- Safiu Kehinde
Media Experts have charged media organisation over the need for improved welfare for journalists.
The experts gave the charge during a panellists discussion at the May edition of the Journalism & Society Conversations hosted by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) on Tuesday.
As contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the WSCIJ team, the panelists comprising of Lekan Otufodunrin, Executive Director, Media Career Development Network; Victoria Bamas, Editor, International Centre for Investigative Reporting; Simon Sunday, Assistant Manager, New Media, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and Amaka Okoye, West Africa Correspondent DW News, deliberated on the theme, ‘Are newsroom struggling to retain talent?”
The panelists had in the conversation moderated by Jemilat Nasiru, a multimedia journalist from TheCable, urged media organisations to embrace clear career paths, supportive work cultures, fair structures, competitive pay for journalists.
They also called for the establishment of independent human resource teams to attract and retain talent in the media industry.
Prior to the discussion, Motunrayo Alaka, the Executive Director/CEO of WSCIJ, in her opening remarks, emphasised that investigative reporting demands ethical, curious, disciplined, and detail-oriented journalists who are able to perform their role of holding power to account thereby sustaining democracy.
Alaka raised concerns over the growing pressure on investigative journalists, many of whom are forced to juggle multiple roles due to economic challenges.
She urged newsroom managers, media owners, to evolve and become more dynamic in order to attract and retain such talent.
Lending his voice to the conversation, Otufodunrin noted that newsrooms are not just struggling to retain talent, but also to attract new ones who can meet the demands of the industry.
“One mistake we make is saying the newsroom is not civil service, people should know what they can become. I have seen media houses where people stay on a role for 10, 15 years.” He said.
Otufodunrin added that efforts of journalists should be recognised and rewarded, and that newsrooms must be reflection of the democratic society they advocate.
“Editors should be managers of human resources and not just news.”
He called for equity and profit-sharing models to boost the morale of media professionals so that newsrooms can retain their best hands.
Otufodunrin noted that beyond salaries, a major issue in local newsrooms is the lack of proper structure and job security.
On her part, Okoye argued that journalists in Nigerian newsrooms are often overworked and underpaid.
She also lamented how journalists are being micro-managed, unlike their counterparts in foreign media who are trusted to deliver on their tasks independently.
She urged Nigeria media to embrace freelancing model, noting that it offers flexibility and security when done right.
Another panellist, Sunday identified politics in the newsroom as a challenge for talent retention.
Journalists, according to him, are discouraged when there is bias in assessment, affecting their promotion.
“Newsrooms should invest in having an independent human resource team to avoid the bias in the newsroom management.” he said.
Also speaking during the conversation, Bamas called on media organisations to rethink how they hire and support their staff.
She urged them to offer competitive pay, clear paths for career growth and better welfare packages.
She also stressed the importance of protecting journalists who do accountability reporting, regularly assessing their work, and investing in continuous training to keep talent within the newsroom.
The Journalism & Society Conversations by WSCIJ brings together stakeholders to discuss pressing issues that affect the media and the society as well as the vital role of investigative journalism in holding the government accountable and contributing to nation-building.