LIDA Network, Kenya, last Saturday, February 17, trained African journalists on how to tell impact-driven African stories and elements not to miss out on while telling such stories.
The webinar, which took place on Google Zoom and was themed “Telling Impact Driven African Stories: Elements Never to Miss Out,” was facilitated by an award-winning journalist, Kunle Adebajo, the Head of Investigation at Humangle, Nigeria, and registered participants across different African countries.
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During the training, Mr. Adebanjo shed light on the essence of reports and how persuasion can help in getting vital information. “As a journalist, you must have a good relationship with people and produce impact-driven stories because that is the essence of rigorous reporting. Through reading, people change their behaviors; the government and actors react; make positive changes; and correct wrongs.”
The award-winning journalist also emphasized the importance of quality work and why it is necessary to do follow up.
“Writing is not just to make money or earn a salary, but journalists should know they signed up for the public service profession and they have to effect change in society.
“We need to understand and document issues as accurately as possible. It is not about the numbers of people that read a report but the kind of people that read it and the changes it brought,” he explained.
Mr. Adebayo, while making reference to Kemi Busari’s story, educated the participants that the main purpose of documentation is to detail the correct facts and not to misinform society.
“For instance, the Kemi Busari ‘baba Aisha’ story educated and informed people about how self medication and unregistered affordable services can endanger people’s health, and that is what a good report should look like.”
Speaking with LIDA Network, Jimoh Abdallah, one of the participants and a freelance journalist, said that the training has exposed him and widened his journalistic skills.
“This training has helped me to know how to produce impact-driven stories, how AI can help journalists during the course of their work, and how follow-up and extra efforts can help to make an impact. I understand that a journalist should not just think there is nothing he can do.”
The LIDA Network journalist lecture series is to be carried out subsequently.
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