Google’s security infrastructure to protect news websites.

3. Hire someone who will attack your newsroom’s digital security system to look for vulnerabilities. This is known as a “pentester” in tech jargon. While there are a few pentesters who may work bono, you can also apply for help from the Information Safety and Capacity Project (ISC Project), a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. Additionally, some private companies provide this service at a very low rate — try Pakal Security Labs in Guatemala.

4. Look into your website hosting company. It may already offer services that can help you monitor your newsroom and block any attacks.

5. Ensure your digital newsroom follows secure coding principles. Try using the Open Web Application Security Project’s (OWASP) list of web security risks as a guide.

6. Make sure that your IT department keeps the server software updated and patched. This will help protect all networked computers from virus infections.

7. If you are involved in a crowdsourcing project or use whistleblowers, make sure that your website has a SSL certificate to encrypt traffic. Media organizations can purchase SSL certificates at a very low cost from most hosting service providers.

8. Use the Salama app to evaluate risk for members of your newsroom. The app, which I created during my ICFJ Knight Fellowship, provides journalists with a guide to understand risks they are facing and customized advice for reducing them.

9. Make sure your organization meets basic information management security standards. One point of reference is the standards laid out by the Swiss-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

10. Make sure that reporters and editors use encryption systems and digital security tools while working on sensitive stories. You can use the Salama Library to access tips on how to bulletproof the editorial process.

11. You can also take a look at the digital security toolkit for investigative reporters I am curating with support from the ISC Project. This resource includes tools created and curated by the Guardian Project, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Tactical Tech and other players.

12. Train both editorial and non-editorial employees to recognize social engineering and phishing attacks.

Main image CC-licensed by Flickr via Defence Images.

Journalists,endangered species in war zones - National Mirror, June 19, 2016

Journalists,endangered species in war zones  -  National Mirror, June 19, 2016

By Paul Omo Obadan

Amidst mounting prospect of global conflict posed by the threat of terrorism as depicted by Boko Haram,Al-Qaeda, ISIS and the likes, the rate at which members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm, otherwise described as the watchdogs of the society have increasingly had their ranks depleted by death through occupational hazards,particularly in crisis zones gives cause for concern. PAUL OMO OBADAN writes on this worrisome trend that calls for urgent attention and action of stakeholders.

In 1990, two senior and highly resourceful Nigerian journalists, Tayo Awotunsin and Krees Imodibie of the Champion and The Guardian newspapers respectively disappeared in Monrovia,Liberia’s capital, while on official assignment in the West African country then beset with a fratricidal war over the political control of the former American colony. Awotunsin was a member of the editorial board of the Champion newspaper, while Imodibie was the political editor of The Guardian, a national daily.

This incident way back in 1989,opened a floodgates of unprecedented wave of loss of life for journalistscovering conflict zones. Both the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the NigerianUnion of Journalists called on the government to seek vengeance against CharlesTaylor, a Liberian rebel leader fighting to oust Sgt. Samuel Doe, a despotichead of state, who had held his nation down with tyranny; and his partners incrime, responsible for the death of the two outstanding journalists.

Many accounts said the twojournalists were captured by troops loyal to Taylor in August while they werestaying at a downtown hotel. From there, witnesses said, they were moved toseveral locations. The first indication that their lives might be in dangercame in October when Taylor threatened to execute several hundred WestAfricans, including Nigerians, whom his troops were holding hostage. Taylormade the threat in an effort to force the withdrawal of the five-nation WestAfrican peace-keeping force, ECOMOG that entered Liberia in an effort toenforce a cease-fire in the war.

Taylor had vigorously opposed theintervention, arguing that the force was, in fact, trying to prop up thegovernment of President Samuel K. Doe, who was subsequently slain by anotherrebel group. In an account published in The Sunday Times, a Lagos weekly fromthe stable of Daily Times, the flagship of the Nigerian press, Mr. LindsayBarrett said the order to execute the two journalists were given by Putu Major,a rebel commander. Mr. Barrett cited unidentified witnesses who said that“although Charles Taylor did not give a direct order for their death, hisbitter denounciation of all West African nationals led directly to theexecution of the two Nigerians. The former Liberian President was accused ofstarving to death, Awotunsin and Imodibie in 1990.

