Women journalists have been charged to report Gender Based Issues which could facilitate policies that would be of great interest to the women.
The advice was given at a-one day training organized for women journalists by Wole Soyinka Centre For Investigative Journalism, Report Women! Female Reporters Leadership Programme held on Tuesday June 6th, 2023 in Akure the Ondo state capital.
Speaking at the event, the convener, Olafisoye Adenitan urged the participants to adopt the key points given to them to make their news reportage more credible and more focused on gender issues.
“Apart from that, the issue of focusing on women, taking stories from the angle of women, reporting it in an emotional way that will show the sensitivity of policy makers and reasons on why they should put up policies that will be to the interest of women”, she stated.
“In view of this, we feel that there is need for gender mainstreaming and to call the consciousness of our female journalists, especially to the need for them to be intentional in reporting the issue of women and children”.
Declaring the event open, the Special Adviser to Ondo State Governor on Gender, Mrs Olamide Falana, congratulated the convener for trailing the blaze, which she said, made the state proud.
She encouraged female journalists to continue to uphold investigative tenets of the profession and always get the story right which she stated will help in achieving gender mainstream in the society.
In his goodwill message, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Prince Leke Adegbite congratulated the convener for being among the 12 female journalists in Africa who were picked at the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative journalism.
Adegbite commended women journalists for their strong will and resilience as he appealed to their spouses to show understanding and encourage them to see the profession they have chosen as the right path.
The Acting Chairperson of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, Ondo State Council, Mrs Tola Gbadamosi described the topic as timely and important in the World of journalism today.
“I am very happy that one of us has deemed it fit to ensure that female journalists in the state have an insight of what is actually happening and what we actually needed”, she stated.
The General Manager, Positive FM, Akure, Mrs Olubunmi Olalere who was represented by the Manager News, Mrs Dupe Isename stated that gender mainstream in the media goes beyond increasing women participation.
“Gender is not just about women, men are inclusive. When we talk about women participation in all types of media outlets, it means focusing on issues, experiences and interests of both men and women to bear in developmental agenda”.
Presenting a paper on the Theme: “Gender Mainstreaming in the Media”, the Resource Person, Mrs Titi Fola-Adebayo stated that gender mainstream refers to the integration of a gender perspective into all aspects of media content, production, news reporting, content production, and editorial decision-making processes, with the aim of promoting gender equality.
According to her, the problem and challenges include; gender stereotyping, Traditional and cultural barriers, lack of gender-sensitive reporting guidelines, Gender-Based Violence and harassment, insufficient gender training,
Lack of data on gender representation, audience perception and demand resistance to change.
She highlighted some possible solutions to include: Ensuring sustainability of initiatives, Developing gender-sensitive guidelines, Conducting gender-awareness training, Promoting gender diversity in newsrooms, analyzing gender representation in media content, encouraging women’s voices and perspectives.
Added to these are; collaborating with gender-focused organizations, fostering an inclusive newsroom culture and Engaging with audiences.
She equally called for establishing gender desks & monitoring progress and being accountable for them.
“We must, however, note that addressing these considerations and challenges require a comprehensive and multi-stakeholder approach involving media organizations, regulatory bodies, journalists, civil society, and government agencies to promote gender mainstreaming in Nigerian print and broadcast media”.
Contributing, the Director, News and Current Affairs, Ondo State Radiovision Corporation, OSRC, Ms Nike Busari encouraged women journalists not to allow censorship or hazards of the job to prevent them from forging ahead to stardom.
The state FIDA Chairperson, Mrs Jumoke Ogunjebi tasked journalists on the need to be thorough in their calling and uphold the ethics of the profession.
