UCJ UI organizes Journalism Training for LPOs

Oluwatosin Adeoye and Christabel Maduka

The Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ibadan held a basic journalism training during the weekend for new members across local press organizations on campus.

The training was held at room 71 of the Faculty of Arts with seasoned Campus Journalists handling various sessions.
Speaking on News Writing, Olawale Olaogun, Editor-in-Chief NUESA Press mentioned that news reporters should not interject opinion in a news piece. Adding that CJs should “check and recheck facts” of stories they are working on before submitting for publications.

Oluwatobi Odeyinka, the Editor-in-Chief of UCJ, speaking of features writing, emphasized that features is not an opinion article. Odeyinka advised that CJs should not set out to write a feature article if they had not identified their audience, knew the medium and most importantly done adequate research on the topic.

Olamilekan Mashika, AFAS Press Editor-in-Chief anchored the session on Editorial writing. Olamilekan explained that an editorial expresses the opinion of the press and is often subjective.

Bolaji Alade, the Editor-in-Chief of Law Press, speaking on Journalism Ethics and Expectations stated that application of ethics depends on the case or story at hand. Advising CJs to “consider utility value of stories before working on it”

The Editor-in-Chief of Indy Press, and the Chairman UCJ-UI Monitoring Committee, John Dare-Okafor, spoke on press structure and management emphasizing the need for desk editors to showcase exemplary leadership. He advised CJs to be consistent because it is the soul of this profession and ensure that “they chase stories but avoid chasing stories that will chase them out of the institution”.

The President of the Union, Ibukunoluwa Dada in his closing remark admonished the participants of the training to be committed and conscious of their mental health as they practice journalism on campus.