PwC trains journalists on capability enhancement

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to the development of capability enhancement in journalists across the country.

This is coming as the advisory services firm hosted its fifth workshop for journalists in Lagos, which had participants from both traditional and new media platforms.

It featured insightful presentations on various topics by subject matter specialists with the aim of building the capacity of journalists and enhancing their abilities to execute duties effectively while positioning them to take advantage of future opportunities.

The workshop was instituted in recognition of the very important role of the media in society and in particular, the role that the media in Nigeria has and continues to play in informing and educating the public.

Speaking at the workshop, Partner and Head of Tax and Regulatory Resources, PwC Nigeria, Taiwo Oyedele, said the firm’s support for the media through the workshop and the media excellence award is in line with its purpose, which was to build trust in society and solve important problems.

Oyedele noted that the gesture was a demonstration of PwC’s strong belief that for the Nigerian people to enjoy good governance, the media must perform its role optimally and professionally and this is reflected in the quality of reporting, in the capacity of individual journalists to carry out research and investigations, in the independence of editorial judgments, and in their ability to use technology as an enabler.

This year, the organiser took a poll of the workshop participants at the point of registration, to come up with the topics discussed at the session.

The presentations at the workshop included a session on ‘Technology and Data Journalism: Using data to transform story telling’ facilitated by Manager and Tax Technology lead, PwC Nigeria, Victor Olorunfemi.

The session demonstrated the power of technology and data in enabling journalists tell insightful stories including the tools and sources of relevant data. Editor of BBC Pidgin, Adejuwon Soyinka, facilitated a session on ‘Investigative Journalism’ during which he shared his experience on recent reports including Sweet-Sweet Codeine and the unravelling of killings by Cameroonian troops in Northern Cameroon.

Other sessions included, ‘Preparing for the future: Savings & Investments Strategies’, where journalists were given insights that would help them rise above their meagre remunerations, save and make investments that will enable them live a better life while securing their future.

While the last session centred on the ‘Press Council Bill’, which was  on implications of provisions of the proposed law on journalists and the practice of journalism in Nigeria.