Prof. Okunna made the declaration at a two-day media workshop on ” Best Practices And Professional .Reporting of Electoral Process” held at the BON Sunshine Hotel in Enugu, Enugu State.
Okunna said, the role of the media could be likened to what oxygen is to life and as such , media practitioners must carry out their constitutional responsibilities bearing in mind the code of ethics of the canons of journalism which includes among others, fairness, objectivity, accuracy, balance, accountability, confidentiality, humaneness.
While urging journalists to be circumspect and avoid what she termed “Ethical Landmines” like sycophancy and bowing to pressure in their gate keeping role, the erudite lecturer said ,”The public often times, relies on the media because of its indispensability.
“No other organ or body has the capacity to gather, package effectively and efficiently the information that democracy requires to thrive.
“As far as information is concerned, the media’s power is unrivalled; that power must be wielded with all ethics and professionalism. ”
Professor Okunna, who is the first female professor of Mass Communication in Nigeria, charged media practitioners to see knowledge as sacrosanct , according to her, formal education of variety of background is an added advantage to journalism.
The workshop organised by the International Press Centre, Lagos State, sponsored through the component 4b of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) project, saw 40 journalists from both the electronic, print and online media from the South South and South East geo-political regions in attendance.
Other speakers at the workshop include, Jide Ojo, an Abuja based public affairs/ political analyst and Funke Treasure Durodola of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria ( FRCN), Lagos State.
Earlier in his goodwill message, Director of the International Press Centre (IPC) , Lagos, Lanre Arogundade, said , ” the event was organized to critically examine the interconnections between the public, the media and elections towards developing an agenda that seeks to strengthen the role of the media in facilitating a credible electoral process.
The aim of the workdhop he said , is “to bring to the front burners the prerequisite to hone the skills of journalists in the professional and ethical reportage of democratic processes and elections as well as commit to professional, conflict sensitive, citizen focused, gender focused and digital reporting of the 2019 elections.
“In addition the media have a critical agenda setting role to support the integrity and credibility of elections. Not only must they take a lead role in ensuring that citizens are adequately mobilized, but they should also ensure that the entire process is open to public scrutiny.
“In the above regard, it is expected that this training will help participants to understand and imbibe the principles of fairness, diversity and objectivity in reporting the electoral process and the elections with the anticipation that this meeting will provide an integral opportunity for journalists to share their experiences to ensure best practice reporting for the 2 019 elections.”
He expressed immense gratitude to the European Union whose support he said, has made this endeavour possible through Component 4b: Support to the Media of the European Union Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) project.
He also thanked the facilitators, who are experts with vast experience in the media for making out time to be part of this training.
