Broadcasting
Cloud Network, Lagos State Partner to Build Strategic Capacity for Media Operation
Cloud Network Foundation (CNF) and the Lagos State Government (LASG) are soon to hold a strategic capacity-building workshop for the operators in the media industry.
The initiative, the first in a series of other noble plans is designed to engender massive engagements and collaboration with the stakeholders in the media industry to help plug the hole in the missing links between a healthy and more productive media industry and the professional challenges facing the media operators.
The 2-day event that will be declared open by the Lagos State Governor, His Excellence, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will feature talks on various topics such as Digital Media and Social Journalism, Data Journalism and Visualization and unpack the latest trends in YouTube, Radio, TV and documentary production.
It will proffer solutions to the nuts and bolts of investigative journalism, and Journalism in the era of Artificial Intelligence ( AI) amongst others.
Mr. Abimbola Tooki, Chairman of CNF, in a Statement released in Lagos, said that in this era of Social Media, Digital Publishing and the abuse and misuse of other opportunities in the technology space, knowledge development and applications of appropriate tools are critical in maximizing the potentials in the media space for national growth and development.
Speaking on the plan to forge collaborative engagements between the CNF and LASG, Tooki said that the partnership is designed to scale up professionals in the public and private media sectors.
Noting that this is intended to build a robust set of skills for operatives easily vulnerable to the pitfalls of the digital publishing space, he said that the delivery of professional competencies is imperative within the media ecosystem.
He stressed that the rise of the internet and digital technologies has revolutionised the way we consume media.
Traditional forms of media, such as newspapers and magazines, have given way to the online news portal, blogs, and social media platforms.
According to him, the convenience of accessing news and entertainment content anytime anywhere has made digital media increasingly popular.
The CNF leader acknowledged that the digital age has also presented media organizations with opportunities and challenges that need to be adequately grasped and mastered.
“On one hand, the Internet has expanded its reach, allowing us to connect with global audiences and experiment in new storytelling formats.
” On the other hand, the fragmentation of audiences, the dominance of social media platforms, and the decline in traditional advertising revenues pose significant challenges.
“Media organizations need to adapt by embracing digital technologies, exploring new business models, and fostering meaningful engagement with their audiences”.
He said in a fast-changing industry and the world there is a need to recognize the importance of equipping and constantly engaging journalists and other news actors with emerging and advanced digital skills, tools and knowledge.
According to him, these and more are the focus of the 2-day capacity building digital workshop being planned for the media professionals by the NCF in collaboration with the Lagos State Government.
According to him, the main objectives of the workshop include enhancing professional competence by providing journalists with up-to-date skills in reporting, storytelling, and digital media to adapt to the changing industry demands.
More so, the workshop will focus on ethical reporting and standards. This is to ensure that practitioners reinforce ethical journalism practices, ensuring accuracy, fairness, and accountability in reporting.
The workshop will ensure that professionals are reined in on the recurring challenges in the New Media space, and emerging technologies.
The workshop will also integrate digital transformation for the media operators.
It is designed to equip journalists with the tools and techniques necessary to leverage digital platforms effectively for storytelling and engagements.
Above all, Tooki said, the workshop will reinforce the synergy between the government and the media, as well as the government and its public.
To make the programme all-inclusive, he said that the training will accommodate government House Reporters, young reporters, middle to senior levels career journalists, bloggers, online news writers and social media influencers.
Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) has established six committees to help strengthen and modernize the country’s broadcasting industry.
The committees will focus on content creation, skills development, digital transformation, sustainability, policy and commercial opportunities
The initiative aims to support industry growth and improve collaboration between broadcasters, regulators and media experts
The official launch recently, was led by Tony Akiotu, president, BON and attended by media professionals, program directors, former journalists and heads of specialized media organizations.
The event brought together several prominent figures in Nigeria’s media industry, including veteran broadcaster and trainer Bimbo Oloyede, Tony Uyah of M4S TV, Kingsley Uranta of Channels Television, Ismael Sani of Platinum TV and Ibrahim Shehu of Trust TV.
Together, they are expected to help drive innovation and support the growth of Nigeria’s broadcasting sector.
According to Akiotu, the committees are intended both to help shape industry policy and to provide a forum for dialogue between BON and broadcasting experts.
Akiotu said the ad hoc committees were intended to strengthen BON’s work and ensure that the umbrella body for Nigeria’s broadcasters played a more direct and meaningful role in developing the country’s broadcasting sector.
The six committees reflect the sector’s main priorities. The first focuses on collaboration and innovation to promote content creation.
The second is dedicated to training and talent development, while the third focuses on industry sustainability by improving the sector’s long-term financial viability.
A fourth committee will focus on digital transformation and work with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on regulatory issues.
The remaining two committees will oversee public policy advocacy and the development of sports and commercial rights to help broadcasters increase revenue and attract more investment. Together, the committees are expected to guide BON’s efforts to modernize and strengthen Nigeria’s broadcasting industry.
The committees, chaired by members of BON’s General Assembly and supported by the organization’s Secretariat, have an initial 12-month mandate that may be renewed if necessary.
They are required to submit a progress report within three months and implement approved recommendations within the following six months.
The arrangement is intended to ensure close oversight and the timely implementation of their work.
Akiotu also reminded committee members that Nigeria pioneered television broadcasting in Africa and urged them to carry out their work with greater effectiveness and efficiency.
Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it is investigating about 34 tertiary institutions over allegations that they failed to refund students whose tuition fees were paid twice under the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this during an interview on Arise Television.
Sawyerr said the agency had deployed a five-member investigative team, including operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and internal auditors, to examine the allegations.
According to him, the investigation was prompted by numerous complaints received from affected students.
“As of right now, there are 34 institutions that we are looking at closely with respect to this issue,” he said.
Sawyerr explained that the double payment issue arose because President Bola Tinubu directed that the student loan scheme commence in the middle of an academic session instead of at the beginning.
He said the decision compelled many students to pay their tuition fees to meet registration deadlines while awaiting approval of their loan applications.
“What happened is that a lot of schools got double payment; some from the students and some from us,” he said.
“The refund process is entirely out of our hands. It is the recipient of the double payments that is obliged to make refunds to the students.”
The NELFUND boss noted that many students had borrowed money from family members, friends and other sources to pay their tuition with the expectation of receiving refunds once the loans were disbursed.
He said while some institutions had promptly refunded affected students, others had failed to do so.
“Some have been very good at this. Others haven’t been so good at it,” Sawyerr said.
“I reserve judgement on the intentionality around it because, for some of them, they just didn’t have the process to make refunds.”
Sawyerr disclosed that NELFUND was exploring a tokenised payment system that would enable students to authorise tuition payments directly to their institutions, thereby reducing the likelihood of duplicate payments.
He said the agency deliberately chose not to disburse tuition loans directly to students to minimise the risk of fund diversion.
“Paying the funds to the students could really lead to the temptation for them to divert and do other things,” he said.
The managing director, however, acknowledged that NELFUND lacked the statutory powers to compel institutions to refund students or prosecute officials found culpable.
He added that many frustrated students had submitted complaints not only to NELFUND but also to anti-corruption agencies, including the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Sawyerr also expressed concern over increases in tuition fees by some institutions following the introduction of the student loan scheme.
He said NELFUND had declined to pay institutions that increased their tuition fees beyond acceptable levels.
“Some schools, because they get paid easily, started to put up their fees. We refused, point blank, to pay institutions who had hiked their fees beyond a certain level,” he said.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to investigating every reported irregularity and strengthening the implementation of the student loan programme through continuous monitoring and internal reviews.
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