Tope Musowo
Lagos
Former Dean at the School of Communication, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof Lai Osho, has urged media organisations in the country to desist from giving voice to disruptive issues and instead use their platforms to help citizens build consensus.
Osho gave the advice at a three-day retreat organised by the Lagos state government for correspondents covering activities at the governor’s office, held at the Golden Tulip Hotels, Festac.
Osho, who said as development partners, the media has the responsibility to report good governance, added that journalists and their employers should desist from what he termed “dangerous discourses” in the bid to increase ratings, draw traffic to their websites or sell newspapers as the case may be.
“The media must provide space for consensus building. There is too much confrontation, opposition and threatening messages. You’ll find out that some of our so called leaders, the way they present issues, tend to antagonise other people. I don’t think media organisations should lend their spaces to such dangerous discusses.
“They must try to look at people with moderate views that can build this country, while as much as possible shun these cantankerous discourses that we have in the country,” he said.
While canvassing better working conditions for journalists in the country, Prof Osho decried the commercialisation of news, saying “many organisations have turned their reporters to marketing officers. That is against the ethics of journalism. News is the heart of any media organisation, if you have good news, advertisers will come.”
In his welcome address, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Mr. Habib Aruna, said that the three-day refresher course was organised because of the dynamism of reporting events at the State House and the need to furnish correspondents covering the beat with information that could enhance their reportage.
He said Ambode believed in the growth and development of the Nigeria media, hence he did not hesitate to approve the retreat for the correspondents covering his office, not only to enhance their skills, but also to do so in a more relaxed and serene atmosphere.