This information was revealed tothe Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) by a witness, Marie Vah, a nurseat the Minneapolis Hospital in the United States. She recounted how the twojournalists died in the hands of Mr Taylor’s defunct National Patriotic Frontof Liberia (NPFL) rebels under mysterious circumstances. “Captured and kept ina make-shift prison in the NPFL Gbanga headquarters in central Liberia, thejournalists looked like walking skeletons,” the TRC was told. Mrs Vah and afriend had travelled to Liberia from the US in 1990 in search of relatives onlyto be detained on the orders of the former rebel leader. Marie Vah is one ofseveral persons who testified at the Diaspora hearing at Hamline University inMinnesota. She said they were denied food during their brief imprisonmentalongside the journalist who “looked so emaciated.”

“The condition I saw them in, Idon’t think they survived long after we left the jail,” she said. TRC wasestablished by the Liberian government to heal the many wounds caused by theWest African country’s 14-year civil war. ‘I Never Ordered the Killing ofNigerian Journalists’ In an exclusive interview with the Chairman/ChiefExecutive Officer of Channels Television, Mr. John Momoh in Calabar, CrossRiver State while in exile in Nigeria in 2004, Mr. Taylor maintained hisinnocence, reiterating that he never ordered the killing of Nigerianjournalists.’ “Two Nigerian journalists were killed by a colonel of the thenNPFL, by the name ‘Putu Major’. Putu Major was arrested, he was courtmartialled, tried and executed for the killing of those two journalists. Idispatched my information Officer here to Nigeria to meet with the families ofthe two journalists, to explain the issue and offered them a small ‘envelope’,but they refused it.

“The killing of those journalistswere wrong, I did not accept it and I took action. Those two journalists thatwere killed caused the execution of Colonel Putu major. You go to Liberia nowand ask anyone, they will tell you Putu Major was executed by the NPFL under mycommand.” Taylor said.

As fate would have it, CharlesTaylor who ran to Nigeria on exile was subsequently arrested and taken to theHague to face judgment. A 50-year jail term was handed to the Liberianexpresident for encouraging rebels in Sierra Leone to mutilate, rape and murderduring the country’s civil war. He is the first head of state to be convictedof war crimes by an international court since the Nuremberg trials of Nazileaders after World War II. Since then, Journalists have been on the receivingend in conflict-riddled war zones.

The idiom, ‘The pen is mightierthan the sword,’ said to emphasize that thinking and writing have moreinfluence on people and events than the use of force or violence, has become afallacy. Now, action speaks louder than word and a sword can only change aperson’s opinion by force and then, often results only in the person’s death. So,when it comes to governance of the humans, violence outweighs our thoughts andthinking. This is best depicted by the way hundreds of journalists die in lineof duty, especially while covering conflicts.

The pen is no more, mightier thanthe sword, it would seem. ‘110 journalists killed this year need a responsethat matches the emergency’ According to Reporters without Borders (RSF), atotal of 110 journalists were killed around the world in 2015.

Noting that while many died inwar zones, the majority were killed in supposedly peaceful countries. 67journalists were killed in the line of duty this year, the watchdog group saidin its annual roundup, listing war-torn Iraq and Syria as most dangerous placesfor journalists with 11 and 10 fatalities respectively, followed by France,where eight journalists were killed in a jihadist assault on a satiricalmagazine. A further 43 journalists around the world died in circumstances thatwere unclear and 27 non-professional “citizen-journalists” and seven other mediaworkers were also killed, RSF said.

