Life Patron of the Riv
ers State Union of Secondary Schools Press Club, Mrs Gloria Boma Harry, has called on members of the club to be passionate about journalism, if they want to practise the profession.
Mrs Harry, who made the call recently in an exclusive interview with The Tide, shortly after a sensitisation programme organised tby the club for its members in various secondary schools in the state, noted that without passion, they cannot practice journalism.
“Press Club is all about journalism in the secondary school community.  They organised this programme to know exactly how to report events in the school community”, she said.
Harry, a publisher noted that as aspiring journalists, they should not come into the profession with the mindset of making money because “it is a profession in which you work selflessly rendering selfless services”.
“But with a passion to mould society in the right direction, one can achieve a lot, beyond being merely comfortable financially”, she said.
On his part, President of the press club, Gospel Nengibo Jnr stated that the essence of the programme was to enable members, particularly those aspiring to be journalists, to know the rudiments of the profession.
“As a boy with a vision, it is my top priority to ensure that members should know the dos and don’ts of the profession and the ethics surrounding it.
This is why we needed a lecturer in journalism to teach us on how to become a journalist, he said.
In her presentation, the Guest Lecturer, Ibiere Cookey, harped on the intricacies of journalism practice, saying that it requires “a lot of dedication and hardwork”.
She, however, urged the students not to be deterred by the hazards of the profession, noting that “every job has its own form of hazards”.