Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage receives high rate of endorsement

Enthusiasm is running high that the Nigerian media is committed to the professional and ethical coverage of the 2019 elections.

This is as a result of the growing number of media outfits endorsing the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage (Revised edition 2018), which underlines a common chord in the industry for self regulation and checking of excesses.

The Code will be launched in Abuja-Nigeria on Friday June 22, 2018 as part of the activities of the World Congress of the International Press Institute (IPI).  A statement by Lanre Arogundade, Director of International Press Centre (IPC) said about eighty (80) media outfits have so far endorsed the Code including professional groups and associations, the broadcast media, newspapers, online news mediums and support groups. The Code, a revised edition of the 2014/2015 Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage was recently validated by media stakeholders.

Arogundade said the Code have been okayed by the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Radio Television And Theatre Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU) and Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP).

He said it was encouraging that prominent media establishments that have so far endorsed include, Channels Television, AIT, RAYPOWER Radio, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and the following newspapers: Vanguard, ThisDay, Daily Trust, The Guardian, The Sun, Leadership, The Nation,  Premium Times, The Cable, Eagle News, Business Eye magazine and The News Magazine.

Arogundade also said it was gratifying that fifty-five members of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) who publish Online have endorsed the Code as well as the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) and the Association of Communication Scholars & Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN).

Media support groups promoting media development, independence and professionalism that have endorsed the Code have also been impressive. They include: the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Institute for Media and Society (IMS), Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalists (PTCIJ), Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalists (WSCIJ), Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER), Network for Media Excellence, Journalism Clinic, Media Career Development Centre (MCDC), Diamond Media Awards for Excellence (DAME) the Journalism Clinic and Media Law Centre.

Arogundade expressed hope that the number of organisations endorsing the Code would increase before the public launch and presentation next week.

“We are particularly elated at the kind of responses we are getting from many media organisations that have either endorsed or expressed interest in endorsing the Code”, he said.

Essentially the Code provides guidelines for the ethical conduct of journalists and their respective organisations in the coverage of elections. This obligation according to the Code “entails the performance of oversight, public education, open forum and conflict management roles by the media during elections”.

The Code also says in its preamble that the “effective performance of these important roles requires the observance of the highest standards of professionalism, maximum compliance with regulatory frameworks and deference to the public good and interest”.

It therefore says that “it is desirable to have a set of guidelines that regulates the professional and ethical conduct of the media and journalists during elections” and enjoins practitioners that “compliance with the guidelines will contribute to the conduct of credible elections and corresponding social order”

Among others, the Code provides for a section to regulate Hate Speech and other forms of incitement which according to it, “could lead to violence and threaten the democratic fabric of a society”. “The social obligations of the media during elections therefore include the prevention of hate speech”, it says.

Arogundade stated that the revision, publication and dissemination of the Code is one of the activities being undertaken by IPC under Component 4b: Support to the media of the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) project, which seeks to build a professional media as catalysts of democratic accountability, credible elections and good governance. 20,000 copies of the updated code shall be produced and disseminated to journalists for use ahead of the 2019 general elections.

 'SANMI FALOBI

Programme Manager

International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos, Nigeria
IPC is Nigeria's foremost media capacity development organization.
www.ipcng.org  l  www.twitter.com/IPCng  l www.facebook.com/ipc.nigeria  l  www.youtube.com/ipcng  l  Google+ : Ipc Ng

O Quadro organizes film festival [Brazil]

Students can submit their films to this festival.

Metrô - Festival do Cinema Universitário, organized by film production company O Quadro, will take place in October in Curitiba.

The event will feature workshops, debates, script-writing lab, special exhibitions and a competitive show.

Films must be up to 30 minutes long and have been produced after January 2016. In addition to a trophy, winners may receive prizes from the event's partners and supporters.

The deadline is July 6.

For more information on how to enter, click here.

Photo Exhibition seeks submissions [Africa]

Journalists and photographers can submit images to this exhibition. 

The Africa-China Reporting Project at Wits Journalism is organizing the Africa-China Photo Exhibition, which will gather images that illustrate how the lives of the people of Africa are changing amid Africa-China interactions. 

The author of the best image will receive a US$1,000 grant to write an accompanying story of the image as well as a fully paid trip to the Project’s Africa-China Journalists Forum in Johannesburg on Nov. 1.

The second place will also be awarded a US$1,000 grant to write the accompanying story of the image.

The deadline is Aug. 3.

For more information on how to apply, click here.

UNFCCC launches Youth video competition on climate change [Worldwide]

Aspiring videomakers ages 18 to 30 can enter this contest.The Global Youth Video Competition on Climate Change, organized by the UNFCCC secretariat and the UNDP-GEF Small Grants Program, seeks videos of up to 3 minutes showcasing your activities to fight climate change.

The competition has two categories: responsible production and consumption, and green and climate-friendly jobs. Videos must be in English or have English subtitles.

Two winners will receive an all-expenses trip to the 24th session of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 24) December in Katowice, Poland, where they will work as youth reporters assisting the UN Climate Change team with videos, articles and social media posts.

The deadline is Aug. 31.

For more information on how to apply, click here.

Journalists for Human Rights offers Internship program [Canada]

Aspiring journalists of indigenous background can apply for an internship in Vancouver.

Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), in partnership with The Tyee, seeks applicants for its Emerging Indigenous Reporter Program. 

The program aims to ensure young, indigenous media students will have the opportunity to be supported throughout their journey to becoming established Canadian journalists.

The successful candidate will join The Tyee team to develop an in-depth reporting project on a public interest issue, while also having the opportunity to work on breaking stories.

The deadline to apply is July 13. 

For more information on how to apply, click here.

Journalism awards seeks reports on economic development [Latin America, Caribbean]

Journalists and students who cover agribusiness may compete in this contest.

The 2018 Massey Ferguson Journalism Awards, organized by AGCO in Brazil, aims to promote the coverage of issues related to the rural sector and agriculture, focusing on matters that interfere directly or indirectly with the economic development of society.

Works must have been published or broadcast between  Sept. 5, 2017 and July 2, 2018 in Portuguese, Spanish or English.

The competition has seven categories: newspaper, magazine, multimedia, television, photojournalism, students, and Central/South America and Caribbean.

Winners of the Central/South America and Caribbean category will receive a trip to Pernambuco, Brazil. Winners residing in Brazil will receive cash prizes and electronic devices.

The deadline is July 2.

For more information on how to enter, click here.

Institute offers free webinar on US elections reporting [Worldwide]

Journalists interested in elections reporting can register for this online course.

News University, the Poynter Institute e-learning project, is offering the webinar "Democracy on deadline: take your coverage of U.S. elections to the next level" at 2 p.m. EDT June 28.

Participants will learn how to make sense of the rules and laws that apply to elections; the best ways to learn what is happening inside the polls on election day; how to address questions about security, access and integrity in elections; and more.

The instructors are Kay Stimson, government relations and public affairs professional, and Tammy Patrick, senior advisor to the elections program at the Democracy Fund.

This course is sponsored by the Democracy Fund. 

Registration is free and ongoing.

For more information on how to register, click here.

Grants for storytelling projects available [US]

Emerging journalists and documentarians working on a storytelling project can apply for a grant.

The Independent Filmmaker Project and HBO are launching the New True Stories Funding Initiative to support multiformat nonfiction storytellers in the early stages of development.

Projects can be short-form or feature-length documentaries or serialized content on the arts, humanities, contemporary societal, personal or political issues.

Grants will range from US10,000 to US$30,000, depending on the scale and scope of the project.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

For more information on how to apply, click here.