Media Technology And Journalism Practice

Not long ago, 23 journalists from 10 African countries gathered at the Institute of Mass Communication in New Delhi, India, for a training programme on modern-day journalism.

The journalists’ training was at the instance of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, to strengthen bilateral relations between the Asian country and the African continent.

The Indian government, keen on developing a robust relationship with African countries, has been conducting various media training programmes for African journalists since 1969.

This year’s programme had participants from Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Namibia, Mauritius, Niger, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Welcoming the journalists to India, Mr Vishnu Prakash, spokesman for the country’s Ministry of External Affairs, noted that the media remained a vital tool in efforts to promote and strengthen bilateral relations between countries.

“We are eager to have institutional linkages between Indian and African media; between news agencies, newspapers and the broadcast stations,’’ he said.

Prakash said that India was organising the training programme to prepare African journalists for the contemporary demands of journalism practice in the 21st Century.

Also speaking, Prof. Kshitindra Shrivastava, a lecturer in the institute and the programme’s coordinator, acknowledged the vital roles of Africa in the world’s economy.

He underscored India’s determination to play appreciable roles in African affairs, adding that the country’s resolve in that direction informed its decision to fortify the African media with regard to the current trends of journalism practice.

Shrivastava noted that the courses of the training programme provided opportunities for the participants drawn from different media organisations to deliberate on varying topical issues and sharpen their professional skills.

He, nonetheless, stressed that the modern-day journalist ought to have a good sense of judgment and a good command of the language in use, to be able to survive in the milieu of modern journalism practice.

Shrivastava particularly stressed the need for journalists to embrace the use of new media technologies in their professional practice.

The professor, however, held the view that mobile phones and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) would outshine other forms of media in the future.

“The biggest media growth is going to come from the mobile phone, as the mobile phone is the brand of information technology that is set to outshine other media of mass communication.

“GSM is the world’s largest market and young people, who are our future, are at the centre of it,’’ Shrivastava said.

“We (India) will use our human resources for the development of the mobile phone media platform, which could be a game changer for Africa as well,’’ he added.

Shrivastava particularly urged African countries and media professionals to adopt the emerging media technologies, while engaging in multimedia journalism to expand the scope of media coverage and reports.

He reiterated that the use of mobile phones as a tool of mass communication would not only boost information dissemination but would also stimulate the growth of journalism as a profession.

Making reference to India, Shrivastava noted that out of India’s 1.21 billion population, some 800 million citizens had access to mobile phones.

The professor explained that news — either in audio or video forms — could be transmitted via the mobile phone platform to recipients even in remote localities.

“Apart from using the mobile phone as a news-dissemination medium, it could also be effectively used to deliver welfare services to the rural poor who do not have access to other forms of mass communication,’’ he said.

Shrivastava expatiated that if media houses adopted the use of mobile phones for their news gathering and reports’ dissemination, they would have more efficient services with wider and faster coverage.

Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Srimoy Patra, the Director of Operations of Multi Vision Digital System Ltd. In New Delhi, said that the exponential growth in the use of mobile phones and the Internet across the world was quite amazing.

Patra envisioned a great future for the “new media’’, which incorporated the use of the Internet and mobile phones, saying that it had greater prospects than the print and electronic media.

“Very soon, we will not have three types of media but one and that is already happening.

“With your laptop, you don’t need to turn on your television to view movies or watch matches. We also have online version of newspapers.

“Mobile phones are getting more sophisticated by the day. They now have various functions, as they act as video or audio recorders, radio and television. You can now do anything with mobile phones; you can download or upload data and have a virtual office,’’ Patra said.

“We are on the threshold of a revolution and the use of mobile phone is going to change the people’s lives,’’ he added.

Patra noted that the comparative advantages of the new media included its accessibility and affordability.

According to him, Africa has 5.6 per cent of the world’s two billion Internet users.

“The biggest revolution in Internet uses and applications is happening in Africa, the continent cannot be ignored by the world,’’ he said.

Patra, who noted that Africa was even ahead of Asia in Internet usage, urged African journalists to take advantage of online media services to improve their reportage and news’ transmission, particularly in conflict zones.

Patra, an expert in cyber journalism, advised African journalists and media agencies to engage in cyber journalism because of its numerous benefits.

He said that cyber media also involved the use of digital devices for the storage of information for future use.

He expatiated that the stored data could be exchanged and used for research, among other functions, at any location, irrespective of any programmed restrictions, to reach a greater number of people at a faster rate.

Patra stressed that the adoption of cyber media by African journalists would enable them to compete with journalists from developed countries shoulder-to-shoulder.

“Cyber media has tremendous potential, especially in the crisis situations, because under such situations, the regular media could break down, giving cyber media the leeway to play significant roles.

“Even if you are not in the conflict zones, you can still get news from there, as journalists can just upload information from any place.

“And since cyber media extensively relies on digital technology, it has a greater reach, while the journalist in crisis situations can easily upload information and transmit reports,” he said.

Patra said that one of the beneficial aspects of cyber media was that it supported online journalism practice, adding that it also guaranteed the safety of data in the event of hardware ((computer) breakdowns.

He said that the comparative advantages of cyber media over the traditional media included its wider global reach.

“One can just upload information and it can get to some two billion people instantaneously because nowadays, more than two billion people across the world are using the Internet,’’ he said.

Patra implored journalists to take due advantage of online tools that were offered on the Internet for quick and efficient news delivery in crisis situations.

He also recommended the use of mobile phones by journalists to enhance their reportage.

“Mobile phones should be used effectively because today’s phones come with a variety of features.  Therefore, mobile phones play very vital communicative roles, particularly in crisis situations,’’ he said.

Moreover, Mr Tarun Basu, the Director of India-Africa Connect, an India-based non-governmental organisation, said that Africa had a large market for Internet use and products.

Basu said that this partly explained why India was concentrating its efforts in Africa on capacity building and skills development.

In spite of the emerging media technologies and their usefulness, virtually all the resource persons at the training stressed the need for journalists to uphold professional ideals via their news reports.

Ms Humra Quresi, a facilitator at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, called on journalists to be cautious while sourcing for stories.

She said that it was important for journalists to always double-check their facts and be circumspect, while relaying information they got from secondary sources.

“A good news report must be balanced and truthful. The journalist should be as truthful as possible by insisting on getting information first-hand.

“Journalists must check and recheck the sources of their stories; they must also strive to be balanced,’’ she said.

However, Quresi called on African journalists to lay particular emphasis on grassroots reporting, pointing out that people in rural communities were often neglected while they often bore the brunt of government policies.

“African journalists should act as the intermediary between the government and the people. Timely reports about people living in the rustic setting will help their cause,’’ she said.

Another resource person,  Mrs Shashwali Goswami, in her lecture on “Radio Journalism’’,  called on African radio journalists to be mindful of their language of communication because of the divergent interests of their audience.

She stressed that simple and concise terms, good scripting and editing were the hallmarks of a good news report.

The general consensus of opinions at the training programme was that African journalists ought to adopt the use of modern media technologies to enhance the quality and scope of their reports.

By so doing, African journalists will be in a position to compete favourably with their counterparts in Western countries, some said.

Ukuedojor write for NAN.

Magdalene Ukuedojor