The high toll is “largelyattributable to deliberate violence against journalists” and demonstrates thefailure of initiatives to protect media personnel, the report said, calling forthe United Nations to take action. In particular, the report shed light on thegrowing role of “non-state groups” — often jihadists such as the Islamic Stategroup — in perpetrating atrocities against journalists. In 2014, it said,two-thirds of the journalists killed were in war zones. But in 2015, it was theexact opposite, with “two-thirds killed in countries ‘at peace’.” “Non-stategroups perpetrate targeted atrocities while too many governments do not complywith their obligations under international law,” RSF Secretary General, ChristopheDeloire said. “The 110 journalists killed this year need a response thatmatches the emergency. A special representative of the United Nationssecretary-general for the safety of journalists must be appointed withoutdelay.”

The 67 deaths bring to 787 thetotal number of journalists who were murdered, knowingly targeted or killed inthe course of their work since 2005, the Paris-based organisation said. In2014, there were 66 such fatalities. France was the scene of an unprecedentedattack on the press in January when gunmen opened fire at the offices of thesatirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people, including eightjournalists.

“It was an unprecedentedtragedy,” RSF said. “A western country had never suffered a massacre of thiskind in the past. “Charlie Hebdo’s journalists and employees have been livingunder close protection ever since. Some of them still have to keep changingtheir place of residence.” In Syria, the northern town of Aleppo was describedas “a minefield” for professional and citizen-journalists alike. “Caughtbetween the various parties to the conflict since 2011, journalists are liableto end up as collateral victims, being taken hostage by a non-state group (suchas Islamic State, the Al Nusra Front or the Free Syrian Army) or being arrestedby the Assad regime,” RSF said.

Those murdered in Syria includedJapanese freelance reporter Kenji Goto, whose execution by the Islamic Stategroup was unveiled in a macabre video in January. – India ‘deadliest’ Asiancountry – The RSF report also singled out India, where nine journalists hadbeen murdered since the start of 2015, some of them for reporting on organisedcrime and its links with politicians and others for covering illegal mining.India saw five journalists killed in the course of their work and four foruncertain reasons, which is why it ranked below France where the cause of deathwas known.

“Their deaths confirm India’sposition as Asia’s deadliest country for media personnel, ahead of bothPakistan and Afghanistan,” RSF said, urging the Indian government to establish“a national plan for protecting journalists”. In Bangladesh, four secularistbloggers were killed in acts claimed by local jihadists.

“The passivity of the Bangladeshiauthorities in the face of this bloodbath has fostered a climate of impunitythat is extremely dangerous for citizen journalists,” RSF said. The report alsoplaced the spotlight on 54 journalists who were held hostage at the end of2015, 26 of them in Syria, and 153 journalists who were in prison, 23 of themin China and 22 in Egypt. Judith Matloff teaches conflict reporting, and isresponsible for coverage of victims in conflict situations. She has pioneeredsafety training for journalists in Europe, Africa, Latin America and the UnitedStates.

To help foster a culture ofsafety in journalism, Judith Matloff, an adjunct faculty at the ColumbiaUniversity Graduate School of Journalism, hosted a day-long free securityworkshop on Conflict Reporting, and panel discussion at the Multi- Purpose Room,U.S. Consulate General, #2 Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos,Nigeria; to seek to remind the public of the rising dangers facing journalistsglobally.

Reporters increasingly findthemselves targeted by extremist groups and governments alike, leaving themvulnerable to those trying to keep corruption, abuse and other wrongdoings outof the spotlight These are the environment awaiting the next generation ofyoung correspondents. Judith, a conflict reporting instructor at ColumbiaUniversity, led the workshop for 23 young reporters from a diverse array ofbackgrounds.

The one-day introduction to riskassessment included practical advice on how to work safely onassignmennewspapers; Taiwo George, Cable; Joy Ken-Abakpoya, Nigeria TelevisionAuthority; Waheed Idowu, Nigeria Television Authority; Joseph Asa’ah, WFM 91.7;Richard Edoki, Rhythm FM; Paul Obadan, National Mirror; Mark Itsibor, TellMagazine; and Leke Baiyewu of the Punch. Others were Tokunboh Oyetunji, AfricaIndependent Television; Taiwo Ojedele, Voice of Nigeria; Moses Alao, NigerianTribune; Chiemelie Ezeobi, This Day; Nathaniel Akhigbe, BusinessDay; CharlesErukaa, Channels TV; Kehinde Adeaga, Rainbow FM; Ben Ezeamalu, Premium Times;Godfrey Obemeata, Galaxy TV; Emeka Monye, Silver- Bird TV; Adaugo Yulia Ozigbu,FRCN/Radio Nigeria; Thomas Uzuakpundu, Smooth FM; Tunde Pratt, RadioContinental and Precious Igbonwelundu of the Nation make.

