FCMB restates commitment to deepen capacity

By Amaka Ifeakandu
Lagos

Journalists in Nigeria have been urged to  adopt creative thinking and innovative skills in order to meet the demands of today’s fast-pace age to enable them discharge their responsibilities.                                   The Chief Executive of Corporate Shepherds Limited, Mr. Idorenyen Enang, who made the call in Lagos  at a media parley organised by First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited said  Nigerian journalists need to  always ensure due diligence and uphold the ethics of the media profession in line with global best practices.  The interactive forum,  is part of the Bank’s initiatives to further promote excellence, build capacity of media practitioners, spur ideas, deepen relationships and appreciate their role in the dissemination of quality and balanced communication within the country and beyond.

Speaking on the topic, ‘’Raising the Bar’’,  Enang,  stated that considering the ongoing challenges and reforms in the country, a lot is expected from the media, especially financial journalists, in terms of creative thinking, analysing facts and bringing innovation to bear.                                According to him, “it is imperative for media practitioners to re-create a mental shift and a transformational mindset that will boost their growth from being ‘just correspondents’ to agenda setters and solution providers.”
Enang, a former Managing Director of Samsung Nigeria and Marketing Director of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, said  ‘’it is important to emphasise that boosting creative and innovative abilities takes attentive practice. Creativity is the development of ideas; innovation is the execution of those ideas. So, we cannot be innovative without first learning how to think creatively. Recognizing and honing one’s creative potential is a process’’.  He therefore admonished media practitioners to expand the frontiers of their knowledge base by adopting practices that would enable them reinvent themselves and the entire media industry in order to contribute significantly to national development.
He however  pointed out that financial journalism is a critical segment that requires in-depth knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of socio-economic issues and the environment; hence journalists in this area need to think outside the square by being more creative in their thinking, innovative and objective in writing and reporting and analytical in reviews to avoid misinformation and ambiguity