March 7, 2018

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged media professionals in Nigeria to embrace  data gathering  in order to ensure accurate  and credible  reportage.

Mrs Blessing Ejiofor, UNICEF Communication Officer, Lagos Field Office, made the call in Ibadan on Wednesday at a two-day workshop on  data-driven reporting   for journalists.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Lagos State.

Ejiofor, who noted that data is  critical to policy-making in every organisation, said data processing in news writing would ensure that news and reports are  accurate and credible.

“For our report to be credible and believable, we need accurate data from credible sources which make such reports to be credible and believable by people who read or watch,’’ she said.

Ejiofor said that the workshop was aimed at training participants on how to effectively turn data into stories, adding that it would also create opportunities for data supported advocacy for children in the Nigerian media.

The workshop, she added, would also familiarise journalists with key finding of multiple indicator cluster survey as it relates to children and women in the South West  Zone and Edo.

She further said  that the expected outcome of the training would  enable journalists to gain skills on interpreting data for stories and reports.

Earlier, Mr Waheed Ishola, the NOA Director, said that the workshop was aimed at training journalists on gathering of  data and their interpretation for news reporting.

Ishola said that data in news reporting was important for  accurate  and credible reports.

NAN reports that more than 50 journalists are participating in the workshop.