NGO Trains Newsmen On Election Conflict Reportage In Bayelsa

A non governmental organisation, Search for Common Ground, has trained no fewer than 30 newsmen in Bayelsa on best practices for reporting conflicts during and after elections.
Mr Chukwuemeka Cletus, the NGO’s Project Manager, Niger Delta Region, said at the end of the two-day training programme in Yenagoa yesterday that media reportage should promote peace during election period.
He said that objective reportage and effective peace messaging were crucial in promoting communal peace in the Niger Delta region.
The project manager said that a total of 150 media men would be trained in the course of the project which would hold in different batches.
”As a body, we want journalists to acquire the skills to adequately analyse situations that are capable of escalating into conflicts during election periods.
“We have found out that journalists can contribute towards peace building with the right reportorial skills and approach,” he said.
According to him, media men operating in the Niger Delta need to be conflict-sensitive following the volatility of the region.
“The Niger Delta is tagged a no-go area, it is our belief that well skilled journalists can rewrite this story and change the narrative.
“This is the reason they need to become conflict-sensitive in their reportage, they need to promote peace,” he said.
The Resource Person, Mr Emmanuel Ohiomokhare, who spoke on Conflict Sensitivity Journalism, called for a change of orientation on the path of newsmen.