The workshop led into a paneldiscussion and luncheon that brought together industry leaders working in andalongside the press. The Consul-General of the United States of America FrancisJohn Bray said in the opening remarks that conflict reporting had gainedattention due to the ever increasing internal and transnational conflicts thatwe see around the world.

‘In West Africa, we see terroristorganizations working together crossing borders to destabilize societies andgovernments. Boko Haram has been the source of mindless violence in Nigeria,Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. Violent extremists continue to fuel tension andviolence in Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, the Central African Republic, Sudanand South Sudan.

So, given the magnitude of theseconflicts, you need to, as we say, ‘up your game.’ Effective reporting requiresdeep understanding of the nature of the conflict in order to report accuratelyand with compassion. You must master the competing narratives of thegovernment, the affected communities, including the victims, and thebelligerents. This mastery is critical for you to navigate in the fog andcontribute to resolution of conflict and peace building. Willie Brown, the 41stMayor of San Francisco, the first African American to hold that job said: “alie unanswered becomes truth within 24 hours.” It is your duty as aprofessional to prevent that from happening.”

“I’ve seen a lot of conflict in30 years of government service. Aside from almost four years in Nigeria, andthe obvious places like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Cote d’Ivoire, I’ve spent a lotof time in Bosnia, Somalia, and Haiti. And in all these venues, I’ve servedalongside some of the finest journalists in the world. In my personal opinion,what you face in Nigeria on any given day rivals the most complex situationsI’ve encountered anywhere.

Whether it is sectarian violencein Plateau, rising militancy in the Delta, festering pro-Biafra groups in theSouth- East, cult activities, or the insurgency in the North-East, there isconflict everyday. And this is why it is important for you and your peers toacquire knowledge and skills that will help you in conflict reporting. There isan old adage, often attributed to Aeschylus, the Greek playwright, that “inwar, truth is the first casualty.” In my experience, this is true. Moreover,democratic societies depend on the news media for this elusive thing we calltruth.

This dependence by the public onthe media gives you and your colleagues immense responsibility. On a dailybasis, without conflict, you make choices regarding the stories you report and theprominence you give to stories. Your readers and listeners depend on you toprovide them timely information on the political landscape in the country,government policies, the electoral process, foreign policies and internationaldevelopment to help them make informed decisions. The consequences ofinaccurate reporting can be harmful. You must strive to be accurate all thetime.

Your reporting on the armedconflict in the North-East, the serious violence in the Niger Delta, violenceduring elections and other conflicts are delicate situations that require youto not only be balanced, fair and accurate, but to also be sensitive in yourreporting to foster peaceful resolutions. Inaccurate, dramatic, and graphicconflict reporting can escalate violence and worsen a situation. The job istough. Soldiers in combat refer to a phenomenon that the Prussian strategistClausewitz identified as “the fog of war.” During conflict, journalists – anddiplomats – face the same fog as you seek truth.”

A panel of experienced young reporters gave some insight into their own experiences. Channels Television correspondent, Charles Erukaa talked about his experience covering the unrest of Boko haram, in the North-East, Nigeria. “Journalists were a huge target in Ferguson, they didn’t want us there,” Jarrett said. “What happens when the rioters start throwing things at journalists’ compounds? You weren’t even safe in the safe areas that they set up for you.” According to Dr. Tayo Popoola,lecturer in the department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos who has taught conflict reporting under the scope from 1914 when the first World War started, journalists have been involved in coverage of global conflicts.Professor Idowu Shobowale of Daily Times then was the first war correspondent.